Media For Community Change in partnership with Knowledge Aid Initiative.
Away from the general challenges faced by people living in the slum of Ilaje bariga, Women living in urban slum suffer from general deprivation including access to information and funding. So, they don’t know how to get what they need. They are unable to cater adequately for the basic needs of food, clothes, shelter, and skills. Their children suffer greatly because of poverty, lack of education, and ultimate dependence on their husbands.
The women of Ilaje- Bariga community in Lagos state Nigeria have limited access to credit and formal job markets due to stigmatization, discrimination and geographic isolation. Lack of access to funds, unequal education opportunities and access to business prospects has resulted in stunted economic security. Furthermore, the strong dependency on financial help from middlemen keeps most of the women in their traditional business without any prospect of improvement.
The women living in the slum of ilaje bariga face a lot of challenges day-in, day-out, they have to work to sustain their family like other women but they don’t have relevant skills and resources to do so. They rather make their children trade with them than go to school, thereby hindering their education. They are uneducated. They have limited access to funding, social and economic infrastructure and consequently, limited chances of advancing in their quality of life.
Our correspondent at NGOLive dialogued with few women in the community of which they tell us more about their everyday struggle in the community.
MEET UMENU SILIFI
She has been living in the ilaje community for some years and has faced a lot of challenges, she can’t send her children to school due to financial constraint, her children are malnourished, they live in a makeshift home surrounded with dirt and lots more. She talks more about this during our video interview with her… WATCH OUT FOR THE PUBLICATION OF THE VIDEO.
