Dewdrop Foundation commemorates  with our dear country Nigeria as she marks 61 years today. We celebrate Nigeria as a Seenager today as the world also marks the International Day for Older Persons.

Today which marks the International Day for Older Persons brings with it the awareness and understanding of the roles of older persons in our communities and society at large. Over 20% (2 billion) of the world’s population is estimated to be 60 years and above by the year 2050, this calls for more efforts to combat age discrimination, neglect and abuse of the older population.

This year’s theme; “Digital Equity for all Ages” advocates the need for access and meaningful participation of the older persons in the digital world. The break of the Covid-19 pandemic has opened our world to the need for utilizing the technology at our disposal for growth and progress as it has shaped how we live, work and relate to one another.

In Nigeria especially in rural communities, older persons face discrimination on a daily basis which is caused by stereotyping, criticism etc. The younger population usually want nothing to do with the elderly . They are considered an economic burden with no value in society. This is mostly caused by the fact that a large number of older persons were mostly farmers, petty traders, and livestock rarer and as such are uneducated and retired. In most parts of Nigeria, older women are thought to be “witches” who bring misfortune to the family because they suffer age related health challenges such as Alzheimer’s, Dementia and the likes. Unfortunately, there is little or no knowledge awareness on the health challenge.  Some suffer all forms of abuse by family members & primary caregivers and are deprived of their right to a safe and happy life in older age. They also suffer from social marginalization, loneliness, and negligence, all of which violate the human rights of older people living in Nigeria.

In recent age, Technology advancements are becoming entrenched in many aspects of our societies and hold the potential to create opportunities towards an inclusive, sustainable development, and provide tools to surmount the challenges faced by many to fully participate in the development process. However, where access to ICTs is limited and not inclusive, it can intensify existing inequalities and even create new ones. Both the opportunities and challenges intrinsic to technological progress have been illustrated by the COVID-19 pandemic (United Nations 2020). Technological advances offer great hope for accelerating progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Digital equity refers to how people can access and effectively use the technology necessary to participate in the society. Also digital inclusion denotes efforts to remedy deficits in digital equity. Digital inclusion refers to the activities necessary to ensure that all individuals and communities including the most disadvantaged have access to and use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).

To bring awareness of the importance of digital inclusion of older persons, it is necessary to identify the struggle of older persons with reduced reactivity which makes it harder for them to keep up with fast paced technology. Age itself is not a barrier to using digital technologies although older persons tend to face such barriers such as cost, skills and disabilities. It is important to breach the digital gap in the older population as it will be a welcome initiative in the fight against elder abuse.

Dewdrop Foundation has since been advocating for the rights of older persons in rural communities in Enugu State and Kuchingoro IDP camp in Abuja –Federal Capital Territory (FCT). In our advocacy on the rights of older persons, we have carried out sensitization awareness on the health challenges faced by older persons and how they can receive proper care. We engaged community leaders, stakeholders and family relatives and the community at large where we sensitized them on the challenges of the older persons and best care practices. The primary caregivers were also impacted with the proper skill set needed through our City and Guilds UK vocational training.

On this day and every day, we must acknowledge that all people, regardless of their age, have their role in society and should not be excluded or discriminated against due to their perceived ability. We encourage everyone to connect with and carry along the older generation in your community to unearth and tap into the talents and digital knowledge they have to share and contribute to creating a more inclusive and sustainable world.

Human trafficking in the last couple of years has emerged as a global business that has cut across most countries of the world which reaps a lot of profit for the traffickers and their criminal associates. While there have been a lot of national outcry and aggressive “war” against a number of criminal activities such as the drug trafficking, arms smuggling, etc, the issue of human trafficking has continued as an area that most Nigerians are either reluctant or less interested to discuss. Meanwhile, hundreds, if not thousands, of law abiding Nigerian citizens are either forcefully captured or deceitfully taken away from their people and homes for the exchange of money to the advantage of human traffickers (Jegede, Anyikwa, & Igwe, 2011).

