Maraban Rido Community To Donate Land For Assault Referral Center To Int’l Alert, GPD
http://www.newsportng.com.ng International Alert, (IA) and Global Peace Development, (GPD) has approached the traditional head of Kudansa, Maraban Rido in Chikun Local Government Area to get safe space for women and girls.
The safe space – an assault referral center, will serve as a referral center, where the female gender can come together and discuss issues that are of importance to them.
Senior Project Officer IA Sunday Jimoh said that IA in collaboration with GPD have been able to train first responders, who would manned the center and provide psychosocial and psychological support to survivors of SGBV in the community, hence the need to establish the center.
Sunday also disclosed that the choice of Maraban Rido is on the ground that the two NGOs receive reports on increasing cases of SGBV, adding that the move to establish the center became pertinent after several discussions and assessment carried out by the NGO and other critical stakeholders.
Jimoh said “we are here today to have a meeting with the traditional head of Kudansa Maraban Rido Community to discuss a partnership towards the establishment of a safe space for women and girls in Kudansa Community of Maraban Rido.
“This safe space will help women to be able to have a space where they can come together and discuss issues that are important to them.
“Some of the discussions that we have and assessment that has been carried out by International Alert and some key important stakeholders have highlighted this increase cases of SGBV so this safe space is going to provide a safe haven for women and girls to be able to come together and get referrals for cases of SGBV and also to get psychosocial and psychological support for persons that have been affected.
“It is also going to serve as a space for women and girls to discuss peace and security issues of interest and for them to also be able to strategize other opportunities that are available for them for inclusion in decision making processes in their communities.
“The discussions that we had with the village head and his cabinet members today was very fruitful.
“We were able to come to an understanding of what the benefit holds for the community for establishing this safe space and the promise we got from the village head was that he is going to schedule a meeting with his cabinet where they would discuss and come up with a space that will be more befitting for women to be able to use as a safe haven in the community.
“They have also given us assurance of getting back to us in a nearest future to let us know where they are going to be allocating for us to be used and the most important thing is that this space that would be donated will be donated for permanent use of this women and it is going to be something that they are going to use and sustain for them to have a sustained place where there is continuity in the development that women gets in this community.
Responding to the visit, the Village Head of Kudansa Community, Maraban Rido, Chikun LGA Kaduna state, Mr. Auta Ganyi appreciated IA and GPD for the good job they have been doing in Kaduna state including the various trainings extended to members of his community over the time.
Auta lamented that the insecurity challenges is one of the major challenges in the area, adding that the safe space upon establishment will help to reduce crime in the community.
While assuring the visitors of getting them a befitting space for women and girls, Auta said that himself alongside his cabinet members will sit down and discuss modalities and thereafter get back to them almost immediately.
– Austine Agbo Emmanuel,
-News-Port Nigeria
Assault Referral Center
