Employment for women with disabilities

Source: Samoa Observer Online

The Samoa Victim Support Group (S.V.S.G.) and the Samoa Family Health Association joined forces in implementing the Nofotane Samoa Social Enterprise (NSSE) Project which will employ women with disabilities.

The overall objective of the project in the next three years is to support the transition of the Nofotane Program to a social enterprise set up from 2027 onwards, employing, and educating Nofotane women, inclusive of women with disabilities.

Funded by the European Union, the NSSE Project is the next step in the empowerment journey of the nofotane women survivors of violence.

The S.F.H.A is the leading sexual reproductive health rights (SRHR) service provider in Samoa, and a valuable partner to the achievement of the NSSE project objective, specifically the health and wellbeing of the women, under the empowerment pillar.

During the Agreement signing, the Executive Director of S.F.H.A, Lealaiauloto Liai Siitia acknowledged the collaboration with S.V.S.G, in achieving gender equality, through empowerment.

"Thank you SVGS President Siliniu for the opportunity to collaborate with the SFHA in this exciting project. We are stronger together," she said.

The collaboration will see the S.F.H.A conducting workshops on sexual reproductive health as well as ongoing awareness on family planning, in which the Nofotane women under the N.S.S.E Project will be referred to (and vice versa) for the clients of the S.F.H.A.

According to the SVSG President Siliniu Lina Chang, for the Nofotane women to achieve their dreams, they need to be healthy, happy and safe.

As such, the health and wellbeing component of the NSSE Project implemented by the SFHA plays a pivotal role in ensuring that the Nofotane women under the Program are not only economically and socially empowered, but they are also healthy, happy and safe."

Meanwhile, hundreds of Nofotane women role models undertaking a three-year project, the Introduction Forum for the project which commenced in Sogi this week.

Held at the Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Efi Building, the selected nofotane will be engaged in Business Development training programs, building their capacity to manage their finances and set product quality for the nofotane products.

They will also deliver refresher livelihood skills-building training for 1,000 nofotane women, and mentor these women to set up and sustain a small business making nofotane products.

The two-days forum introduces the 100 selected Nofotane Women Role Models and the 20 S.V.S.G village to this exciting project.

A similar forum was held in Savaii later this week, for the selected Nofotane Women Role Models on the island.

The roles and responsibilities of the Nofotane Women Role Models and the SVSG village representatives gathered at the Introduction Forums hosted by SVSG this week, are therefore important in the achievement of the overall objective of the NSSE Project.

The value-added component of the Project is the extension of women's empowerment to include health and wellbeing programs, supporting women's social, psychological, and physical empowerment. SVSG is therefore partnering with the Samoa Family Health Association and the Samoa Spinal Network to leverage support from each other in providing health & well-being services, as needed by the Nofotane women.

These services include but are not limited to sexual reproductive health awareness and family planning, caregiving and mobility training, and physiotherapy rehabilitation.

The N.S.S.E Project builds on SVSG's achievements for Nofotane women since 2016 to date.