ActionAid/GPD Empowers 300 Kaduna Women, Youths
http://www.newsportng.com.ng ActionAid Nigeria through her phase III project, System and Structure Strengthening Approach against Radicalization to Violent Extremism (SARVE III) in partnership with Global Peace Development, (GPD) and with immense support from Kaduna State has trained atleast 300 women and youths in different skills.
The ActionAid empowerment initiative is with funding from Community Engagement and Resilience Fund, (GCERF) seeking an end to violent extremism in Kaduna and other Nigerian northern states.
Speaking at the launch of the empowerment program in Kaduna on Wednesday, the program Coordinator for SARVE III project, Kaduna Mr. Aliyu Adamu said “we are here to unveil the livelihood support for 300 youths and women which includes tailoring items with two cooperatives. We also have the cattle livelihood, piggery and poultry.
“Each cooperative has a minimum of ten people and we are going to provide Six cattles with ratio 5:1 and also provide the technical support to make sure that they are able to harvest this milk hygienically and optimally at the production level, same thing with the piggery.
“We are going to provide six piggery 6:1 including their feeds and drugs. For the poultry, each cooperative will get 300 birds with all the necessary tools that will enhance the harvest level. Cumulatively, we have 24 cooperatives across the 12 Communities we are working in with the total number of 300 youths and women cuts across six local Government Areas of Kaduna state.
“For the sewing items, we have the industrial sewing machine, sewing machine, scissors, tapes, generators, table, chairs and other accessories required for the tailoring we are going to provide all of these with a total amount of over forty-million naira.” Adamu said.
In his remarks, the Executive Director GPD, Mr. Esike Ebruke said “the need to contribute to income strengthening for young men and women in Kaduna state to make them resilience against extremism and giving them a sense of responsibility in taking challenge that affects their livelihoods can never be overemphasized.
“Uemployment rate in Nigeria is much on ground that we do not have to re-echo it but we need to take proactive approach between global peace and our partners, ActionAid Nigeria with support of GCERF so that more youths can be empowered.
Today, we empowered 300 youths and women but if we can continue to get more support from the government, we will do more and see how we can bring the issue of unemployment and violent extremism in the state to the barest minimum.
“When more youths are empowered they will be able to withstand pressure and threat of extremism. When they have what to live on they will be able to sustain it, but when they do not have anything to live on they will want to find a way to escape poverty and that will lead to something regrettable for the society.” He added.
Remarking also, the Deputy Governor of Kaduna state, Dr. Hadiza Balarabe, commended the efforts of ActionAid Nigeria and other development partners, in Kaduna state, stressing that they have been able to use their approaches to compliment their early warning early response system in Kaduna state.
Represented by the Deputy Chief of staff to the Deputy Governor, Barrister James Kanyip, the Deputy Governor noted that the state government is keenly focus on providing youths and women with relevant skills that will make them employable.
She said, “we believe that by equipping our young people and women with skills they need, we can as well empower them to keep their future and contribute meaningfully to the development of our state, by promoting social inclusion and bringing people out of poverty and create a society that values that will respect the dignity of every individual is ascertained.
“We recognized the efforts of every of our development partners because we know that to achieve development and lasting peace requires a lot of collaborative skills and collective effort and we are committed to work hand in hand with Organizations like ActionAid to achieve our common goals.
“I urge the beneficiaries of this empowerment program to not only see the skills and empowerment you have as mere gift, but tool for self reliance and self support.”
