Jos Women Take the Lead: From Training to Action, Demanding Roads, Inputs, and Security.

Jos, August 19, 2025 – Women and adolescent girls in Vwang (Jos South LGA) and Tudun Wada (Jos North LGA) have stepped forward from the training hall to the village square, demanding better roads, access to farm inputs, improved security, and economic empowerment.

The civic action follows a Women and Girls’ Empowerment Training Programme implemented by the Development Research and Project Centre (dRPC) through its NGO Support Initiative (NSI), in partnership with Heal the Youth Foundation (HTYF), a Jos-based grassroots empowerment organisation.

The programme trained 50 women and 20 adolescent girls in leadership, advocacy, and enterprise development. According to organisers, the goal was simple yet transformative: to strengthen women’s participation in decision-making and make community development a collective responsibility.

Following the training, participants engaged traditional rulers and community stakeholders in Vwang and Tudun Wada, presenting pressing concerns. Among the issues raised were: lack of financial capacity to expand businesses, poor access roads to farmlands, difficulty obtaining fertilizer and farm inputs, as well as inadequate educational and skills training facilities.

On August 15, Mrs. Paulina Yakubu, leader of the Sago VSLA women’s group, led a delegation to the palace of the Gwom Rwey of Vwang, Da Gyang Choji Ballak. The women urged inclusion in empowerment schemes, improved farmland security, rehabilitation of rural roads, and fair distribution of agricultural inputs.

Responding, the Gwom Rwey revealed that a 27.3 km road project linking several villages had already been surveyed and proposed for the 2026 budget. He also encouraged the women to register with the Berom Women Development Association (BEWDA) to strengthen their chances of government and donor support. As a gesture of solidarity, he donated ₦20,000 to the Sago VSLA savings group and pledged continued backing.

A similar meeting took place on August 19 at the residence of the Gwom Jishe of Tudun Wada, Da Ezekiel Kwon Dalyop, who commended the women’s initiative. He assured them that their concerns would be relayed to relevant authorities, stressing that women’s voices must not be sidelined in development planning.

These engagements signal a shift in grassroots civic participation in Jos South and Jos North, with women and adolescent girls moving from beneficiaries of interventions to active advocates for community change. Next steps include registering women’s groups with BEWDA and other networks, sustained advocacy for road and security improvements, and ensuring women’s fair inclusion in agricultural support schemes.

From Vwang to Tudun Wada, the message is clear: “When women are trained, they mobilise; and when they mobilise, communities are transformed.”