The National Centre for Senior Citizens (NCSS) says it secured 21.6 hectares of arable land in Ushafa, Bwari area council for its ‘Grandmother Arise’ programme.

NCSS director-general Emem Omokaro disclosed this in an interview on Sunday in Abuja.

The initiative is an empowerment programme for aged women championed by NCSS.

Ms Omokaro said the programme was conceived because of the denial of the aged in government empowerment intervention programmes targeted at girls and women.

Ms Omokaro said the Ushafa land was parcelled to aged women so they could cultivate vegetables, corn, and beans with the support of basic farming implements.

“I wish I could show you how they harvested their beans. They were so happy, and they told us that, for the first time in the history of this community, older women took centre stage,” said the NCSS chief.

Ms Omokaro said the focus of government on issues relating to women had been gender-based, and the emphasis had always been on women below the age of 60 years, thereby neglecting the elderly.

Ms Omokaro said in line with its mandate, the NCSS had developed a specific programme for older women.

“Older women are assets in every community plan, they are the lifeline in every family. Take away grandmothers from the family and then, you will see the chaos that would be there in that house. So, the programme was designed to end stereotypical attitudes that tend to label grandmothers as witches, liabilities who have nothing to offer,” she said.

Ms Omokaro said Ushafa’s older women chose to farm, and the centre provided the land while they were divided into cooperative societies.

“We are cascading Grandmothers Arise to the states. So, communities that invite us, we will be there to see what they are doing and the areas they want us to empower them,” she stated.

(NAN)