The Global Well-Being Index which was categorized into five elements showcased purpose, social, financial, community, and physical. Reports show that one in six adults worldwide is considered thriving or strong and consistent in at least three of the five elements of well-being, as measured by the inaugural Gallup-Heathway Global Well-Being Index in 2013. The percentage of the elements here in Nigeria is considered low and it is in the light of this POWEF came into the humanitarian scene to encourage and promote quality life in the society.
In October 2010, Population Welfare and Empowerment Foundation (POWEF) envisioned a society where everyone, especially the less privileged would be able to enjoy basic health, economic, social and environmental well-being. Its mission which is to promote quality life for women, children, young people and other vulnerable populations through skills development, advocacy engagements, and direct support services are still kicking even to date.
Mr. Joseph Obadiora believes that POWEF in its little way can make impacts in the society and bring about positive transformation and against the abrasive act of some individuals towards the less privileged in the society, Mr. Obadiora stated that this act propelled the foundation to stretch hands of assistance and comfort in reducing incidence of preventable disease, promoting life skills and social usefulness of vulnerable children and youth, reducing incidence of criminal and antisocial behavior perpetrated by youth, preventing re-entry of released inmates to correctional institutions, reducing cases of psychoactive drug abuse among vulnerable youth, promoting equal access to life-enhancing opportunities irrespective of gender and determining impacts of social interventions and physical development actions.
In view of all these apparent objectives, the Executive Director said that POWEF has been creating awareness on Sexual, Reproductive Health including HIV/AIDS to secondary school adolescents who have had wrong information about sexual and reproductive health. Mr. Joseph Obadiora,
the General Coordinator said that this initiative has massively boosted the morale of the young adults so much so that that their self-esteem is now so high and many other benefits have been and still currently enjoyed by these young chaps.
The YLD Young Leadership Development Programme (YLD) Mr. Obadiora further stated that it is one of the initiatives POWEF is currently handling which provides leadership and life skills training opportunities to students in order to prepare them for leadership roles within their schools and their immediate communities. He added that POWEF has been able to train 112 student leaders, 39 from Oduduwa College in Ife Central Local Government Area and 73 from School of Science in Ife East Local Government Area of Osun State.
Mr. Obiora also made mention of other initiatives which are Household Empowerment and Livelihood Project (HELP) to promote the livelihood of less privileged youths and women in the communities and support to some women who are members of Palm-Oil Millers and Traders Cooperative Group in Bolorunduro and Egbejoda communities in Ife South of Nigeria. Positive Learning and Active Citizens Empowerment Project (PLACE) another of POWEF’s initiative is aimed at developing the economic, psychological and social value of prison inmates and drug addicts undergoing rehabilitation. This is to help their sustainable socialization and reintegration into the community and labor market after reentry and so far and for this POWEF has been able to work in Ile-Ife and Ilesha Prisons in Osun State.
POWEF is implementing ICT projects to support government efforts aimed at promoting computer literacy in Nigeria To raise the computer knowledge of students and other young populations in order to make them better equipped to cope with the computer-oriented world and to remove the “digital divide” between the privileged and the less privileged. The executive director stated that so far, over 200 young people and adults across the Local Government Areas in Ife zone, Osun State have been trained in Computer Literacy.
Regardless of all the impacts made on the communities POWEF still had the urge to do one more which was Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) the Initiative was developed to respond to the need for safe water source, access to sustainable supply of safe water to communities through use of local technology for spring development, hand-dug wells, borehole construction and rehabilitation of existing water schemes.