ABOUT US
Community Engagement & Social Development Initiative (CESDI) is a non-governmental organization committed to the sustainable livelihood of under privileged women, children and youth. CESDI is duly registered with the Nigerian Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) since 2014.
The Organization is involved in community development, capacity building, economic empowerment, social counseling, social mobilization, raising awareness/ education on health and conflict resolution/peace building initiatives.
WHO WE ARE
Community Engagement & Social Development Initiative (CESDI)
Community Engagement & Social Development Initiative (CESDI) is driven by these twin principles of corporate citizenship and social entrepreneurship to assist at-risk and vulnerable segments of the population, and a provider of a narrowly-defined hybrid package of services anchored on the following mutually-inclusive tenets tailored for the unique situation in Nigeria:
• Enhancing the enabling environment to guarantee socioeconomic empowerment, decision- making and political participation for community groups;
• Promoting Financial and Social inclusion to ignite and accelerate household livelihood and support communities to build safety-nets and amass social capital;
• Eliminating discrimination, violence and abuse in all forms against women and girls in public and private settings;
• Enforcing and Protecting Girl-child rights to prepare them for leadership roles; and
• Championing Advocacy, legislation and public policies which value female contributions to household socioeconomic well-being.
Community Engagement & Social Development Initiative (CESDI)
CESDI’s mission is to empower & improve the lives and well-being of children, women, youth and the less privileged members of the society individuals to become self-reliant through holistic training in skills development using a de-centralized network of social entrepreneurs.
Since inception, CESDI has trained socially and economically under privileged women, men and youth in the skills they need to transform their lives and their communities. We call these sustainable solutions – because the skills we provide live on in the people and communities we serve.
CESDI is a global force and partner of choice within a worldwide movement dedicated to improving the lives and well-being of women, men & youth and the less privileged members of the society. We are known everywhere for our unshakeable commitment to the dignity of people.
Our Mission
Our mission is to empower & improve the lives and well-being of women, men, children & youth and the less privileged members of the society to become self-reliant.
We strive to serve individuals and families in the poorest communities in Nigeria. Drawing strength from our global diversity, resources and experience, we promote innovative solutions and are advocates for global responsibility.
Our Vision
To establish new standards as one of the leading Implementing Partner (IP) with optimal effectiveness in assisting communities to build efficient, effective, results-oriented and sustainable socioeconomic systems.
We seek a world of hope where every human being leads a secure economic, healthy, fulfilling life of self-reliance, dignity and security.
CORE VALUES
At the core of all we do, CESDI values:
RESPECT
COMMITMENT
INNOVATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING
INTEGRITY
EXCELLENCE
GROWTH AND LEARNING
WHAT WE DO
Community Engagement & Social Development Initiative (CESDI)
We are involved in community development, capacity building, economic empowerment, social counseling, psycho-social counseling, social mobilization, raising awareness/education on health and conflict resolution/peace building initiatives.
Over the years, CESDI has provided humanitarian services and trained socially & economically under privileged women, youth and adults in Nigeria encouraging the development of productive and self-reliant community members. We provide them with skills they need to transform their lives and their communities. We call these sustainable solutions – because the skills we provide live on in the people and communities we serve.
OUR PRINCIPLES
Through our work to educate, empower & create awareness to the sustainable livelihood of women, men & youth and the less privileged members of the society, we have recognized these nine principles as being fundamental to our initiative. We challenge ourselves to ensure that each of our strategies builds on these principles.
Human Dignity
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights, including the right to education, health, work and food. The inherent nature of every person is creative, resourceful, self- reliant, responsible and productive.
Sustainability
Solutions to ending poverty must be sustainable locally, socially, economically and environmentally.
Social Transformation
People’s self-reliance is suppressed by conditions such as corruption, conflict, violence and the subjugation of women & youth. These are all rooted in an age-old and nearly universal patriarchal mindset that must be transformed as part of a fundamental shift in the way society is organized.
Gender Equality
An essential part of our initiative must be to cause society-wide change towards gender equality. Women bear the major responsibility for meeting basic needs, yet are systematically denied the resources, freedom of action and voice in decision-making to fulfill that responsibility.
Inter-connectedness
Our actions are shaped by, and affect, all other people and our natural environment. Poverty is not a problem of one country or another but is a global issues. We must solve it not as “donors and recipients” but as global citizens, working as coequal partners in a common front to end poverty.
