NCWS’ Honour Of Kalada Belema Meshack-Hart As ‘He For She’ Ambassador: An Award Worthy Of The Recipe

By Sunny Green Itodo:

The iconic American singer-songwriter, John Roger Stephens, professionally known as John Legend, hadn’t the foremost Nigerian male feminist, Mr. Kalada Belema Meshack-Hart, in mind when he said, “All men should be feminists. If men care about women’s rights, the world will be a better place. We are better off when women are empowered — it leads to a better society.” But the lifestyle of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of
Engage Empower Educate Initiative, and founder of the Coalition of African Women for Peace and Development (COWAP), aptly epitomizes John Legend’s statement.

Over the years, Mr. Meshack-Hart has being championing female-oriented projects and programmes in Nigeria and by extension, the African continent, through his Non-profit organization, Engage Empower Educate Initiative (EEEI), and its many pet projects like the Coalition of African Women for Peace and Development, COWAP; a project put together with an aim to harness the enormous capacity and goodwill of women in Africa by bringing them under a coalition towards achieving 4 (Four) thematic points, which aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs);
• Peace in Africa
• Girl-child education
• Ending hunger in Africa
• Ending poverty in Africa.

It was therefore, no surprise, when the National Council For Women Societies (NCWS), at the swearing in ceremony of the new executives of the Rivers State executive of NCWS, on the 19th of December, 2021, honoured him as a “He for She” ambassador. It was an award worthy of the recipe.

The honor was by the National President of NCWS, Mrs Gloria Laraba Shoda.

Mr. Meshack-Hart was also given a honorary membership of NCWS, the only organisation recognized by the federal government as an umbrella organisation for all Nigerian women, with offices in all the 774 local governments.

The event which took place at the prestigious Golden Tulip Hotel, Port Harcourt, the Rivers State Capital, had Governor Nyesom Wike ably represented by Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Dr. Tammy Danagogo, amongst other prominent Riverians and Nigerians.

Going by Mr. Meshack-Hart’s antecedents, one would agree that he is most deserving of the award. Here is a man who has being tirelessly and relentlessly rendering selfless and self-sacrificing non-profit oriented services to the female community. He had always reiterated that his life’s goal is “to empower the woman and the girl child.”

During the Dubai 2021 African Women Summit organized by the Coalition of Women in Africa for Peace and Development (COWAP), where prominent African women and African women’s supporting brands and persons including Liberia’s Vice President, Jewel Howard Taylor, Abdul Samad Rabiu, Chairman of BUA Group, Aliko Dangote, President of Dangote Group/Dangote Foundation; Turkish Airline and others were honoured, Mr. Meshack-Hart also reiterated that women and girl child empowerment is the focal point of his NGO. He said, “Women at all levels are critical to national development, and bear the brunt of hardship, thus anyone empowering them is a hero to us.”

In commemoration of the 2021 International Day of Girl child, his NGO, Engage Empower Educate Initiative, sent no less than 100 girls back to school in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT.

Mr. Meshack-Hart had said that the exercise was part of NGO’s goal to send 10,000 girls back to school across Africa.

“The BACK TO SCHOOL INITIATIVE was birthed at the 2021 African Women Summit which held on the 5th and 6th of August at the prestigious Hilton Alhabtoor Hotel, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. We are looking forward to sending 10,000 girls back to school across Africa,” Mr. Belema Meshack-Hart who is a He For She global ambassador stated.

Last August, his NGO launched African Women’s County Estates, the first monosexual (can only be purchased by or only in the name of a woman) estate in Nigeria, in collaboration with Kairos Hof. It is targeted at empowering women to own a house with 50% discount of the normal rate.

The African Women’s County Estates is located in Karsana (a few minute drive from Gwarimpa), Abuja.

The houses include; 4 bedroom fully detached (450sqm), 3 bedroom Quadruplex (180sqm), and 3 bedroom semi-detached (300sqm).

Mr. Meshack-Hart also signed popular female brand influencer and Founder/CEO of Spangler Market and Vent Sq, Purity Abhulimhen, as brand ambassador for the estates.

Aside those cited above, his NGO also has other female-targeted projects and programmes like the School Reading Programme, and Girls Can Code project, amongst others.

Last November, his NGO held a two-day masterclass for for women-led Non Governmental Organizations, NGOs, in Nigeria, at the training room 302, Novare Central Mall, Dalaba Street, zone 5, Wuse, Abuja.

Over 500 women-led NGOs applied to be selected for the training but only 50 were privileged to be chosen for the workshop. The participants were drawn from a few states in Nigeria including Bauchi, Kaduna, Lagos and the FCT.

The masterclass which has the theme “Building Sustainable Non-Profit Organizations in the Post Covid Era” covered the following topics: Built to Last, a chat with Hamzy,
Proposal Writing, Understanding Project Management, How to Effectively Run Advocacy Campaign, Understanding SCUML Growth Marketing Using Social Media and Digital Marketing Tools,
Attaining UN status.

At the end of the two-day event, participants were given certificates of participation. And thereafter, About 20 of the women-led NGOs formed what was called the Abuja Food Bank with an aim of distributing foodstuffs such as rice, beans, groundnut oil, seasonings, palm oil, tomato paste and general dry food to a thousand underprivileged families. At the first tranche of the food distribution in Abuja, on Tuesday, 21st December, 2021, food packs of raw rice, oil, seasoning cubes, salt and tomato paste were distributed to over 300 women. The theme of the Abuja food bank was “Let’s Unite To Defeat Hunger”.

Mr. Meshack-Hart has being able to achieved all these and more because of his insatiable passion to engage, empower and educate the women and girl child community. So, it was only right that the umbrella body for all Nigerian females, the National Council For Women Societies (NCWS) honored him as a “He for She” ambassador.

(Sunny Green Itodo
A Public Affairs Analyst & Better Society Advocate can be reached on greenbox247online@gmail.com)