Scheme for Networking to End Poverty
It is axiomatic that a tree cannot make a forest. Little drops of water make a mighty ocean. Yes! There is collective power through networking. As we are aware, poverty is one of mankind major social problems of our time. This project will reveal to the poor how to escape from poverty through networking.
About You
Section 1: About You
First Name
Ability-in-Disability
Last Name
Initiative
Country
Nigeria, EN
Section 2: About Your Organization
Is your initiative connected to an established organization?
Yes
Organization Name
Ability-in-Disability Initiative
Organization Website
Organization Phone
+234 803 668 1133
Organization Address
# 4 River Lane, GRA, P. O. Box 3665, Enugu, Nigeria
Organization Country
Nigeria, EN
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
How long has this organization been operating?
1‐5 years
Your idea
Name Your Project
Scheme for Networking to End Poverty
Describe your Social Enterprise
It is axiomatic that a tree cannot make a forest. Little drops of water make a mighty ocean. Yes! There is collective power through networking. As we are aware, poverty is one of mankind major social problems of our time. This project will reveal to the poor how to escape from poverty through networking.
Country your work focuses on
Nigeria, EN
Innovation
What makes your innovation unique?
This idea is innovative because it exposes the secret of escaping from poverty through networking to the poor, especially in developing countries where the burden of poverty is highest. This will help to enlarge human choices, bring people closer to one another to fully exploit and enjoy the benefits of our unity in diversity. Sharing of information and exchange of ideas will become easier with networking. Marketing of farm produce, goods and services becomes more effective. Poor and deprived people become inspired through networking. Also, through networking, thinking and actions about poverty shift from fear, doubt and mere wishful thinking such as “How I wish that I Can!” or “How we wish that we can!” to positive mental attitudes, behaviors, individual and collective or group self confidence and achievement usually manifested in the “I Can,” We Can,” mentality. It encourages team work and ignites the spirit of co-operation among families, communities, and nations. This project will go a long way towards improving the quality of lives and livelihoods in rural communities. It will transform traditional practice through an innovative product, service, approach, or a more rigorous application of known technologies and ideas. It is innovative because the project is achieving some degree of financial self-sustainability through revenues generated through mutual self-help and is engaged in creating mutually beneficial partnerships with businesses, communities, local and national government and the international community. Finally, this project is being implemented directly with poor, by poor people, for poor and marginalized beneficiaries and its impact manifests itself in quantifiable results.
Do you have a patent for this idea?
Yes
Impact
This Entry is about (Issues)
Tell us about the social impact of your innovation. Please include both numbers and stories as evidence of this impact
Poverty will be drastically reduced and Family Incomes will tremendously improve consequent upon this project. In today’s “global village,” networking will help poor people change socio-economic-cultural-cum-political barriers that fuel poverty. This is because it will create the enabling environment for every poor person as well as communities to individually and collectively participate in the fight against poverty, and thereby pave the way for the poor to positively take control over their circumstances, to break their yokes - the chains, shackles, grips and clutches of poverty in their lives. Through this project, it will be possible to connect poor people with others who were once poor but have now ceased to be poor through legitimate measures to learn to replicate their strategies, even improve upon it, for better. Like in many other phases of live, rural women’s participation in co-operative ventures in Nigeria is very low but through this project Ability-in-Disability Initiative took a landmark decision to increase rural women’s participation in co-operative ventures by 55% over two a period of years. Starting from 3 rural women as members in 2009 the network has significantly grown to 110 rural women members barely seven months into the project period of implementation. These women from different backgrounds decided to create a common forum where women could come together to eliminate poverty, resist violence against women, share experiences, learn from each other, find ways to become more effective, promote peace in interpersonal relations at family, community, national and international levels; and assert themselves individually and collectively as having the right and potentials to say “Good-bye to Poverty, and make poverty history through networking.” With Chapters in different communities and locations, it is hoped that 25,000 poor people will directly benefit from this project.
