DEC 2008’ ANNUAL  REPORT AND PLAN FOR 2009 PRESENTED BY THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR DEVELOPMENT EDUCATION CENTRE (DEC) ENUGU. NIGERIA.

The Chairman of this occasion,
Our Special Guests of Honor,
 Members of the Board of Directors of DEC. Enugu here present.
DEC’ Social Mobilizers &DEC’Assisted women Self Help group leaders
Members of the press.
Distinguished ladies and gentle men.

We are happy again to present DEC Enugu 2008 Annual Report.  We acknowledge the efforts of  more than 50,000 women, men, youths and children, who throughout 2008, intensified their journey from poverty to dignity through access to the training and advocacy programmes on social empowerment, small business loans and other financial services of DEC Enugu.

We are grateful to all our partners both in Nigeria and abroad for  their consistency in supporting DEC financially and otherwise, aimed at transforming the lives of our clients and their families. 

 In a special way, I thank God for blessing the efforts of our members-who are mostly rural and urban poor women, our volunteer board members and all DEC  staff.
    With the conversion of Nnebuife Community Bank Limited to DEC Enugu Micro finance Bank Limited in 2007,DEC has officially transferred  both assets and liabilities of DEC Micro finance clients in Enugu urban to DEC Enugu Micro finance Bank Limited. This singular decision by the Board of Directors of DEC is to strengthen the operation base of the bank as well as inject the correct principle and operational guideline of micro financing in the new DEC ENUGU MICROFINANCE BANK LIMITED.
    Since the beginning of 2008, DEC–NGO MFI operates her microfinance activities in the rural  areas only and have coordinating offices for  clients  in Abakaliki for Ebonyi state and a Coordinating office in Nsukka for more than 5,000 clients in Nsukka while DEC clients in Awgu, Ndeabor, Nkanu, Udi, Oji River and Ezeagu Local government areas have their coordinating office in these areas.
  Despite all these efforts aimed at reaching out to more clients in both the rural and urban  areas, we do not  loose sight of our mission priority – which is; to provide opportunity and an enabling environment for the poor to transform their lives for the better, especially women.

 In 2008, DEC extended her financial services and new products to more than 10,000 clients as direct beneficiaries of her scheme  in Enugu-west rural areas, in Ebonyi state  and in all Local government areas in Nsukka zone and by extension reaching out to more than 30,000 persons who are family members of DEC’ clients, who by this association are having a more quality life.

The Rural areas and rural women continue to be a priority area for DEC, where our programmes are curing the disease of poverty  from women and their families. This is being achieved through these women participating in DEC’Community Health  programme, advocacy on women empowerment through DEC’ 100-women’  Democracy and Governance(D&G) project,  Adult women literacy program and job creation for out-of-school female youths through skills acquisition training in Computer operations, fashion and textile designing, as well as Catering and Hotel management.
 Our new intervention in combating the dreaded disease of HIV/AIDS is through the formation of an action- oriented Youth vanguards in some DEC communities. Through their action,they are reducing the spread of the virus and at the same time empowering the youths  to say NO to the spread of HIV/AIDS in their communities.
The D&G Program of DEC Enugu has continuously enabled women mostly in the rural areas to demand for their rights to own property on the demise of their husband, fight against injustice and discrimination based on sex, religion and ethnicity as well as discourage  female circumcision.

In the area of  empowering communities  towards  community Development;
DEC in  year 2009,is partnering with Chidera Community-based Women Organisation,(D&G) Affa in the construction of an access road to their community (using laterite and grader)from Amorka junction on the Ninth mile corner-Obollo Afor road to Ikedimkpa Affa in Udi LGA.  The project  will cost the women of Affa and their supporters  more than 3 million naira.
In Umuavulu Abor  community in Udi LGA, DEC in partnership with the D&G Women in this community is constructing a Health centre and maternity. The project which was started in November, 2008 will be completed next year  and will cost the women more than 3 million naira.

