#Shift the Power Pilot Project.

I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to WorldPulse for giving me an opportunity to be among the REG members to pilot this project.

We were actually out to get the stories of the unreached( women working at the grassroot level without phones or digital devices).

We were also to use the opportunity to find out how the Shift the Power project works or can work in our various locations.

I had set out to get the story of an old woman who offered shelter to women in abusive marriages and relationships but unfortunately, getting there I realized that she could barely hear and was very unconscious of her environment, so,I stayed a bit,gave my gifts and left as no one was in the best position to tell her story.

Before setting out for this project,I had two events in mind. One,to get the old woman's story and to liase with some local women to amplify the campaign against teenage pregnancy in the village I had chosen to work.

I had visited the locality twice prior to my event and noticed the menace and to say I was disturbed would be an understatement.

I was worried and restless at the same time. I had seen young girls that ought to be in school heavily pregnant.And guess what? Some go on to keep having babies for different men while still living with their mothers.

I thought something had to be done which prompted my event .

To succeed,I had gone straight to the chairperson of the whole women in the village, initimated her on my mission and handed her all the items I brought for the lecture. These were; a banner,thirty tee shirts and fifty-eight wrist-bands. All inscribed with: NO to Teenage Pregnancy. Yes to Education!

On a selected date,I was invited to talk to the village women so,we all can be on same table and they in return permit their girls to attend the lecture.

I had planned for just thirty girls but more than one hundred and fifty girls showed up.

It was a beautiful evening with these young mind excited and felt privileged to be in the gathering.

As part of the Shift the Power campaign, I realized that being present to anchor and distribute the items I brought contributed to the success. Then the chairperson whom we handed the items to for close to four days didn't take anything from the items except when I gave her a tee shirt and wrist band.

I learnt that to Shift the power,the donors can go a step further by ensuring that one of their staff be present for whatever project they intend to sponsor and can either supervise or be part of the distribution team. This will ensure the right people getting the donations.

I had also learnt from my visit to the village that,the age grade system is used in the distribution of items brought by the government or individuals or even the NGOs. I had learnt that sometimes, the donors specified the age grade to benefit from their donations.and at other times when not specified they distribute compound by compound.

By age grade system, it means everyone born from a specific year to four years later.( These are grouped into an age grade) So,in the end,people of same age are in same group. This covers everyone as people know their mates and elders.

And to get donations distributed by compound this entails,getting the number of the people in a compound( this can be likened to a street). Here,people living in the compound know it is their ancestral homes and they all know one another. So,donations are also distributed using this method just so,nobody feels left out.

It is worthy of note that men and women of integrity are selected to handle the distribution of donations this in essence, means the donation gets to the target audience.

I hope to go back in December to strengthen what was birthed amongst the girls during our campaign as this will become a movement to safe as many girls as we can from a bleak future without education and skills.

It is said that,it is easier to raise a strong girl than to mend a broken woman. This for me has become the driving force.