Problem: Describe the primary problem(s) that your innovation is addressing
There is collective power through networking, which has remained largely untapped. Lack of knowledge amongst poor people that poverty could be eliminated through networking is the primary problem, which this project aims to tackle. This problem was discovered from a recent community needs assessment survey conducted on Uvuru community in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State of Nigeria in West Africa by Ability-in-Disability Initiative. Although this survey was specifically conducted on the rural poor, it is strongly believed that both the rural and urban poor share this problem with equal force. As part of this project, rewards will be offered to people who volunteer to provide and share their true life stories publicly, especially through the media; people who are willing to speak out about how they escaped from poverty through legitimate means. Icons will be invited to participate in this project to inspire the poor to take their faith in the own hands and change their lives from “perpetual want” to “sufficiency.”
Actions: Describe the steps that you are taking to make your innovation a success. Include a description of the business model. What might prevent that success?
We organize meetings with stakeholders as the need arise from time to time. This is to effectively involve them in the project design, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. In addition to conventional methods of raising awareness through the print and electronic media, fliers and posters, we also raise awareness about the project through local communication methods such as folk dancing, literature, drama and the use of town criers. We recruit and train volunteers who will participate in the project - training of the trainers. We organize advocacy visits from time to time. We partner with NGOs, communities, community based organizations, local business community, elected officials and political office holders and the government to ensure the success of this project. We inspire and encourage heads of Christian and Muslim communities in the project target area to preach to their congregation regularly about the importance of networking. In January, 2010 we organized a two-day training of the trainers’ workshop in one of the locations of the project. 25 rural women participated in this project. They were issued with certificates of participation at the end of their training and encouraged to go back to their communities to teach others about the importance of networking and to start their own networking groups to eliminate poverty through sharing experiences, learning from each other, finding ways to become more effective, promoting co-operation at family, community, national and international levels; marketing their produce more effectively, and asserting themselves individually and collectively as having the right and potentials to say “Good-bye to Poverty, and make poverty history through networking.” The project may fail if the stakeholders are not involved in the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, if the community or government is against the project activities, if there are no enough finances, human and resources to execute the project.
Results: Describe the expected results of these actions over the next three years. Please address each year separately, if possible
The first year of project operation will witness tremendous increase in awareness creation on networking. Many people will form their own groups. In the second year, the practical benefits of networking such as increased family income and reduction in poverty level will start surfacing. In the third year, groups will start networking with other groups thereby increasing the benefits of networking and drastically reducing poverty. Policies, thinking and actions will change in favor of networking as a viable option towards the elimination of poverty. There will be increased community participation in networking as a means of ending poverty.
How many people will your project serve annually?
More than 10,000
What is the average monthly household income in your target community, in US Dollars?
Less than $50
Does your innovation seek to have an impact on public policy?
Yes
If your innovation seeks to impact public policy, how?
This project seek to impact positively on public policy through the involvement of opinion leaders and decision makers in our community, the organizing of advocacy visits from time to time, the partnering with NGOs, communities, community based organizations, local business community, elected officials and political office holders and the government to ensure the success of this project. Through these project participants and the project activities outlined above, it will be possible to influence public policy to change in favor of networking as a viable option for combating poverty.
Sustainability
What stage is your Social Enterprise in?
Operating for less than a year
Does your organization have a board of directors or an advisory board?
Yes
Does your organization have a non monetary partnerships with NGOs?
Yes
Does your organization have a non monetary partnerships with businesses?
Yes
Does your organization have a non monetary partnerships with government?
Yes
Please tell us more about how partnerships could be critical to the success of your Social Enterprise
The motto of this organization is "a friend in need is a friend indeed." We strongly believe that united we stand, divided we fall and that team work and co-operation leads to lasting success as opposed to going it alone. Partnership will help to bring people closer to one another. Sharing of information and exchange of ideas will become easier when we partner with others. Marketing of farm produce, goods and services becomes more effective when ew co-operate and partner with others. Poor and deprived people become inspired through when they co-operate with others both within and outside their communities. Through the partnering with others, thinking and actions about poverty shift from mere wishful thinking such as “How I wish that I Can!” or “How we wish that we can!” to positive mentality and achievement such as the “I Can,” We Can,” mentality. It encourages team work and ignites the spirit of co-operation. This will go a long way towards improving the quality of lives and livelihoods in rural communities. Through partnership with others, especially the community, NGO, the private and public sector, etcetera, it will be possible to influence government policy in favour of this proposal. We are proud to say that we have partners for this project.
