Social Contact and VSLA Training

From 26th to 28th March 2024, Gede a Social Contact event and trained over 90 Community members on Village Savings and Loan approach in Yangoji Leprosy Community in Kwali Area Council. This training is to add more value to the ongoing OPEN MINDS Project funded by Comic Relief UK.

The long-term goal is to establish functional saving groups in the community in order to provide a sustainable avenue for income generation among the beneficiaries of the Project.The training is scheduled for 3 days in each location a across FCT, Kebbi and Sokoto states.

Training on Health, Safety and Environment

On Monday 25 March 2024,the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund(NSITF), trained Gede Staff on Health, Safety and Environment. The training aimed at empowering employees with knowledge and skills on safety at home and workplace. The sessions helped participants to understand hazard preventive measures and ways to respond to fire and other related safety incidences.

An audit of safety items and routes was conducted, recommendations for future safety guards were highlighted.

GEDE PARTNERED WITH LAFARGE ON ADOPT-A-SCHOOL PROJECT IN 2024

The Lafarge Africa Plc. - Gede Foundation educational support programme works at sustaining community development in its communities through education and educational-related programmes.

In addition to the secondary school and tertiary students’ support, the partnership in 2023/2024 academic round has expanded its support by adopting 8 primary schools in the hinterlands in its Adopt-a-School project. This project includes automatic enrolment of all community children of primary school age within the community, payment of fees and levies, and provision of school materials.

The project is also designed to cover the pre-care program of the early childhood care, development education (ECCDE); encouraging day-care, play-class and creche in this rural schools’ settings.

This intervention has reached over 2000 primary school pupils in its first phase of support in 2024. The schools are located in Abiati, Mfamosing, Akansoko, Mbobui and Akwa Ikot Effanga communities of Cross River State. Highlight of this activity was the payment of fees/levies and provision of school materials including books, bags and sandals.

It is hoped that within this initiative, no child of school age will be left unenrolled in community primary schools.

Please continue to visit our blog and our social media sites for more updates!

Gede’s Substance Misuse Prevention in Communities and Schools

 The incidence of substance and drug misuse among young people continue to present huge concerns to the society, family and individual.  The number of young people in Nigeria with substance use disorders (SUDs) continue to rise and they are at increased risk for abuse or neglect, physical problems, poor behavioral or impulse control, poor emotional regulation, conduct or oppositional disorders, poorer academic performance, psychiatric problems such as depression or anxiety.

 Gede’s mental health programme seeks to prevent some of these issues among young people in communities and schools, through awareness campaigns to students, teachers and young people in Benue and Cross River states.

These activities started in November 2023 in the states, and aimed at reaching thousands of young people in schools and communities with high risk of substance misuse.

The expected outcome would be a significant behaviour change among young people on substance misuse through the knowledge and skills that will be provided by the campaigns in 2024.

The activities started in Ayiin community of Benue state and government secondary school, state housing estate, calabar, Cross River state and will reach over 30 schools and communities in coming months.

Gede Strengthened Mental Health Support for Children and Young People

In October and November 2023, Gede engaged in a series of events across 3 locations— Kebbi, Sokoto states and the FCT, within the ‘Open Minds’ Project. These events included: Community Mobilization,  Reflection Meetings  and Social Contacts. Community members and young people affected by mental illness and leprosy were actively involved in these activities, which resulted into building resilience to address stigma and discrimination.

In order to evaluate activities previously carried out— i) screening for anxiety and depression, ii) capacity building in mental health, and, iii) dedication to self help groups, reflection meetings with community members and caregivers were carried out. 

 The  social contact generally take up a more active role which  involves sharing stories of lived experiences of mental health problems as well as a fun-related  activity for children and young people (CYP). Some of the activities chosen by CYPs in Sokoto included a decoration by handprints on their community building to express ownership and unity. Similarly, in Kebbi, CYP choosed to draw items that made them happy on cardboard. 

 These activities helped to reduce stigma  and discrimination  associated with mental illness as well as promote  behaviour change . 

The ‘Open Minds’ Project is funded by Comic Relief, UK and  implemented by a consortium of organisations— Gede  Foundation, The Leprosy Mission Nigeria and  The Leprosy Mission England & Wales.

Gede Marked World Toilet Day 2023

Globally, there are 3.5 billion people still living without safe toilets. Over 419 million people still practise ‘open defecation’. In these situations, diseases spread, killing 1,000 children under-five every single day. This global crisis poses a threat to nature and everyone’s health, particularly women, girls, and other vulnerable groups.  

In Nigeria, 1 in 4 have access to a basic toilet. Over 122,000 Nigerians, including 87,000 children, die due to diarrhea yearly. 

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) says Nigeria will need to build no fewer than 3.9 million toilets annually to meet the ending open defecation practice by 2025 target.

It is due to this burden that Gede’s ‘Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Programme’ marked this year’s World Toilet Day, with a theme ‘Accelerating Change’. The event which is marked every November 19 focused on awareness raising on the need for households to promote hygiene practices—proper handwashing and construction of household toilets.

Over 450 students and teachers from Government Secondary School, Naka, Gwer West L.G.A Benue State, were reached with information, knowledge and skills on improving hygiene behaviour, construction and proper use of household toilets.

