Nigerian Women Association celebrates

As the Nigerian Women Association celebrated its tenth anniversary on Saturday night, its membership was encouraged to be determined and focused on making it even more successful.

During celebrations at Jaffa at the Oval, Port of Spain, one member of the association Ladi Franklin said the association needs to look at building a stronger and more highly effective association.

“My advice is we need to look at things that are important if we are going to attain this objective. We definitely need to continue to have strong leadership. We also need to be looking at problem solving approaches.” She said it can no longer be the same business as usual for organisations and associations like theirs.

“The world in which we live in now is rapidly changing, however it is becoming a world that is highly unpredictable, tumultuous and these days we are seeing some fierce some events here in the Caribbean as well as Nigeria. We are facing our share of economic, social and environmental challenges in magnitudes we have never seen before with greater integration and globalisation. What this means is that the world is now a global village and what happens in one country of community affects all of us.”

She said this meant that the Nigerian Women Association cannot operate by just simply praying and hoping times will change.

“We must rise up and ask what can we do, what role can we play, no matter how small in the present scheme of things in the world.” Franklin said Nigerian women are known for their entrepreneurial spirit and it would not be hard for them to see opportunities within the current challenges.

“There is one thing that characterises the African woman’s history and it is stepping up to social responsibility with creativity and commitment in times of great stress. We are strong and there are lots we can do no matter the challenges we face. This means our actions must become contextual, intentional, purposeful and aimed at providing solutions in pursuit of the greater good for betterment of our families, communities, our nations.”

She described the association as a unique one as it was made up of a rich collection of traditions, cultures, societies and experiences.

“It is also located in a wonderful country like TT and that is worth celebrating as well. We have come to love this country that has welcomed us, embraced us and provided us with an enabling environment where we are thriving and in turn we are able to add value to lives that we come into contact with.”