Services

HDI offers services and activities geared towards human development and empowerment. These services and activities are constantly reviewed and updated to ensure continued relevance and impact for our target demographics. Our major services and activities include:

Legal Rights and Psychosocial Counselling

Life Skills and Economic Empowerment

Health Rights Information and Intervention

Law and Policy Reform

Media Advocacy and Public Education

Legal Rights and Psychosocial Counselling
The Legal Services Unit provides information on basic legal rights and methods by which this can be protected. We collaborate with various government agencies such as the Probate section of the High Court, the Office of the Public Defender – a pro bono unit of the Lagos State Ministry of Justice and several others to mention a few. Occasionally, we represent clients in court mostly in cases related to the protection of social and economic rights of widows.

Our psychosocial counselling focuses on the emotional well being of clients especially widows, adolescents and street children. Counselling services has been a key factor in the ability to cope with the socio-cultural challenges that our clients face and it’s a key step to ability to assert legal rights and regain dignity. HDI has for the past 7 years, annually trained counsellors for several widow support associations across the Lagos State and also school education counsellors under the state Ministry of Education. Recently we supported 5 schools in the state to establish model counselling centres which we hope can be replicated in other schools across the state.

Life Skills and Economic Empowerment
Life skills and economic empowerment service continues to be a key event in the light of endemic poverty in the society. Poverty is accentuated by lack of skills for livelihood. Therefore, this activity provides an opportunity to build life skills for beneficiaries in order that they may enjoy other rights. Introduced in 1999, the programme has become a key poverty alleviation tool for poor families especially widows both young and old who have never had livelihood skills or means of economic survival. Since introduced, we have trained over 600 families in life skills. Four years ago, this annual activity was made national, drawing participants and potential trainers from the six geo-political zones of the country.

The activity is broken into components that include practical and theoretical aspects of cottage industry establishment and management. Modules include – small business management; book keeping; business opportunities within Nigeria’s industrial sector; raw materials procurement; training in selected cottage industry such as tye and dye, soap making, cosmetic, confectionery, hat making etc. Training also includes a lead talk on topics such as HIV-AIDS using the opportunity to build capacity in health education.
Each module is led by experienced facilitators from small and medium enterprises sector some of whom are former participants of HDI’s programmes who are living on skills gained from previous programmes. Others are drawn from government research institutions and the universities.

In order to complement the life skills training, HDI established the Widows Trust Fund in 1999 to cater for the small capital requirements of poor families who want to establish cottage industry. Since establishment, the revolving trust fund has benefited over 200 widows.

Health Rights Information and Intervention
Since 2003, HDI provides health screening intervention/information services to widows and in-school adolescents. The activity was introduced to bridge the gap in advocacy and direct response to generally poor health condition of the clients. Since 2005 the activity is mounted in collaboration with the local health office of the LGA where it is mounted. The main objective besides screening and sharing information on reproductive rights was to reach policy makers in the LGA. The broader objectives were to give a health talk on maintenance of health and prevention of diseases; share information on reproductive rights; reach out to policy makers of the LGA on the impact of reproductive health and rights abuse on development; screen for health problems and consider minor health problems through application of (OTC) drugs; provide on the spot psychosocial counselling to needy clients especially widows and recommend referral or follow up to needy cases. The event is used to distribute reproductive rights information materials.

Law and Policy Reform
The law and policy reform component of HDI’s work relates to our partnership with various groups and networks to improve the law and policy in the thematic areas that we work in. For example we have initiated and successfully caused the law to be changed in Lagos State with regard to the economic rights of poor people who lose their loved ones and have to process Letters of Administration at the Probate section of the High court. Such persons are exempted from tax and other demands of the system that aggravates their condition. Similarly, we have contributed to other policies with regard to children’s rights, the improvement of the juvenile justice system, reform of the school curriculum etc.

Media Advocacy and Public Education
The media is a key stakeholder in public education and development advocacy. HDI’s strategy with the media involves coverage of activities in different thematic areas and direct partnership. The radio in particular is a key medium used to reach the largest population. HDI established a strategic partnership in 2004 with the Lagos State Broadcasting Service (owners of EKO F.M. and Radio Lagos) and Lagos National Station (owners of Metro FM/ Bond FM). The partnership enables HDI to design and sponsor public education/media advocacy messages on popular radio programs on the partner stations at reduced costs. HDI uses this relationship to give access to her partners - professionals, young persons, widows, educationists, medical doctors, lawyers, clients etc as guest speakers on recorded or live programmes.  Similarly, HDI began a strategic partnership with COMET Newspaper in 2005. This collaboration ensures that Sunday COMET publishes HDI sponsored messages on her NGO page every week at a reduced rate.