The National Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), Lagos State chapter, on Thursday inaugurated its daycare centre to enhance better working environment for women journalists.
The National President of NAWOJ, Mrs Ladi Bala, said at the inauguration in Lagos that the daycare centre was opened to encourage exclusive breastfeeding in commemoration of the 2022 International Women’s Day.
Bala said that many women journalists do not breastfeed their children exclusively due to absence of conducive environment to keep their children while working.
According to her, the work of a journalist is so tasking that they do not have where to keep their children after three months of maternity leave to be able to practice exclusive breastfeeding.
‘’This has made the work easy as the woman can go and breastfeed the child while still at work.
‘’Having a creche is like a boost to what we’re talking about; you keep your baby in the creche, intermittently, you check the baby while doing your story .
‘’It makes the woman relax and do her work efficiently; to me, it is a very noble initiative that should be advocated for across the 36 states,’’ she said.
The Chairman, Lagos Council of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Mr Adeleye Ajayi, also commended Lagos NAWOJ for the “laudable project that would impact greatly on the society through the effective work flow of women and input.”
He said that women would be able to work effectively because their children were secured in a conducive environment within the work place.
Also speaking with NAN, Chairperson, NAWOJ Lagos chapter, Mrs Deola Ekine, said that the idea of the daycare centre was birthed as part of the International Women’s Day and Breastfeeding Week.
Ekine said that the daycare centre would provide breastfeeding mothers a conducive place to put their babies and come in during break to breastfeed.
According to Ekine, the creche is not only for Nawojians but also working mothers within the vicinity to have a clean and conducive place to keep their babies at subsidised rate.
