ROTDOW Acronym – RESTORATION OF THE DIGNITY OF WOMANHOOD

Restoration of the Dignity of Womanhood began when the military regime was winding up in Nigeria. It was a period characterized with high cases of human rights violations and relegation of women and children, discrimination against women politically, socially and economically.
ROTDOW thus emerged with a strong passion to increase the relevance of women and children in the society irrespective of the type of government in place.

The Founder, (Mrs. S.O Omolona), being a woman, who had also been subjected to gender discrimination in terms of occupation and rights in terms of land/property ownership, thus, through the establishment of ROTDOW, see a society where the dignity of womanhood is enhanced and respected.
In the light of the above, Restoration of the Dignity of Womanhood was registered with the Ondo State Ministry of Women Affairs, 2008 and the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) 2012.
The organisation emerged with the above passion and became a local leader in the efforts to secure the future of women, children, the physically challenged, orphans and the less privileged by promoting safe healthy behavioral practices.

What ROTDOW stands for?
ROTDOW’s Vision:
•To see a society where the dignity of the female gender and children is respected and valued.

ROTDOW’s Mission

• To secure the future of women and children with positive information on their socio-political rights, sexuality, health issues and rights through education, service provision and income-generating activities.

Values:

• Transparency
• Respectability
• Teamwork
• Hard work and Commitment
• Justice and Equity.

For the purpose of today’s webinar, we will focus only on recurrent annual/yearly activities that have lasted for 10 years.
Free book Fair:
Since 2010, ROTDOW has been delivery free book to orphans and vulnerable children as a way to complement their educational growth. This has been done in public and private primary schools. Over 10,000 in-schools OVC have been provided with uniforms, vests and books, as a complement to educational materials needed in the school settings.

Food and Monetary Support to Discreet Homes of OVC and their care-givers:
ROTDOW, apart from being a fast-growing care giver to OVC in Ondo State and other parts of Nigeria, ROTDOW has become identified with discreet homes for psycho-social, nutritional and educational support for OVC and their care givers. Since 2011, on yearly basis, ROTDOW has provided food and clothing worth $50,000 to 367 discreet houses of OVC and their care givers in Ondo State.

Deworming Programme:
ROTDOW established a deworming programme in 2011, as complementing effort for improved nutritional supports for orphans and vulnerable children. As a way to secure the future of these OVC, ROTDOW has been embarking on house-to-house deworming programme and in-school visits to these OVC. ROTDOW also provides basic deworming education to their care givers to ensure a sustainable action towards the deworming of other OVCs (those not enrolled in schools).

Campaign against Child Marriage and human trafficking (since June 2010):
On yearly basis since 2010, ROTDOW, through the partnership of the Child Protection Network (CPN), organizes campaign against child marriage and human trafficking and child labour. The programme provides ROTDOW with the privilege of reaching at least 6599 school girls on the “Girls Not Bride” initiative. As at present, ROTDOW has reached 2300 in-school girls, 64 principal secondary schools in 51 remote communities in Nigeria.

Consequently, 2300 young mothers have been empowered/rehabilitated against child trafficking and violent domestic use or economic services.

Peer Education:
ROTDOW has been training and instituting peers’ education in schools on adolescent sexuality and reproductive health issues and rights including sexually transmitted infections and HIV and AIDS. This action is to improve information dissemination.

Between 2008 and 2020, ROTDOW established a total of four hundred and twenty (420) peer educator clubs in 150 primary and post primary schools in Ondo State (One sixty one (161) in post primary schools and nine (59) in primary schools) A total of 593 youths were trained between 2008 and 2014.

The peer educator clubs in various post primary schools came together and formed a network called the ROTDOW Peer Educator Network (RPEN).