Participants expressed commitments in ensuring that the knowledge and skills received will be put to good use in order to eliminate open defecation across the communities.

GEDE COMMEMORATES WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY 2023

World Mental Health Day 2023 is an opportunity for people and communities to unite behind the theme ‘Mental Health is a Universal Human Right’ to improve knowledge, raise awareness and drive actions that promote and protect everyone’s mental health as a universal human right.

Every year, the event provides an opportunity for all stakeholders working on mental health issues to talk about their work, and what more needs to be done to make mental health care a reality for people worldwide.

Gede Foundation joined the global mental health community to lend its voice in 2 different activities within the period. 

Firstly, on the 10th October, 2023, the Foundation participated in a Ministerial Press Conference with the Federal Ministry of Health in Abuja. At the meeting, the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate stressed the importance of collaborative efforts involving the government, healthcare professionals, NGOs and communities to effectively address mental health issues in Nigeria. Stakeholders including WHO, NCDC Africa, CBM, TLMN, Clinton Foundation, NPHCDA, Mental Health Advocates, NGOs and people with psychological disabilities participated in the conference.

Goodwill messages and commitments from government and implementing partners centred on the basic human rights for people with mental health conditions including the right to be protected from mental health risks, the right to available, accessible, acceptable, and good quality care, and the right to liberty, independence and inclusion in the community.

Secondly, Gede Foundation organised an awareness campaign on mental health in Government Secondary School, Agasha in Benue State. The event reached over 350 people including students and teachers, with information on stress, drug and substance abuse, depression, adolescent mental health, prevention and access to mental health services. Participants gained knowledge on mental health, mental illnesses, signs and symptoms and referral pathways for treatment and care for those in need.

With an increasing number of persons with mental health conditions globally and in Nigeria, it is expected that these events will help to promote and sustain respect to human rights, inclusiveness and access to quality mental health care.

Be sure to follow our social media for more updates!!

Sanitation and Hygiene in Daudu Community

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene activities continued with community mobilization and sensitization in Benue state on the 21st August,2023.

The aim was to sustain good hygiene behaviors among community members in 10 communities starting with Daudu in Guma L.G.A.

The overall objective is to strengthen communities with knowledge and skills in order to achieve 'open defecation free' status. Prior to this, boreholes and ventilated improved latrines were provided to these communities in public places. However,households are encouraged to build toilets to complement the WASH facilities provided by the project in order to eliminate open defecation. WASH committees have been established and relevant foundations laid that promoted community- based hygiene improvement behaviors. The project which started in 2019, has recorded improvement in wellbeing and

reduction in incidences of waterborne diseases. This phase is to sustain the innovation and ensure optimal behavior change.

Goodwill messages were received from community gatekeepers including, Chiefs, religious leaders and the state Ministry of Water Resources and Rural Development. In collaboration with relevant state Agencies and Ministries,the overall targets will be achieved overtime. This activity is led by trained WASH committee members and supervised by Gede Foundation.

Sensitisation: Mental Health and Substance Abuse

Earlier this week, Gede Foundation conducted a sensitisation on Mental Health and Substance Abuse at Lobethas Unity College, Daudu, Guma L.G.A., Benue State. The objective was to create awareness on Mental Health and Substance abuse among young people in order to promote and improve their social, emotional and psychological well-being. Over one hundred and twenty (120) students including teachers were in attendance. The Foundation’s resource person, Mr John Udoh took the students through various Mental Health conditions, characteristics, problems and ways or measures to improving and preventing them. The Vice Principal (Admin.) Mr Edward Iorkuter, thanked Gede Foundation for bringing this noble activity to the school, adding that it is timely, considering the hardship experienced in the society currently, which could affect student's behaviour.

The Dean of Studies, Mr Fabian Shargh, commended Gede Foundation for the initiative, adding that it will reduce bullying in schools as students have come to learn about trauma and it's effects among young people.

The Head boy, Chiatior Yiman George expressed gratitude to Gede Foundation for enlightening the entire students on Mental Health and Substance abuse and promised that the knowledge gained from the activity will be put to use to improve their general well-being.

This activity is scheduled to take place in 10 Secondary Schools in the State.

CBM Global, UK visited Gede

Gede implemented Mental Health Anti-stigma Project in partnership with Time to Change Global (TTCG), a 2-year Project that ended in 2020. The project was first of its kind in Nigeria where a combination of physical and online social contact events were designed to address mental health stigma across different target populations. In addition to the social contact events, there was a campaign called, “It Could Be You, Please Be More Kind,” and a toolkit was designed based off of the experience of people with lived experience of mental health problems.

The impacts of the Project spanned beyond the Project life cycle and its successes are yielding supports in other mental health interventions across the states. It is based on this that Christian Blind Mission (CBM), UK visited Gede to explore the relevance of the approach used and to debrief on ways to improve in subsequent designs. 

Interviews with Project staff and trained Champions (people with lived experience) were carried out and documented for future project design. The project reached over 3 million people through virtual and physical social contact events with Champions.

The Project was funded by MINDS UK and TTCG.