2008 HIGHLIGHTS
Number of loan clients at the end of 2008                            =  10,000
Naira loaned in 2008                                                           =    N150m
*        Average first loan per group loan member             
          (Majority of the poor rural women ask for
           between N10,000-N15,000 only.)                            = N15,000;00

*        Loans made to women                                              =  99.98

*        Number of Staff Employed                 
          ( Part-time and Full time)                                               300
*        Loan repayment made as of 10/12/08                      =  90 %  
                                  
*      Trained  and financially supported  40 community Health Workers and
  Youth vanguards and enabled them to  carry out Health advocacy in
  their  communities  with DEC Health resource personnel team.
       Topics include; HIV/AIDS,  Immunization, Malaria and mobile Health clinics.

*      Trained Literacy workers and financially supported
        Basic Literacy classes  for adult women  in 30 communities
   currently working with DEC Enugu as well as equipping
   these classes  with Teaching and learning materials.

*     Trained and Graduated 30 out of school female youths in the field of
  computer literacy, Fashion and Textile designing  and Catering; and
 supporting them with a take-off seed grant for the best performed                        
 students.
*    Inaugurated and established 5- strong community-based women
Organizations, known as (D&G) pressure groups, to encourage women empowerment principles in their rural communities, including enabling majority of women to work towards economic self-reliance.
   
Challenges and Opportunities for 2009

For more than two decades, DEC Enugu has been opening doors of hope for the world’s poorest women.  Such hope comes in form of creating creating opportunities for our clients and participants can use their earnings and new acquired knowledge to improve their status of living; like improving their houses, purchase of land, nutritious food, education for their children and adequate health care. 
Hope helps to transform the next generation.  Through these doors of hope lies a better future for the poor and a much better and safer world for  all of us.

DEC as one of the leading NGOs in the micro finance and micro enterprise development East of the Niger, will continue to work to overthrow the shackles of chronic poverty especially among women.
  In 2009,  DEC will spend more than N250 million, out of which N200million will be for micro credit, while N50 million naira will be for social services, Staff development and administration, MIS and IT-Upgrade towards institutional capacity building, support for community development projects and for Investment purposes towards  Institutional sustainability

DEC offers a workable solution to poverty by giving the poor a working chance.  Rather than hand-out, DEC Enugu offers a hand-up to a better life by providing people with the tools to build their future.

Change starts with DEC’s innovative group-lending structure – the solidarity group and community based managed- micro finance model for the rural areas and the branch system for the urban areas.
DEC gives training in basic business practices as well as other financial services such as; savings opportunities to their clients before accessing loans and throughout the utilization of her loan.  DEC and her clients have proved that poor people especially women are worthy credit risk.

In 2009, DEC will support 4 new communities with N2.5m in their own identified community development projects, aimed at poverty reduction and inclusive development of both men and women in their community.

In both literacy and Health work, DEC social services department, will extend her services to her old and new communities   with mobile health clinics, which we were able to treat more than 3,000 women, men and children in 2008. Our plan in 2009 is to create a second team of Health workers –which will comprise of NYSC Doctors, part time nurses and other health personnel as it  exists in the current team we have now. We will  need a new Bus to enable us reach out to more people in  the remote rural communities  that need  quality health care. 
           As for our Skills Acquisition project and job creation for out-of-school female youths, DEC in 2009 will train and support at least 30 out of school female youths selected from  the communities of her operation, with the necessary facility for a take-off after training.
 DEC in 2009 will  financially support another set of 30 adult women in DEC Assisted literacy classes who have passed their First School Leaving certificate examination and are interested in furthering their education through the existing UBE Scheme in Nigeria

Finally, DEC Enugu, on behalf of the Trustees of SIR FIDELIS CHUKWUMA ASOGWA EDUCATION FOUNDATION is highly pleased to announce the Bursary award to 20 new beneficiaries of the Sir Fidelis Chukwuma Asogwa Education Foundation, of which majority of them are in Tertiary institutions. 
This is the 9th Bursary Award of this Foundation and this year has brought the number of beneficiaries to 200 with N3m already spent for paying school fees for beneficiaries. 
DEC’ Staff Selection Committee for this Award wish to use this opportunity to thank the Trustees of this Foundation for their consistency in living up to their word
 In conclusion, I wish to invite you to visit our WEBSITE AT www.decnigeria.com   and ask for DEC International Newsletter and always be informed on what DEC is doing at any time.
God bless you all for gracing this occasion and God bless our effort and bless DEC Enugu.             Thank you!

 

Cecilia. U. Asogwa
Executive Director,
DEC Enugu, Nigeria