Establishment of Non-Judgmental Centers:
With the immense challenge of poor health-seeking habits among grassroots people in Ondo State, ROTDOW has established non-judgmental centers in schools, pharmaceutical shops and houses of traditional authorities, for young girls and women to seek information on issues relating to their sexual and reproductive health rights. This comes with referral programmes for these young women and massive non-discriminatory support for those that desire to acquire information about their sexual and reproductive health. As a result, 80 non-judgmental centers on SRHR of women have been created in 22 communities in Ondo and Ekiti States.

As a way to enhance the economic livelihoods at the grassroots, ROTDOW introduced the “Jumble Sales” in 2009, where basic home gadgets, clothes, food stuffs, farming equipment etc. are sold for fifty naira (N50) – almost for free. To achieve this, ROTDOW enjoys massive donations and support in gift items, foods and clothing from her indigenous donors to make such materials, equipment’s or facilities available. It is done one in a year.

Since inception, 989 young women and girls have benefited from diverse materials which include books, food stuffs, clothing, bags, shoes, Television, handy radio, mobile phones Micro-wave and farming equipment’s.

 Integrated Vocational Skill Acquisition and Poverty Alleviation for in School and Out of School Adolescents:

• ROTDOW has been promoting skills acquisition programmes and poverty alleviation programs for in-school and out-of-school adolescents, especially girls.
• We empower adolescents with income generating activities through vocational skill training. These include: computer training for in-school adolescents. Pomade, soap, cake making, sewing, hair dressing etc. for out of school rural adolescent girls. This is to make the beneficiaries to be economically self-sufficient.
• They are encouraged to form cooperatives. An interest-free start-off loans is usually offered to the out of school rural adolescent girls to enable them start off trading in the various income generation activities learnt.

ROTDOW Children Care Support Community:
In February 2020, the COVID 19 PANDEMIC led ROTDOW to start weekly online lectures for Child Expert, Stakeholder in Children Ministry and Child lover. The platform is a community of stakeholders securing the future of children in the society. We have 350 PARTICIPANTS WEEKLY.

You can check the lecture series on our website; www.rotdow.org

ROTDOW THEMATIC AREAS:
ROTDOW carry out her activities under the following thematic areas:

• HIV/AIDS, OVC, Care and Support
• Peer Education/FLHE
• Gender and Rights
• Integrated Vocational and Sexuality and Reproductive Health
• Research, Documentation and Dissemination
• Malaria Prevention and Control.
• Immunization
• Capacity Building/Training
• Community Mobilization/Economic Empowerment
• Education
• Consultancy and Research
• Community mobilization/Sensitization/Drama/Road Shows/Rally
• Political and Democratic Governance

ROTDOW’s Networks, Links and Affiliations:

• Civil Society on HIV/AID in Nigeria [CiSHAN]
• Association of Orphans & Vulnerable Children NGO in Nigeria [AONN]
• Child Protection Network [CPN]
• National Council of Child Right Advocate Nigeria [NACCRAN]
• ACOMIN, Tuberculosis Network [TB]
• National Council on Women Society [NCWS]
• Member (CiSHAN) Civil Society on HIV/AIDS Ondo State Chapter
• Member NYNETHA
• Registered with Ondo State Action Committee against HIV/AIDS (ODSACA)
• Member of the Network of NGOs on sexual Reproductive Health and Right
• Member Partners for Peace (P4P)
• Member of Women in Peace building Network (WIPNET)
• Transition Monitoring Group (TMG)
• Member of Business and Professional Women International
• Member of Nigerian Association for Promotion of Adolescent Health and Development (NAPHAD)
• Member of HIV/AIDS Coordinating Committee (HCC)
• Member of Technical Working Group on Sexuality and Reproductive Health (TWGSRH).

Contact Details:
Akure Address: – 122, Oyemekun rd, Akure, Ondo State.
Igbara Oke Address: – 15, Inisapetu Street, Igbara Oke.
Ogun State address: 2, Olagoke Estate, Ogunruku Eletu road, Mowe Ogun state.
Lagos State address: 4th Floor, Rear wing, Oshoppey Plaza, Allen Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos.