SOLI SOLI SOLI SOLIDARITY FOR EVER

TODAY DECEMBER 16th at NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHT COMMISSION LAGOS OFFICE

 December 16, 2013. The people of Atiporome, Araromi Ale, and Mowo phase 11 in Badagry protest to NHRC LAGOS OFFICE their home was forcefully evicted on16th ,17th of December 2013.
Today marks the remembrance of wrongful demolition of these communities; makes it two years that the people have been living without shelter.
RURAL AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE (RUDI) marched in solidarity with the Badagry people to NHRC Lagos office as we mark two years of no shelter, two years of living in the open under the harsh climate weather with children like refugees in their father's land Nigeria.

                                                  HUMAN RIGHT DAY OUT DOOR ADVOCACY

The World Human Rights Day is observed by the international community every year on the 10th December. It commemorates the day in 1948 when the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Rural and Urban Development Initiative (RUDI) a Non Governmental Organization is a movement of the urban poor for the dignity and development of marginalized communities in the state.The theme of this year’s commemoration is 

"Our Rights. Our Freedoms. Always.” And is aimed at promoting and raising awareness of the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) created in the aftermath of WWII, the two Covenants along with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights became the International Bill of Human Rights setting out the civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights that are the birth right of all human beings.
As is usual, we are commemorating this day with the poor, marginalized and vulnerable people in Lagos (Ijora Badia East, NPA Quarters Bar beach, Oko Baba Ebute metta with others displaced and evicts) and  having a world human rights day’s lecture at Jones Street, Ebute-Metta (West), Lagos                                                                 

                                          

Young Leaders Academy

Young Leaders Academy(creche, pre-primary and primary school)
This is a free school for children living in the slum. This project was established to help children who do not have access or means to acquire education.

Spaces for Change Trains RUDI Staff on Blogging

On November 12, 2015, RUDI's Secretary, Blessing Izobo received training at Spaces for Change's office on basic blogging techniques. Through this training, RUDI will be able to documents its work more effectively and tell its stories more powerfully to human rights stakeholders and advocates around the world.  We want to show to the public what RUDI is doing, and in the process, increase our network of supporters and collaborators. 

Many members of our communities do not have access to public institutions and their voices cannot be heard. This blog will enable us to tell their stories and invite strategic ideas and action that address the precarious conditions in which the urban poor live. 

RUDI: Empowering Communities for Development

Rural and Urban Development Initiative is a movement of urban poor communities in Lagos working together for dignity and development.  We have 74 member communities from different parts of Lagos such as Ikorodu, Badagry, Lekki, Victoria Island, Lagos Mainland, CMS etc. 

We provide many services to our members such as the provision of non-interest loans. Our members have come together to form savings groups and this is the vehicle we use to administer and disburse loans to community members. 

We conduct sensitization on human rights issues affecting our community members such as forced evictions, domestic violence tenancy and landlord disputes, land disputes among members. Some of the cases that we cannot handle are usually referred to public institutions and other non-governmental organizations like Spaces for Change which has been rendering free legal services to members of our community. 

We show solidarity with other slum communities and urban poor dwellers in other states that are facing the kind of urban problems that we experience. 

We have partnering with Ifesowapo, an intiative of Spaces for Change, to campaign against youth violence and recurrent street violence in Lagos Mainland. 

We have also partnered with Society for Love and Social Justice (SLSJ) to provide free medical services to old people and children in slums communities.

We have also established a school - Young Leaders Academy - through which we are expanding the access of children of school age to basic primary education. We provide these kids with free books for learning. 

Local youth enrol in our business center where we equip them with basic computer skills.