It was celebration galore as Deaf Women Aloud Initiative (DWAI) marked her 5th year anniversary on Tuesday, 31st October, 2023 in the Nations Capital, Abuja.
Mrs Helen Beyioku-alase, Executive Director, DWAI in her welcome speech said that it is five years of helping Deaf Women And Girls to reach their full potential and to create a better future for themselves and their communities.
Speaking further, she informed that “when DWAI was established five years ago, they had a vision of a Nigeria where every Deaf Woman and Girl have the opportunity to Inclusive access to sexual and Reproductive health services.
“A Nigerian where Deaf Women And Girls are treated with dignity and respect, and where they are free to pursue their dreams” she added.
Hellen Beyioku-Alase further stated the strides and achievements of DWAI such as development of sign language glossary, empowerment of Deaf Women, Capacity Building Of Deaf Women On SRHR and GBV.
Mrs Beyioku-Alase said “tonight, we celebrate five years of empowering deaf women and girls in Nigeria. Five years of helping Deaf women and girls to reach their full potential and to create a better future for themselves and their communities.
“In the last five years, DWAI has focused on inclusive SRHR, GBV, economic empowerment, and advocacy for Deaf women and girls in Nigeria”.
Deaf Women Aloud Initiative (DWAI) , a non-governmental organization is dedicated to empowering deaf women, raising awareness about their unique challenges, and promoting their rights and inclusion in society. As a groundbreaking organization dedicated to empowering and amplifying the voices of deaf women throughout Africa, DWAI has contributed in building a society where the voices of deaf women and girls have been hard loud and clear on issues affecting persons with disabilities.
DWAI achieves all these through hard Work and tirelessly amplifying the voices of deaf women & girls.
“Tonight, we celebrate all that we have accomplished together in Nigeria. We will also be expanding our scope of operations to more regions of Nigeria in the coming years. We want to ensure that every Deaf woman and girl in Nigeria has access to the support and resources they need to reach their full potential” DWAI boss continued.
“I would like to take this opportunity to express our profound appreciation to our partners for their funding and support. We could not have achieved all that we have in the past five years without you” she eulogized.
“However, there is still much more work to be done. We need your continued support to help us end menstrual poverty for Deaf girls in Nigeria and to expand our scope of operations to more regions of the country.
“I urge you to support DWAI in any way that you can. You can donate to our organization, volunteer your time, or spread the word about our work. Together, we can create a better future for all Deaf women and girls in Nigeria.”
The highlight of the event is the presentation of DWAI Magazine which captured summary of all the activities or projects of DWAI in the last five years.
The event also witnessed cutting of the anniversary cake, documentaries on the strides achieved by DWAI and challenges faced by Deaf girls suffering from menstrual poverty.
It was an opportunity to solicit support to provide sanitary pads for Deaf Girls in Schools within FCT.
The event was graced by donor agencies, partners international organizations, civil society organization, MDAs, board members of DWAI and disability communities among others.
