By Simon Echewofun Sunday
The Government Girls Secondary School Dutse in Abuja, has honoured Mrs. Dayo Benjamins-Laniyi (DBL), a girl empowerment activist for her contribution in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The principal of the school, Hajiya Ruqaiya Hussein, who presented the award to her, said the event was also to mark the one year anniversary of the launch of her pet project, The Dream Girls Project, in the school.
“This award is an appreciation presented to you, the founder of the Dream Girls Project, for serving as a platform for the development of the girl-child and in making her an equal contributor to the society. Thank you very much. We really appreciate you, and in fact, you deserve more than this,” she said while handing the award to the activist.
The Dream Girls Project which was initiated on November 2, 2019, has catered to the academic, emotional, psychological and material needs of over 500 female students.
The selected girls were put through a series of tests and screenings before they were certified worthy to participate in the skill acquisition and empowerment scheme.
The SS 2 and 3 girls were taught photography, fashion design, public speaking and etiquette, and other money-making skills.
Commenting, Benjamins-Laniyi said she was grateful to the school while assuring a deeper commitment.
“This award is something they had come up with as a gesture of appreciation. It’s an appreciation award for creating a platform where I was able to effectively impact the lives of the girls, so it’s basically a special award.”
Benjamins-Laniyi also said her project aims at working out modalities to enable the dream girls to visit the United Nations headquarters in New York.
Wife of the Corps Marshall of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Mrs Bolanle Oyeyemi, promised to organize advanced road safety lessons for the girls.
The Bank of Industry (BOI), a major partner for the project was represented by the BOI Director for Micro-enterprise, Amina Habu at the event. The Public Relations Manager of the Abuja office of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Mrs. Chika Chukwudi, also represented her agency.
Mrs Chukwudi assured that NIMASA will also join in the project’s partnership to bring the girls to a deeper knowledge of the maritime sector
