By Grace Abiodun
The United state consulate General in Lagos awarded $1.02million to civic organizations to implement projects across the 17 states in southern Nigeria.
The United States is a steadfast partner of Nigeria, working together to improve health, security, economic growth, human rights, democracy, and education throughout the country.
The founded project addressed the themes of bolstering outreach to undeserved communities, promoting respect for human rights and transparency in government, empowerment of human and youth, and teacher-training and STEM education.
Other themes included entrepreneurship, media literacy, combating misinformation, as well as fostering a robust alumni network.
The consulate supported United States exchange alumni efforts to utilize the skills, knowledge, and networks gained through their exchange program experiences to address challenges faced by communities across southern Nigeria. Our exchange alumni organized clean-up campaigns, taught others job skills, matched to show support for combating gender-based, violence, promoted technology in the classroom, and raised awareness of illegal wildlife trafficking.
The alumni-led projects were selected for their strong sustainability plans, and many will continue past the grant period through volunteer work and other funding sources.
U.S consulate public Affairs Officer, Stephen ibelli, praised the U.S. alumni commitment in working to improve the lives of community members through sustainable projects.
According to him the consulate’s alumni focused grant projects is part of the U.S government’s efforts to support Nigeria’s economic development, improve livelihoods, and strengthen communities.
Reflecting on the outgoing year, ibelli noted that seven new American spaces were opened in southern Nigeria, including a flagship American corner in Ikeja, as part of the U.S. consulate efforts aimed at bolstering its public engagement efforts. Addresses of American space in Nigeria can be found here.
The consulate also trained 250 women through the Academy for women entrepreneurs (AWE), providing them with skills to grow their businesses and contribute to the growth of small and medium enterprises in Nigeria.
Some of our AWE graduates received funding from the U.S. Africa Development foundation and local founding sources to scale their businesses.
The consulate also supported the shipment of 250 dairy cows to Ekiti state to boost milk production, and introduced biotech cowpea to increase farmer’s yield and improve food security in Nigeria.