Emmanuel Osemota Foundation: Giving Succour to the Girl-child in Nigeria, USA

The Emmanuel Osemota Foundation, EOF, is intentionally taming the myriad challenges facing the girl-child from attaining her full potential in life. This scourge ranges from poor menstrual health to human trafficking among others. Rebecca Ejifoma writes about the foundation’s ongoing intervention and rehabilitation activities among other plans underway in Edo State, Nigeria, and Florida, USA

For the girl-child in Edo state and Florida, the United States, it is a whole new world. This is because these adolescent girls are finally fitting into their defining space as the force to help shape the collective future.   

Sadly, these girls have had to face a heap of barriers including poor access to equal opportunity in education and profession, menstrual health and mental development. Rather, they have been exposed to gender discrimination, sex trafficking, child labour, early marriage, teenage pregnancy, drug abuse, and rape among a host of others in society.

While these devastating challenges have remained concurrent globally, research shows that two among them are more prevalent among adolescent girls in Edo state and Florida. It’s the menstrual period and sex trafficking. For girls in these communities, having your menstrual cycle is said to be embarrassing enough, but having it as a cultural taboo is even worse. 

It was to give the girl-child a significant voice in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 5 which advocates gender equality, that the Emmanuel Osemota Foundation, a non-profit organisation, is empowering local communities through education and high-quality healthcare. 

The foundation believes that equipping the girl-child births a healthier and more productive society, nation, and the world, and ultimately breaks the vicious cycle of poverty and illiteracy; thereby, accelerating the economy, and creating a more equitable society.

“Girls in impoverished communities in Edo State and lower-income families in Florida face the cultural taboo and lack of access to safe menstrual health solutions,” says the founder of EOF, Emmanuel J. Osemota.

Menstrual Hygiene Kit for Adolescents

According to the founder, a Nigerian US-based epidemiologist, these adolescent girls turn to unsanitary methods including rags, leaves, newspapers, and tissue papers. In some cases, they become victims of sexual exploitation out of desperation for supplies.

“What’s even worse is that the girls who attend schools without access to any menstrual health solution skipped classes because they were ashamed while some even dropped out of school to focus on menial jobs,” Osemota bemoaned. 

In local communities in Edo state, he pointed out, these girls don’t have the proper supplies or enough of them. “This leads them to use unsanitary items in their hour of need, exposing them to an increased risk of infection,” he narrated. “It ought not to be so.”

Owing to this heartbreaking discovery, EOF expanded its reach. It distributed the prerequisite menstrual hygiene products across schools in two cities – Benin and Miramar, in Nigeria and the US respectively. “Educating them on menstrual health and helping meet their needs has significantly decreased dropout rates for girls in school,” says the founder.

Today, the foundation’s menstrual hygiene kit initiative has reached over 5,000 girls in both countries. This is because EOF rolls up its sleeves from January through December in Edo state and South Florida every year. In addition, the founder outlined their six impacting outreach programmes lined up throughout this year.

Sex Traffickers Masquerading As Modelling Agents

Citing the RAINN/Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, only 30 per cent of sexual assaults are ever reported in the US, Osemota insisted that human trafficking was running rampant in Orlando and South Florida, in the US. 

While describing human trafficking as a 150-billion-dollar industry, the EOF boss noted that the average age of trafficked women is 14 years of age. 

Thus, Osemota submitted that these girls were being approached, asked for directions, offered modelling jobs, or just thrown into a van that pulled up beside them in broad daylight. Hence, the EOF took off the ground in 2006 to cushion these ills. “We believe that the fight against human trafficking starts long before a girl-child becomes a victim,” he added. 

Human Trafficking in Edo State 

Although education and healthcare are the chief priorities of EOF, the foundation is not oblivious to the vicious trend of human trafficking in Edo state, where young naive girls are swayed and lured to Europe to be sexually exploited and forced into labour. 

A 2017 research by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) shows that out of the 119,000 migrants who arrived in Italy, 18,185 were Nigerians, and 5,425 were women. The IOM Italy also estimates that 80 per cent of these women were potential victims of trafficking and that 94 per cent were from Edo state.

