Boko Haram: VSF partners ITF to empower 5000 women groups, 1500 youths

Victim Supports Fund (VSF) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) to empower 5000 women groups and 1500 youths in the Northeast.

The Executive Secretary of VSF, Sunday Ochoche, while speaking during the signing of the MoU in Abuja on Thursday, said the agreement was for the entrepreneurship development of women victims of insurgency and vocational skills acquisition for out-of-school youth in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states.

He said the VSF was now working on addressing the root cause of the insurgency in Northeast Nigeria, stressing that it has been discovered that lack of education and high poverty rate were responsible for the crisis in the area.

“The entrepreneurship development project will target 5000 community-based women entrepreneurs, already under the VSF Women Economic Empowerment (WEE) project that had benefited from the cash support.

“Existing savings and loans associations established in 2016 and 2017 will be scaled up into 250 small scale women producer groups.

“1500 out-of-school youth in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe will also have their capacities built in vocational skills to increase employability and self reliance,” he explained.

According to him, N130 million had been earmarked for the first phase of the programme which involves training in critical areas. He said the second phase involves the provision of starter packs to beneficiaries.

Ochoche said the ITF had similar programmes presently running, adding that their technical skills will help VSF to fast-track its own programmes.

“The partnership will further facilitate the restoration of livelihood and hasten the community recovery process in the Northeast,” he said.

On his part, Joseph Ari, the Director-General of ITF said the two organisations have some similar mandates, expressing readiness to work with VSF to actualize its programmes.

He called on other stakeholders to join force with them to solve the problems of the Northeast, adding that improving the livelihood of the people was important as the country’s population was increasing drastically.