Women Affairs Ministry Partners CWO on Empowering Girl-Child

The Edo State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development has pledged to strengthen its partnership with the Catholic Women Organisation (CWO), Archdiocese of Benin, to advance women’s empowerment, skills acquisition, child welfare, girl-child development and family wellbeing across the State.
The commitment was part of the engagement during a courtesy visit by the newly inaugurated CWO Archdiocesan Executive to the Ministry, where the delegation congratulated the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Hon. Eugenia Abdallah, on her appointment and presented the Organisation’s strategic agenda for the period of 2026 – 2030.
While appreciating the CWO’s leadership, the Commissioner reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to collaborating with faith-based and community organisations to improve the welfare of women, children and families across Edo State. As a Catholic and a former local CWO leader, she pledged that the Ministry would maintain an open-door policy and actively pursue partnerships capable of delivering sustainable benefits to women and vulnerable members of society.
Hon. Abdallah assured the delegation that the Ministry would reserve specific slots for CWO nominees whenever government empowerment programmes are rolled out to ensure that vulnerable and enterprising women within the Organisation benefit from available interventions. She also commended the important role of mothers in building responsible and morally upright families, urging the CWO to sustain its commitment to moral formation, family values and the protection and development of the girl child.
Leading the delegation, the newly inaugurated Archdiocesan President, Mrs. Margaret Osayande, said the CWO represents more than 5,000 Catholic women across the Archdiocese of Benin, with a mandate focused on spiritual development, family stability, economic empowerment and community development.
Presenting the Organisation’s 2026 – 2030 Strategic Plan, the President outlined several initiatives aimed at improving the economic wellbeing of women and strengthening their capacity for self-reliance. She disclosed that the Organisation planned to train 1,000 women in vocational skills, including fashion design, catering, soap making and other practical trades.
According to the President, the CWO also planned to establish an interest-free revolving microcredit scheme to support 500 women who are engaged in petty trading and small-scale businesses. She also disclosed that the Organisation was working towards acquiring an official CWO bus to enhance its outreach activities across the Archdiocese, while efforts were ongoing to complete the CWO Multipurpose Hall, which is expected to serve as a centre for skills acquisition, training and women empowerment programmes.
Mrs. Osayande expressed the Organisation’s readiness to collaborate with the Edo State Government on programmes targeting women’s empowerment, child welfare and family development. She appealed for government support for the forthcoming CWO Archdiocesan Seminar scheduled for October, 2026.
The Provost Deanery and President of St. Peter’s Catholic Church, Ugbor, Lady Josephine Eju, commended the Commissioner for her commitment to partnering with the CWO in the areas of women’s empowerment, skills acquisition and girl-child education. She assured the Ministry of the Organisation’s readiness to support government programmes aimed at improving the lives of women, children and families across Edo State. She noted that stronger collaboration between government and faith-based organisations would create greater opportunities for vulnerable members of society and strengthen community-based interventions.
The engagement concluded with the presentation of goodwill gifts to the Commissioner by the CWO leadership, symbolising the Organisation’s commitment to building a productive and sustainable partnership with the Ministry.