Nigeria Content Online

After
spending three months in Nigeria, Lenka Sehropferova and Helen
Schonbrodt will complete their internship with a clinic at the Ikeja
Sports Ground today. Both ladies, in partnership with Search and Groom,
a non-governmental association (NGO), have been in Nigeria helping to
facilitate training of coaches and young female football players.

Lenka, who is a Ski instructor in the winter periods, said the trip to Nigeria has been very colourful and interesting.

“I was able to come
to Lagos, Nigeria for an internship in non-profit organisation trough
the GLEN program organised by INEX – Association for Voluntary
Activities.”

Her partner, Helen, is an amateur footballer in Germany. For her, doing non-profit work in Nigeria is a dream come true.

Good experience

“I have always had
the dream of coming to Africa and Nigeria was the first point of call
and I am so happy because it was the fulfilment of a dream,” Helen said.

“This trip has given me an opportunity to experience first-hand how development and cooperation works.”

The clinic is
especially organised for the women as the two interns have structured a
programme or an initiative called ‘Fempower’ – which is a female
empowerment programme using football as the tool of communication.

Yomi Kuku, the
director of Search and Groom said: “The programme is basically to
connect females to their inner strength and help to build capacity.
There seems to be a barrier to growth in this neck of the woods and the
ladies will be trying to help through short drama sketches and football
training to help dispel these doubts.

Kuku said even
though the focus is on football, the ladies also encouraged to take
their education seriously as that it will prove helpful if they fail to
make it in football.

Helen hopes Fempower will give women the freedom to make their dreams come true.

“We have noticed in
all our clinics over the past three months that the women are more
inhibited than the men, maybe by the culture and society and that is
why the watchword for Fempower is kicking away the barriers. We hope to
help in our own little way to help the girls achieve their dreams. That
is why we have been here for the past three months.”

The ladies will be leaving Nigeria on Sunday on a road trip to North Africa.