Holistic Approach
Poverty is inextricably linked to a nexus of issues including decent work, health, education, environmental sustainability and social justice. Only in solving these together will any of them be solved on a sustainable basis.
Empowerment
In the face of social suppression, focused and sustained action is required to awaken people to the possibility of self-reliance, to build confidence, and to organize communities to take charge of their own development.
Leverage
Ending poverty requires action that catalyzes large-scale systemic change. We must regularly step back assess our impact within the evolving social/political/economic environment and launch the highest leverage actions we can to meet this challenge.
Decentralization
Individual and community ownership of local development is critical. Actions are most successful if decisions are made close to the people. This requires effective national and local government working in partnership with the people.
Our Modeling Approach - STRATEGY
CESDI’s resiliency and effectiveness is attributable largely due to the organization’s ability to adapt to changing social, political, gender and economic conditions in project. A key philosophy of all CESDI’s programs is to design programs that effectively respond to the needs of target beneficiaries as defined by the beneficiaries themselves. This creates demand- driven sustainable alternative livelihood opportunities for at-risk and disadvantaged persons. CESDI’s programs work in close partnership and collaboration with host governments, community groups, businesses, civil society and multilateral donors. Hybrid modeling allows CESDI to do cross-cutting programming, combine donors, or combine program and donors simultaneously.
Gender Mainstreaming:
Our projects are always designed with gender inclusion and participation in mind. We seek to ensure that gender issues are taken into consideration in the formulation, planning and implementation of projects. Before undertaking any project, CESDI carry out a gender analysis to examine the extent in which;
• The project considered gender inequality and included activities to ensure the participation of men, women into project designs. For example, were projects required to include gender within their design.
• The implementation of the Project enabled both women and men, and other vulnerable groups or minority ethnicities to participate and benefit.
• The results of the Project contribute to greater gender equality.
• We also seek to ensure that the voices of both women and men and those of other vulnerable groups targeted by the projects are heard.
Learning, Monitoring & Evaluation (LME) Approach:
The Monitoring & Evaluation approach draws heavily from CESDI’s profound experience implementing demand driven community-oriented programs for many years. The approach is predicated on the premise that building social capital is not just about recording the immediate reaction from beneficiary’s encounters. Rather, it is a long-term process in which program intervention is enhanced and weak links are detailed and strengthened. To get the most from the LME framework, it is often treated as a project component and not just another project activity. This ensures that the Monitoring & Evaluation is an integral part of each project, it is addressed at all points of the project life-cycle, it is adequately budgeted for, and institutionalizing LME is a project imperative.
With a pool of consultants that have taken part in a large array of projects and trainings in Nigeria and beyond. Our experts bring to the table years of collective knowledge executing comprehensive monitoring and evaluation projects, and are well-versed in the highest industry standards for ethical research. Our service offering regarding Monitoring & Evaluation includes development of Monitoring & Evaluation plans, Project Implementation plans and Monitoring & Evaluation frameworks. continuous data collection before, during and after programme roll out (monitoring), as well as measuring outcomes, impact and effectiveness of programmes (evaluation).
By leveraging our ability to penetrate deeply into difficult geographies of Nigeria, CESDI offers development actors a clear, precise view of dynamic situations that would otherwise remain obscure. Our research and reporting provide data, analysis, and synthesis that empowers key actors to make the most well-informed decisions possible, enabling them to effectively answer the uniquely challenging questions facing crisis actors, governments, NGOs, and private entities today.
Other Monitoring & Evaluation service offerings include:
Research and Analysis
Impact and outcome evaluations, performance assessments, process evaluations and formative research.
Third Party Monitoring
Monitoring/performance frameworks, indicators and plans, data quality audits/assessments.
Capacity Building
Training and workshops, Monitoring & Evaluation systems development and support and mentoring.
LEADERSHIP
Ms. Hauwa Howeidy, Executive Director & Founder
As Executive Director, Hauwa provides executive management for the entire organization. She has over two decades of experience in the international development sector and has managed large and complex high-profile projects. Her core expertise lies in project management, community-based programming, budgeting, financial analysis, strategic planning, women/Youth Employment Network Advocate & advocacy for the Girl-Child.
Mrs. Fareedah Yahuza Yashe, Co-Founder & Chief Visionary Officer
Fareedah provides executive management as well as programmatic and strategic leadership in the framework of CESDI’s business development and relationship building. She leverages her expertise in public & private sector engagement and provides thought-leadership for CESDI’s strategic capacity building, women/Youth Employment Network Advocate & advocacy for the Girl-Child.