We would like to learn more about how your initiative is financially supported. Please explain your business plan/revenue model
Our activities and programs are funded through membership dues, fundraising activities, wilful donations, and revenue generated from not-for-profit ventures undertaken by the organization from time to time. We strive to met our targets through education, awareness campaigns, training, ofering of legal, financial, and psycological support to the poor and needy.
The Story
What was the defining moment that led you to this innovation?
Nigeria is blessed with fertile soil for bumper agricultural harvests. It is one of the biggest producer and exporter of oil; the most populous nation in Africa. Despite its enormous potentials, poverty is wide spreads in the country. As part of its rolling plan to eliminate extreme poverty, Ability-in-Disability undertook communities need assessment of some remote rural communities in Nigeria with a view to finding alternative ways to end extreme poverty in rural villages. In the course of this survey, it received inspirations unswervingly pointing to and re-stating the fact that “there is collective power through networking, which has remained largely untapped, especially in the rural communities.” One of such power is the ability to end poverty through networking. Unfortunately, the poor rural dwellers lacked the knowledge about networking, not to talk about how it could be used to eliminate poverty. As we have said earlier, lack of knowledge amongst poor people about how poverty could be eliminated through networking is the primary problem, which this project aims to address. Although this survey was specifically conducted on the rural poor, it is strongly believed that both the rural and urban poor share this problem with equal force. We convened series of meeting with the “hardest hit” rural dwellers, explained this innovative idea to them and they understood it, love it, and urged the organization to take steps to put the idea into practice. Together with these groups of project target audience and other stakeholders this project was developed. So far, the project has demonstrated to be promising.
Tell us about the person—the social innovator—behind this idea.
Ability-in-Disability Initiative is the social innovator behind this idea. The organization is a tax-exempt, non-political, not-for-profit, non-religious, non-governmental, charitable organization. It was established and duly incorporated in Nigeria with Registration #CAC/IT/NO. 24053 on the 14th day of June, 2007. On 9th January, 2008 the organization was issued with a Tax Exemption Certificate #ED: 768/2008/01 by the Federal Inland Revenue Services in accordance with the Companies Income Tax Act, Cap. 60, LFN (Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 1990). The organization’s area of operation covers the six Geopolitical Regions of Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Also, Ability-in-Disability Initiative is a duly recognized Rotary Community Corps (RCC) organization, jointly sponsored by the Rotary Club of Enugu City Layout and the Rotary Club of Independence Layout, Enugu, Rotary International, District 9140. In keeping with this status, it was issued with the prestigious Rotary Community Corps Certificate of Organization by the Rotary International on the 26th day of October, 2009.
The organization was founded to promote and encourage education, arts and culture, sports, skills acquisition, ICT, computer literacy and information technology awareness; to conserve, protect and preserve the environment; to provide for men, women and children in distress and ill-health, and to advance gender equality, fight against diseases, hunger, poverty and corruption and more importantly, to foster the development of all useful hidden talents, abilities and creative powers among disabled people of all kinds.
How did you first hear about Changemakers?
Web Search (e.g., Google or Yahoo)
If through another source, please provide the information
Not Applicable
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 | 102 weeks agoTony Imasuen said: I think that one of the cardinal high points of this idea lie in its potential to transform traditional practice through innovative ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 102 weeks agoRaj Jani said: Gentleman, I am slightly lost in your entry as to what is the main idea behind networking that would bring in economic benefits to ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 103 weeks agoAbility-in-Disability Initiative updated this Competition Entry. |
| 103 weeks agoAbility-in-Disability Initiative submitted this idea. |