Meanwhile, in 2018, Reuters ranked Nigeria as the fourth most dangerous country in human trafficking. It also listed Nigeria as the 6th worst risk women face from traditional practices in rural communities.

According to a 2022 Trafficking in Persons Report in Nigeria, the government initiated

investigations into 852 cases, including 323 sex trafficking cases, 168 labour trafficking cases, and 361 unspecified cases.

Thus, Osemota lamented the rate at which young girls are heavily trafficked in Edo state, Nigeria, and South Florida, USA. “We are all affected one way or another,” he admitted, as he underscored what the foundation has mapped out in earnest to combat the heinous trend. 

Accordingly, the healthcare professional chipped in that the offer of a better life outside the country for Nigerian women and rural girls in Edo state, in particular, has resulted in them being prey to human traffickers and predators. 

Therefore, Osemota highlighted, “That is why at EOF, we are taking results-oriented steps to prevent the traffickers from increasing the horrifying statistics.

“Our initiatives are fighting the social and health situations that perpetuate trafficking. The Emmanuel Osemota Foundation is taking intentional and strategic action to educate young girls who are the most vulnerable. 

That is the foundation identifies at-risk populations for human trafficking and hosts public engagements like community roadshows. This, the epidemiologist conceded, is to spread awareness of the perils involved for such young girls.

Grassroot Approach

For a more holistic approach, EOF works with community leaders, as well as local and state government officials in championing programmes against human trafficking. While Osemota acknowledged that legislation and officials at high levels of government are powerful tools, he emphasised, “We build relationships with government officials to advocate for stronger laws and protections for victims”.

The not-for-profit foundation also synergises with local community leaders by training and providing resources to advocate for women who are currently victims of the ill-act.

“We are proud to stand with them,” the founder expressed, “showing them that their story is not over but just beginning.” 

Accordingly, Osemota hinted at their strategic rehabilitation of women through short-term as well as long-term care. We also do this for young girls and women in South Florida, US.”

Owing to the IOM report and more, EOF is determined to assist, help, cheer and educate young girls, their communities and the public about human trafficking and menstrual and women’s health among other significant activities. 

Girl Child Initiative 

With its “Girl Child Initiative: Invest in A Girl, Power the Future”, EOF enlightens the surrounding communities, provides educational materials and hosts symposiums on the essence of education. 

As a result of these educational measures and safe menstrual health panacea, the founder is pleased that its programmes have directly resulted in decreasing the rate of dropout among girls in school as well as increasing their contribution to their local community sustainability. 

“Our programmes will increase women and girls’ employment prospects and

potentially lead to further educational opportunities. We also empower girls to continue their education or learn a trade so that they can be self-sufficient,” Osemota expressed. 

For EOF, if the girl-child remains in school, this allows her to have access to continuous education and sustainable solutions. Consequently, this affects current and future generations of women and men, playing a pivotal role in breaking the shackles of poverty.

Undoubtedly, these women and girls can also be decision-makers in their communities and campaign effectively against age-long harmful practices like Female Genital Mutilation/cutting (FGM), Gender-based Violence (GBV), Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG), human trafficking, child marriages, and others.

Wherefore, EOF, which officially registered with the Nigerian and the US governments in 2019 and 2020 respectively, has pioneered a handful of impactful programmes like community medical outreaches, entrepreneur projects, anti-human trafficking sensitisation, educational school drive, and community advocacy for locals. This is all in its efforts to ignite lasting change for girls and women at home and abroad.

Thus, for this year, EOF has mapped out plans to do more noble deeds and impact more communities in Edo state as well as South Florida. The foundation says it is not compromising on its vision to provide succour to the girl-child and women in accessing education and high-quality healthcare for a better future.

Quote For EOF, if the girl-child remains in school, this allows her to have access to continuous education and sustainable solutions. Consequently, this affects current and future generations of women and men, playing a pivotal role in breaking the shackles of poverty

CAPTION WA0047: Students of St. Maria Goretti Girls College in Benin City,  Edo State displaying their school materials distributed by EOF

 CAPTION WA0048: Students of Ezomo College in Benin City, Edo State during a menstrual hygiene awareness campaign