Activist Dedicates Community Service Award to Anam Girls

By Olisemeka Obeche

The president of All Nations Arise Manifest (ANAM), Tessy Aniesi, has dedicated her ‘Outstanding Woman in Community Development Service’ award bestowed on her by the Umuenwelum Anam Development Union (Lagos Branch) to all Anam girls and their counterparts across Igboland who might be battling socio-cultural and economic prejudices in their drive to achieve their dreams in life.

Speaking shortly after receiving the award over the weekend, in Lagos, Tessy expressed her joy in being recognised by her community for her untiring campaign for girl-child education and against premature marriage and other associated, undesirable cultural practices in Umuenwelum and Anam in Anambra West local government area of Anambra state.

“First of all, I’m dedicating this award to all Anam girls. The fact is that it’s not easy to overcome the odds stacked against you as a girl-child and succeed in achieving your dreams in life. However, I’m encouraged by what I’m seeing and how our women are breaking barriers. That gives me great joy and motivation to continue this movement.

“I’m also dedicating this award to my late father and first teacher, Mr. Okeke Charles Aniesi, for believing in me so early and encouraging me to defend vulnerable girls at an early stage. He believed there must be something special about my fight with boys when a girl-child is helplessly vulnerable. Members of the Anam Transformation Movement and those patriots who support our movement also share in this effort because I couldn’t have done it alone.

This is so because about 70 percent of our project funds come from donors.”
On what the award meant to her, the singer/songwriter, sound engineer and graphics/tech expert, described it as the most precious award of her glittering career.

“This is the most important award I have received so far because anyone can merit and receive an award from anywhere due to one thing or the other. It’s even also possible to ‘purchase’ awards in some cases but an award from your home is the most genuine because home is where you can not easily impress everyone; you just can not fake or make believe that is why it’s the real, the most genuine.

“I treasure this award so much and I promise to do exactly what I was billed to do while receiving this award which is to continue and intensify the crusade against underage marriage and campaign for Girl Child and Boy Child Education which I have been doing, and to raise more girls and women who must continue from this good work. I promise, on behalf of myself and my team, that we will deliver as charged.”

Earlier in his brief remarks, the chairman of the Award Planning Committee, Engr. Fidelis Ogugua Jideani, explained that Tessy was honoured in recognition of her outstanding leadership skills, and pioneering role in community development, especially her relentless campaign for girl-child education and against underage marriage in Umuenwelum and Anam at large.
“We are giving you this award so as to encourage younger girls to be like you. Everybody acknowledged that you merited this award. We are also encouraging you to do more, especially in the area of campaigning against early child marriage and support for girl-child education in Anam”, Ogugua declared.

The chairman of Umuenwelum Anam Development Union, Lagos Branch, Mr Aloy Aniekwe Okoye, also in his remarks, described the awardee as a special daughter of the community and urged other women to emulate her good deeds.
In his words, “Tessy is our pride, not just ‘by mouth’ as is often said, but in action. She controls the Anam Transformation Movement, a very active and very effective group. If we start to tell her story here, the night will come and we won’t exhaust ourselves.”