On Friday, the Emmanuel World Children Foundation in partnership with Free the Slave, an Int’l Organization celebrated the successful completion and empowerment for 41 Senegal returnees, trafficked into prostitution in the name of greener pastures.
The Executive Director of the foundation, Mr. Aderamola Emmanuel, while speaking with journalists during the event, tagged Survivor’s Network Meeting and presentation of start up equipment, to the returnees said the event was held for survivals of human trafficking.
The event held at Asaba, the Delta State capital, on 7th June 2024, saw the presentation of sewing machines, hair dressing, catering, Point of Service, otherwise known as POS and other equipment to the beneficiaries to support their comprehensive reintegration back to society.
According to Mr. Emmanuel, the participants received training that covered financial management, marketing and more including mentorship and guidance, disclosing that monitoring team would be set to secretly evaluate their growth and successes.
“Today, we are doing a support group meeting of survivals of human trafficking.
“These are people that were deceived for greener pasture to other countries and they are here.
“We have three different groups from different zones of Nigeria, some of them are as far as Kaduna, Niger, Plateau States and Abuja, the federal capital territory.
“So, once in awhile like this, we bring them together for a family meeting to discuss and do a peer support for each other. Hence, we call it survival network meeting”.
He described the meeting at Asaba, as an extraordinary one as returnees are rehabilitated, sheltered for more than a week on their return to Nigeria, trained before allowed to go to their various houses with close followup.
“We enrol them to learn different vocational Skills. Some of them have learnt and have finished. What we are doing today, is to present to them what they can do for their own vocation.
“As they are done doing their training, we empower them and follow them up”, stressing that Free the Slave, rescues the Nigerian girls from Senegal while the Emmanuel World Children Foundation, receives them from the airport, work with them until they are stabilized and reincorporated back to society.
He disclosed that the foundation, has existed for over 27 years and has been in the field for 18 years.
“Our organization, Emmanuel World Children Foundation, has been existing for 27 years and we have been working in the field of human trafficking since 2006.
“And ever since then, we have worked with several returnees, migrants and victims of human trafficking from different countries”.
He listed returnees’ countries to include Libya, Ghana, Cote D’Ivoire, stressing that the programme was specifically for returnees from Senegal and migrants.
“Our partners rescue them from Senegal and we received them and they are running into 200 girls in about 16 months”.
He lamented that the larger population of victims were females, noting that recently, young men were being trafficked for the purpose of Information and Communications Technology and scamming, “that is why we have girls mostly as survivals”.
He noted that one of the challenges while trying to rescue victims of human trafficking, is fear of the oath they swore to”, saying it took a lot of sacrificial energy for them to open up haven gotten the trust from their caregivers.
He bemoaned the attitude of the Nigerian government as there are not enough resources to care for returnees and survivals.
The equipment given to them includes generating set, solar, ovens, hand driers among other things.
Also, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), appreciated God for the rescued victims.
The body said the society needs them as their experiences have shaped them while trying to get greener pastures.
Mr. Stephen Selowo, who represented NAPTIP Benin Zonal Commander, Barr. Nduka Nwanwenne, encouraged them to make good use of the item given to them as the society expects much from them.
Princess Eseoghene Gwendolyn Ebinum, Nactal, charged them to be good ambassador of Emmanuel World Children Foundation.
One of the survivors simply identified as Ejiro, said: “we suffered a lot, I want to thank Emmanuel World Children Foundation, who helped me and brought me out.
“They didn’t disassociate us, they didn’t make feel that we aren’t worth anything but that is how some people will see us.
“I thank the organization that they saw something in us that made them to come to help us and make sure that we are stabilized here in Nigeria.
“When I came back, they taught us how to run a business and that we can start from something small and end big”.
Ejiro, who could not hold back her emotions, disclosed that Emmanuel World Children Foundation, opened a shop for her, promising that she won’t disappoint the organization.
