HACEY launches Project Agbebi Video
The long-awaited Project Agbebi instructional video has finally been launched. The video is meant to serve as an instructional guide for traditional birth attendants (TBAs) known locally as Agbebi on safe delivery practices.
The event was anchored by the Director for Gender Development Programmes at HACEY, Ms Rhoda Robinson and attended by a host of dignitaries. These included the Australian high Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr Jonathan Richardson who represented the Australian government, the sponsor/funder of the programme, the United States Consul General, Mrs Dehab Ghebread and her team and the Secretary to the Ogun State Government (SSG), Barr Taiwo Adeoluwa. Other dignitaries present at the event included Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Ogun sate, Dr Gabriel Diasi Odeniyi,Permanent Secretary of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Ogun state, Director, the State Chairman of the Association of TBAs and other Dignitaries from Ibafo LGA.
In the 20th century, a great educator, Paulo Freire, made a profound statement, one that points to the source of most human inequalities and injustice. He said “the greatest problem of humanity is dehumanisation.” No matter how we have defined this, denying other humans of their basic rights to education, empowerment, healthcare, shelter and a life lived to the fullest is man’s greatest limitation on humanity. Nelson Mandela’s words gave a clearer definition to dehumanization (which is most expressed as social dehumanization in this age): to deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity; to impose on them a wretched life of hunger and deprivation is to dehumanise them.
Storytelling is a potent tool for civic leaders. This is because it gives us the ability to narrate our story of change as we work to influence people and policies towards collective growth. With storytelling, we also get a chance to create a true picture and peddle to others the great potentials that our communities possess. Through effective storytelling, we are able to help people see beyond the peripheral of issues around us. At such, we can challenge existing perceptions and build positive expectations while giving others a chance to see the other side of the single stories that build their perceptions.
Learning is great; not just because of its ability to expand the mind beyond recovery but also for its ability to shed light on the paths of life. And for a few who are committed to continuous learning, it delivers a deeper craving for something greater than self, a point at which we begin to realise that our lives are too small to be the purpose of living.
In recognition of his outstanding contributions towards improving human lives, HACEY’s Health Initiative Project Director and co-founder, Isaiah Owolabi has been awarded the Queen’s Young Leaders Awards on Monday, June 21, 2015 at the United Kingdom’s Buckingham Palace.
What is extreme poverty? I don’t have a theoretical definition but i can give you a practical picture- At the age of 3 his short life had been an unending chain of misery, but now his suffering was almost complete. The starvation that racked his fragile body was slowly shutting down his vital organs. His young mother, Jemila, sat in the dirt rocking him gently in her arms as she softly wept. She too was ravaged by the effects of hunger but although weak and lethargic she couldn’t bear to let go of her young son. This would be the second child she had lost to poverty. Her little girl had died 18 months earlier from pneumonia and now she instinctively knew she was saying goodbye to her precious son – Now that is extreme poverty. 
It is now a fact that over 2 billion people in the world do not have access to safe sanitation and hygiene facilities. The worst case scenario happens when we discover that some communities have been provided with proper hygiene and sanitation facilities and yet the people refuse to use these facilities- This is seen when communities are not educated about the health and economic impact of ignoring sanitation and hygiene facilities. But what about the economic burden that disease resulting from lack of sanitation and hygiene facilities could pose to government?