A non-profit organisation under the aegis of United African State has trained 300 craftswomen in Osun State to be able to make bead jewellery, batik, tye and dye and other crafts and earn income to become self-reliance.
Speaking on the objective of the organisation, Ambassador Nurudeen Ogunlade, said the initiative was designed to empower the women economically as a strategy to reduce poverty in the society in line with vision 2020.
Ogunlade said the women drawn from all the 30 local government areas in Osun State have been equipped with different skills and that they would also be exposed to international markets to sell the products.
He added that the his organisation was collaborating with another group known as All Work of Life (AWOL) in assisting the Osun women on capacity building and to guide them to be able to sell their products profitably.
Ogunlade said his organisation also planned to cultivate the women to be advocates of world peace, free expression environmental harmony, universal human love and appreciation of native culture.
He said the women in Osun would also be mobilised and encouraged to lend their voices to the war that has been waged against corruption and corrupt individuals by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
He disclosed that out of the 300 women that participated in the training, 20 would be taken to a business expo exhibition Belize, near Cuba in Central America to showcase made in Nigeria bead jewellery, tye and dye among other products.
He commended Osun State Governor, Mr Rauf Aregbesola for the massive infrastructural development in the state, particularly on road construction, newly built schools and other projects that targeted the women and children in the state such as the school feeding programme.