What is a social impact project without real-life impact and development? Yesterday, CSAAE welcomed the Voice Naija team at our head office in Owerri- Imo state to review the impact thus far from the Sorosoke project.
The team deliberated on the different ways the project has empowered young people to advocate against the violations of human rights and police brutality. The highlight of the meeting was the interactions with the Youth Anchors that were present to give real-life testimonies. They were three; two from Imo State and one from Abia State. These youths share amazing testimonies of how the project has affected them positively and how they are using the knowledge and network gained during the course of the project to affect the lives of others in their communities.
In one of the testimonies, youth anchor Micheal Oji Idika reports on how he was able to help the family of a young girl who was killed during the EndSARS protest get remuneration as promised by the government.
“During the Sorosoke Bootcamp, they taught us how to advocate for human rights violations by engaging the justice system. When I got home, I decided to intervene in one of the EndSARS casualty cases that resulted in the death of a young girl. She died in Lagos state during the EndSARS protest but was brought to her hometown in Imo State to be buried. The government was not involved in any way and I thought that was not right. I was spurred to action as a result of the training and motivation I had during the training. I provided the family members with information on the remuneration that the government had promised affected families and individuals and encouraged them to speak up for their rights. Thankfully, they were able to secure the remuneration funds.”
This is just one of the numerous stories. Real change, real impact. When all is said and done, that is what really matters. The team is thankful to the funding organization, Voice, for acknowledging this as a worthy cause to pursue. To the team members and partners for working day and night to turn objectives into results and to all 95 youth anchors who devoted themselves to the cause to end police brutality in Southeastern Nigeria. Police brutality may not have been totally eradicated, but we are several steps in the right direction and we will keep the conversation going.
