By Rauf Oyewole
Not less than 100 adolescent girls and young women have been trained and empowered with starter packs in various trades in Shira local government area of Bauchi State by the Better Life Restoration Initiative (BERI).
Speaking in Shira on Saturday, the Executive Director of BERI, Nkem Ogbonna, said that the beneficiaries were selected last year and were trained in various skills such as; bead making, shoes and bag, throw pillows, point of sales (PoS) business and snacks among others.
He explained that the project which is being funded by The Global Fund under its project ‘Gender Equity Fund: Breaking Gender Barrier to Health’ targeted vulnerable and key populations in Misau and Shira local government areas of the State, where they received training on literacy and numeracy in addition to life skills to make them self reliant.
The beneficiaries who spread across the communities in Shira were seen going home with their starter packs in excitement and appreciation.
While remarking, Deputy Chairman of Shira, Hon. Ali Adamu, lauded the Initiative for “easing the burden” on the government, saying that the 100 people have been reduced from the pool of unemployed citizens in the area.
“We are glad that this organisation is doing what has become an herculean task for us as a government. We are very glad that BERI picked Shira as one of the two benefiting LGAs among the 20 local government areas,” he said.
One of the beneficiaries, Aisha Liman who is a bag maker, appreciated the Initiative for training her, saying she has been able to maximise her profit and expand her business. “I now have my profits that I'm saving in the bank after sales. This has also exposed me to financial management in my business.”
0 Comments