… urges Women on taking Action as Option
Emmanuel Atte
Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Centre, a Non-Governmental Organisation, has called on Akwa Ibom women to embrace climate change mitigation and adaptation.
The Executive Director of the centre, Obonganwan Emem Okon, PhD, made the call in her remarks during a one-day training For Community Women on Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation, held at Methodist Church Hall, Ikot Otu, Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State.
Obonganwan Okon who spoke through a staff member in her office, Mrs. Idongesit Umoh Smart, said the NGO has the mandate to build a just society, where women’s rights and gender equality are mainstreamed, irrespective of status, race, background or diversity.
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The woman activist maintained that the event was to enable the Niger Delta Women continue to share their consistent story of survival within the climate crisis, while extractive and environment remain their thematic areas of operation.
The Executive Director urged the women of Ikot Otu to brace up, take advantage of the training and get ready to adapt to the climate change.
In her presentation during the training, Mrs. Idongesit Umoh Smart, a staff member of Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Centre, Port Harcourt, who spoke on the topic, Understanding the Problem and Taking Action, described climate change as the changes in weather patterns that affect the daily lives of the people.
The changes, according to Mrs. Smart, included too much rain and flooding, too much heat as currently being experienced, drought and poor harvest, effect on food, health, water, and livelihoods.
She maintained that according to research, the live span for Niger Delta people is estimated between 40 and 50 years, due to the kind of food and water they consumed, some which contained chemicals and advised the women to guard against eating junk food, should they want to live long.
On Climate Change adaptation, the resource person further explained that it means adjusting how people live their lives, in order to survive the climate change, adding that women are the key drivers of community climate solutions.
Other areas of her presentation included the causes of climate change, food insecurity, increased care burden, gender based violence risks, limited access to decision making, education impacts on a girl child among others.
Speaking from the sideline of the event, the President of Nka Unwana Iban Ikot Otu in Ikot Ekpene, Obonganwan Elizabeth Isongesit, JP, applauded the Executive Director of Kebetkache, Dr. Emem Okon, for the opportunity provided for women of the area to gather knowledge, through the training and promised to put to practice, all they have learnt during the training to better their lives, in the wake of emerging climate changes.
Prominent among women who attended the event were: the spouse of the Paramount Ruler of Ikot Ekpene Local Government Area, Her Royal Majesty, Akwa Obonganwan Mfon Ukut, some past leaders of National Council of Women Society, including Mbong Iban from Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District among others.
