TheSafeWoman Project

Intro

Now in its eighth year, the conflict in Nigeria has affected millions of people, causing
mass displacement within and beyond the country’s borders. An estimated 8.5 million
people are in need of life-saving assistance, particularly in the north-eastern states of
Borno, Adamawa and Yobe, which host around 93 per cent of the country’s 1.75 million
IDPs.

Despite continued violence, the number of IDPs reportedly decreased in most states in
the first half of 2017. The attacks have significantly reduced, allowing humanitarian and
aid agencies to reach previously inaccessible areas of the country, facilitating trade
flows and encouraging returns, including from abroad. In the country as a whole there
were an estimated 142,000 new displacements.

The poor standard of living in camps, collective centres and private shelters is critical in
light of the recent outbreaks of diseases. There is a need for access to effective
remedies, justice and psychological support for people who have suffered trauma and
abuse during the conflict, such as the thousands of survivors of abductions and sexual
violence: the vulnerable women and young girls.

WHAT PROBLEM DOES YOUR IDEA SOLVE?

TheSafeWoman Project- An Outreach to Internally Displaced Women and Girls in

Lagos, Nigeria.

Pearls Africa Foundation aims to cater to women and girls in IDP camps in Lagos
Nigeria providing information and means to ensure they can access sexual and
reproductive rights and health services regularly.

Most internally displaced women and girls in Lagos camps have very limited access to
sexual and reproductive health services due to lack of youth friendly services, gender
disparity and unfavorable socio-cultural practices. This has caused a lot of health
related issues and deaths in their community as women are not aware of safe practices
and tend to shy away from topics relating to their sexual wellbeing. They face a
continuous high risk of contracting STDs such as HIV and Hepatitis if not properly
educated and assisted to lead healthy, safe sexual lives.

EXPLAIN YOUR IDEA

The orientation of sex and reproduction of most of these women and young girls has
been forged by their culture which now seems obsolete and inadequate enough to help
them last long before they get infected by diseases. Pearls Africa Foundation will liaise
with the IDP Camp authorities on a general assessment tour of the two camps located
in Lagos to evaluate the standard of living and the average level of literacy of these
 TheSafeWoman Project
women so we can know the basic amenities available on the camps and also tailor the
instructional materials we would be using to educate them on sexual and reproductive
health to fit their level of assimilation on the subject. Topics will include:

 Information on Personal Hygiene

 Personal Hygiene during menstruation and Post-partum bleeding
 How infections spread
 How to guard against infections using basic resources around you
 Myths and Facts
 Sex Education
 Practicing safe sex
 STIs and STDs
 What to do in the case of rape
 How to get justice for rape

The project will also feature a free testing and counseling for HIV1&2, Hepatits B and
Syphilis for sexually active women and a free distribution of TheSafeKit which would
contain:

 1 - Toothbrush
 1 - Toothpaste
 1 - Deodorant
 2 - Anti-Bacterial Soap
 1 - Hand Sanitizer
 2 - Maxi Pad
 2 Pregnancy test Kit
 1 Morning after Pill
 2 Packs of Condoms

We will hold follow up sessions once in every 3 months and encourage women to take
up leadership roles in sexual and reproductive health.

To encourage continuity in the camp, we will organize the women into groups with a
health practitioner as the group leader. The aim is to keep up the motivation built during
the outreach and also give constant feedback.

In the long term we do hope to set up a safe and private space for women in the IDP
camps on job skills, literacy, empowering and showcasing their arts and crafts before
they are finally relocated back to their states.
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WHO BENEFITS?

The women and girls who will benefit from this program are people whose homes and
social lives have been disrupted by the Boko Haram insurgency in the North Eastern
parts of Nigeria and had to be relocated to IDP camps in Lagos State, Nigeria. They
come from all walks of life and we aim at impacting ~100 women (from ages 13 and
above) per camp location in the state. We will announce the dates of the outreach and
engage the leaders in the camps to encourage attendance and participation.

HOW IS YOUR IDEA UNIQUE

TheSafeWoman Project is distinct in that the project is aiming at a continuous positive

impact in the lives of women and girls ravaged by terrorism in Nigeria. This project will
not only look out for their sexual and reproductive health, it would cover empowerment
and leadership training to equip these women

TELL US MORE ABOUT YOU

Pearls Africa Foundation is a non-profit organization founded by Abisoye Ajayi-

Akinfolarin, registered in 2012 and based in Lagos, Nigeria. It is a social enterprise
focused on promoting the cause and advancement of vulnerable young girls and
women in the society. We will be partnering with Kibaku Youth Association of Nigeria
(Save Chibok) an indigenous association of the communities affected by Boko Haram.
Together, we will work hand-in- hand in encouraging participation, facilitating the project
during its execution; following the proposed plan, stage by stage till successful
completion.

We believe this partnership will create a balanced relationship with the communities as
their interests and concerns will be communicated by their representatives. Actions and
plans will be tailored to fit their requests.

NAME THE THREE MOST IMPORTANT WAYS THAT YOUR IDEA WILL ADDRESS
YOUR IDENTIFIED PROBLEM(S).
Participants in this program will learn and apply the knowledge of sexual and
reproductive health in their lives

Help to increase the awareness and understanding of STDs/STIs, in order to reduce the
stigma and educate on prevention and treatment.

Empower women and young girls to be bold about their sexuality and be responsible for
their choices
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HOW IS YOUR IDEA UNIQUE?

This idea is viable because of our previous partnership and cordial relationship with the
community. We have had projects that saw to the successful training of 30 girls from
ages 7-17 in front end web development. We have a reliable team on ground ready to
see this proposed project to its completion.

We have done similar projects (empowered hands) in the past with slum communities in
Lagos and are very capable of taking on this project. We do believe that there is a lot of
deficit in the area of Sexual and Reproductive Health education hence our passion to
carry out this project moreso, beaming the light on women and girls who have been
affected by terrorism.

We go a step further to distribute a sanitary kit to these participants and form women
support groups in the camps that would keep up the motivation, giving feedbacks to us.
It is intended to be a continuous project until they are fully relocated to their homes.

Tell us more about the emergency setting that you intend to implement in

Now in its eighth year, the conflict in Nigeria has affected millions of people, causing
mass displacement within and beyond the country’s borders. IDP camps were set up in
Lagos in 2016. The exact population of women and young girls is yet to be confirmed.
The poor standard of living in camps, collective centres and private shelters is critical in
light of the recent outbreaks of diseases. There is a need for access to effective
remedies, justice and psychological support for people who have suffered trauma and
abuse during the conflict, such as the thousands of survivors of abductions and sexual
violence: the vulnerable women and young girls.