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AKINMADE: Charting A Path For Grassroots Empowerment

By Ijeoma Opara
23 January 2016   |   11:52 pm
Right from childhood, Remi Akinmade has always been sympathetic to the plight of society less privileged. Having experienced first-hand what it means to lack, she decided to contribute her own quota later in life, when she would have established herself. As her parents were unable to fund her tertiary education, she opted for nursing, although…
Akinmade

Akinmade (also inset)addressing some beneficiaries of her community-based health programmes

Right from childhood, Remi Akinmade has always been sympathetic to the plight of society less privileged. Having experienced first-hand what it means to lack, she decided to contribute her own quota later in life, when she would have established herself. As her parents were unable to fund her tertiary education, she opted for nursing, although that wasn’t her original intention.

“While studying nursing, my compassion for the vulnerable deepened. After finishing from nursing school in 1977, I worked with the grassroots – the local government at Eti-Osa East. I also worked at Idimu, Ipaja and the whole interior places. In all, I have worked in over 200 communities in 20 Local Government areas in Lagos and some parts of Ogun State. Our major work was on HIV/AIDS, out of school children and indigent men and women, immunisation and maternal care,” she says.

Now a retired midwife, Remi has ample time to indulge in her favourite dream. Having identified the need to fill the gap created by inadequate government care of vulnerable groups in the society with focus on the grassroots, she established Community Health Information Education Forum (CHIEF); a non-governmental organisation that takes care of the health needs of the community, while at the same time empowering them to take responsibility of their environment.

Indeed, it was this vision that prompted her to leave paid employment well before time.
“I retired at age 46 because I saw that there was still much to be done in the grassroots and my bosses then did not easily buy into my ideas. Rather, they saw me as one who thinks she knew it all. While some did reason along with me, but when it came to implementation, they thought I wanted to rub shoulders with them and so; I retired and decided to start my own NGO.

“Then, we worked with women and children on immunisation, child welfare, as well as an ante-natal clinic. I never worked on a spot, as I was always transferred from one unit to the other in the family health department. I am a development worker, who saw lack of growth of the health sector at the grass root in the Eti-Osa area. The problem is that when discussing Eti-Osa, people only think of Victoria Island, Ajah and such other high-brow areas in the local government. But they forget there are other smaller communities in the area. For instance, there are Jakande, Gbara and Mayegun among others and it was the major road that Governor Jakande built then that opened an access to these places. I was concerned about the growth of Eti-Osa, especially in the area of health development and social welfare.

“So after retirement, I called some of my colleagues and together, we conducted a survey to know the health needs of the community and our findings revealed there were no clinics. The women have low level of education, while the majority of the children were not immunised. They were patronising traditional birth attendants for child delivery. There was only one school then— Mayegun Community Primary School. After I started my NGO in 1998, the government came in and established a health post, the primary school now is bigger, and they now have a senior high school. There is also electricity now. I was running a clinic here, especially for women and we delivered more than 100 children in this place. But at a point, because I travel a lot and I didn’t want to leave the clinic for quacks, I had to let go of the maternity section, as I didn’t want to rub shoulders with big clinics that were springing up.

“Interestingly, that maternity clinic is now an ICT room, where young people come to harness their skills in this changing world of globalisation. For me, what really affects communities is their earning power and so we want to empower women especially to engage in small-scale businesses. My organisation also focuses on bringing power to the people by training them to be self-sufficient because there is still a gap in that regard,” she explains.

So, with existing wards in the communities, Remi and her team form committees, train them to enable them become responsible for the health of their members.

“They work in collaboration with the LG and community-based, trade and age grade associations so as to be able to mobilise community resources for themselves. In this community, they pay the JAMB fees of some of their young ones. So, it will get to a point, where people can accost their politicians and demand for the implementation of manifestoes, as well as hold them accountable.”

Since empowerment is encompassing, Remi is also keen on education.
“Education is key and I am not happy about the unemployment situation in the country because we have all got it wrong. Growing up in ancient Ibadan, most parents were artisans and as their children grew up, they were taught handiworks. By the time their parents were old, the children took over their skills. Unfortunately, the white man came and said schooling is better than any other thing. But aside acquiring knowledge and speaking English, what are our graduates left with? Now, a majority is going back to what we abandoned. Presently, you find graduates going into sewing, engaging in tie-dye skills, arts and the rest of them. With this nobody, will go hungry.

“However, of great concern to me is the way our young girls are going. It is my belief that in the next 20 years, we will be having more broken homes, because today’s employers work the hell out of them. They don’t close till 8pm. So, when would they get home with all the traffic congestion all over the place to take care of their children and their husbands? Children are left in the care of nannies, and grandparents, who are supposed to be resting, are the ones now taking care of these children. And all this in the name of education. This has to be revisited and that is my concern for the future.”

Speaking on the various challenges faced in her work, she says chief among them is the dwindling grants from international agencies.

“This, notwithstanding, we will continue what we do. We only have to look inwards to raise funds. Recently, we got some grants from Jim Ovia Foundation and we are grateful. I love writing clean proposals, but soliciting for funds has been my greatest weakness. Because the people that give you money today may turn around to question how it was spent and may even accuse you of misusing it.

“The Lord has blessed me already, but then paying administrative staff needs funding. I am comfortable where I am now, not out of pride, but out of a policy that the Lord of Harvest will bring those who will help me. There have been times it seemed everything would collapse, but God has always intervened.”
On how she has been able to combine her demanding job with managing the home front, she says: “I didn’t start the NGO till my la
st child was ready to travel abroad and further her studies. When my children were younger, I took a job with the local government to have ample time to raise them; they come first for me and today I am blessed. I also thank my husband for being very supportive. He built the house, where the NGO currently stays.

Her advice to women?
“Always involve God in whatever you do. Let your spouse know your passion from the beginning and most especially plan. There are short, medium and long-term plans. For anything you plan to do, start small and you will grow,” she says.

Remi was born into the family of the late Alhaji Abdulwahab Olaonipekun Ademefun in I953. She attended Victory Primary School and Ife Girls High School, both in Ibadan. She later proceeded to the Lagos State School of Nursing. She also undertook short courses at the School of midwifery in Akure General Hospital, Lagos State School of public health and Institute of child health, Idi-Araba, where she was trained as a Chief Health Officer (CHO).

At 50, due to her love for education and as a birthday wish from her husband, she went to the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, University of Liverpool in the UK, where she obtained a Masters’ diploma in Community health.

Remi, who describes herself as a selectively social person and an avid traveller, explains that she maintains her looks by watching what she eats.

“I eat a lot of vegetables and I sleep very well. I know how to rest my body. I don’t go out on Sundays after church service. I make sure I rest my body and mind for the coming week, but this is what most people don’t do. With the level of stress in town, it may deduct some years from one’s life, if one is not careful and that is why I am a selectively social person. If you invite me for a weekend function and I can’t attend, I say it bluntly, because after God, I come next. I don’t have to please anyone to the detriment of my health and as I age, I exercise very regularly and take walks.

“My philosophy is that one should not be proud, because you can learn from the so-called illiterates around you. I have learnt so much from the community I serve.”

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