The issue becomes critical when one considers the overwhelming statistics of trafficking in persons in Nigeria. UNICEF (2007) estimates that about 8 million Nigerians are at risk of being trafficked each year internally and externally for domestic and forced labour, prostitution, entertainment, pornography, armed conflict, and sometimes ritual killings. What is worrisome it that the cartels behind the exportation of young girls and women to overseas countries to work in the sex trade remained faceless.

No matter how many times the women might be deported; they seemed to easily procure travel documents to return to the same or different foreign lands to continue in the trade. While some entered into the trade knowingly- sometimes even with the connivance, approval or acquiescence of their parentsothers appeared to have been lured into it with false tales of money to be made from plaiting or weaving hair, working as a maid or children’s nanny-tales which though false could seem quite reasonable to young women anxious to help reduce the hardship being faced by their families.

There are diverse reasons why many Nigerian children are vulnerable to trafficking, as the following factors includes; widespread poverty, large family size, and rapid urbanization with deteriorating public services, low literacy levels and high school dropout rates. The high demand for cheap commercial sex workers in countries of destination also strongly contributes to the growth of this phenomenon and the success of this criminal network. Parents with a large family, often overburdened with the care of too many children, are prone to the traffickers deceit in giving away some of their children to city residents or even strangers promising a better life for their children.

This year’s campaign highlights the importance of listening to and learning from survivors of human trafficking. They are the key actors in the fight against human trafficking as they play a role in establishing effective measures to prevent the crime, identify and rescue victims and support them on their journey to rehabilitation and reintegration into the society. Human trafficking victims have experienced ignorance or misunderstanding in their attempts to seek help, as they have had traumatic post-recue experiences during legal proceedings. Some of them have faced victimization or subjected to stigmatization or have received inadequate support. Learning from victims’ experiences and turning their suggestions into concrete actions will lead to a more victim-centered and effective approach in combating human trafficking.

Dewdrop Foundation established a relationship in 2006 with the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) to provide protection for abused victims of human trafficking and domestic servitude. Vocational trainings was provided for the victims as a means to empower and create a source of livelihood for them to reintegrate back into society.

People all over the world will be thinking and looking forward to this day when we celebrate all women, and that is the International Women’s Day. What is International Women’s Day and what does it represent towards all women? It is the day we celebrate the great feats that women have attained on the Social, Economic, Cultural, and Political spheres within society. On this special day we acclaim and celebrate the achievements and strides that women have taken to arrive at the social level that has been attained till date despite multiple challenges and glass ceilings in their way.

The first National Women’s day celebration took place in the United States on 28^th February 1909. The United Nations theme for the 8th March 2021 is “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a Covid-19 world”. In addition, the overall theme for International Women’s day is #chose to challenge as biases and misconceptions are being addressed.

If we take a look at the women and ladies that have done well in Nigeria for example, we are able to take a look at a few ladies that include; Folorunsho Alakija, the Vice Chair of Famfa Oil, her first company was a fashion company called Supreme Stitches, Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, who served as the former Finance and Foreign Minister of Nigeria, Former Managing Director World Bank, Former chair of Gavi Vaccine Alliance, African Union.

Within Africa, we have Bonang Matheba who is from South Africa and is globally known for being an award-winning radio host, TV presenter and MC. A Global Citizen ambassador and style icon, Michelle Obama was the first lady of America married to the 44th President of America Barack Obama. Michelle Obama is a role model to women and advocate for healthy families, higher education, and international adolescent girl’s education, and Christine Lagarde who was the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

With all these successes and achievements that have been attained by women all over the world, the International women’s day will continue to symbolise and follow a couple of values that mark the day as a very important one. At Dewdrop Foundation, our team strongly supports activities that ensure that “Dignity for women are to be respected, duly valued and appreciated. We continue to promote gender partnership that enables women and men to collaborate and bring about the needed change and growth in humanity. We sincerely appreciate and commended women in all spheres of life for their achievements all over the world, as well as their non-stop efforts and contributions towards making our society better for all.