The Havilah Empowerment and Impact Foundation (HEAIF) has equipped nearly 6,500 women and community members with information on how to prevent Gender Based Violence (GBV) and seek relevant support services to ensure GBV survivors are able to access justice.
This was disclosed during the close-out ceremony of the ‘Inform to Empower Project’ implemented under the Inform Women, Transform Lives Campaign of The Carter Center, USA.
The four-month project, implemented in Agbado Oke-Odo LCDA in Lagos, aimed to raise awareness of women’s right to information, increase women’s access to key information and municipal services, and demonstrate the transformative impact that access to information has on individual women, their families, and the wider community.
In her welcome address, Convener of HEAIF, Emerald Chioma, described the occasion as “a celebration of impact as more women and girls are informed. More voices are speaking out. More communities understand the importance of reporting and prevention.”
While appreciating The Carter Center, the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency (DSVA), and community stakeholders for their support, Chioma explained that “the project focused on expanding women’s access to information on GBV, including where to report cases, how to seek help, their rights, and available health, legal and psychosocial support services.”
Expanding on the achievements of the project, Ifeoluwa Adeboye, Program Manager, HEAIF noted that “one of the project’s key strategies, the ‘Each One, Inform One’ model, strengthened message retention and encouraged community-led dissemination of information. As a result, trained Info Ambassadors replicated awareness sessions within their communities, leading to peer referrals and the recruitment of 27 new volunteers into the advocacy network.”
Earlier in her goodwill message, Blessing Oladunjoye, the City Representative of The Carter Center, commended HEAIF for targeting grassroot communities with the right information to address GBV.
Oladunjoye said “When women and girls have access to critical public information, their confidence grows, their voices become stronger, and they can jointly address issues that affect them.
“This project has shown that information can be transformed into action and awareness into empowerment,” she said.
She also commended the Info Ambassadors, describing them as “the true champions of this initiative,” and urged them to sustain the momentum beyond the project cycle.
“Beyond this phase, let us know that together, we can ensure that access to information remains a tool for empowerment, accountability, and positive social change,” Oladunjoye added.
Representing the Executive Secretary of Lagos DSVA, Mrs Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi, Program Manager at DSVA, Zainab Alaka, emphasised that access to information is not merely a right but a catalyst for confidence, civic engagement and informed decision-making.
“The impact stories emerging from this project are a testament to the power of knowledge and collective action,” she said, calling on traditional leaders, Info Ambassadors and stakeholders to deepen collaboration and continue creating platforms for women and girls to raise their voices.
Some of the GBV survivors who HEAIF have been linked to DSVA’s services also shared impact stories and how their lives have been transformed.
In attendance at the project’s End-Line Study and Close-Out Reflection Meeting were community leaders, women’s groups, youth volunteers and partners.
