Borno girls obtain job skills to ‘live with dignity’

Succour has come the way of at least 250 youths in Borno State as a non-governmental organisation trained them in vocational skills to enable them become self-reliant.

The NGO, Guwori Foundation, conducted the training in collaboration with the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) in Borno State.

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Kanem Trust reports that two secondary schoolgirls, Hafsat Goni and Halima Abba Bukar from Gori, Maiduguri, were among those who benefitted.

The girls, who apparently had an entrepreneurial spirit, were given starter packs in addition to the much needed startup business grants, alongside other trainees at a short graduation ceremony in Maiduguri recently.

With the skills they learnt in cosmetology, the girls said they would set up business ventures and be their own bosses.

They hoped to earn enough money to build savings and live with dignity, they noted.

Bukar and Goni said the skills they obtained would certainly be a ‘powerful’ weapon against hunger and poverty because they would make and sell cream, liquid soap, insecticides, deodorant and hand sanitisers from the comfort of their homes.

Another beneficiary, Mohammed Abubakar, an SSS2 student of Customs Secondary School, Maiduguri, said he was selling popcorn to earn money and pay his fees at a private school.

He, however, said his business failed because of the COVID-19 restrictions and he could no longer continue schooling, which forced him to enrol for the vocational training facilitated by the foundation.

“I sold popcorn to take care of my needs and pay my school fees but the business collapsed. I could not make profit to cover my expenses.

“I acquired sewing skills with the help of the foundation and hope to open a tailoring shop to fund my education.

“We have been given starter kits to start business,” he said.

Similarly, Hassan Bukar Goni said he obtained practical knowledge on livestock production including the latest practice in breeding, fattening, fishery and poultry.

“I took time to learn the tricks of poultry farming during the training and the foundation gave those of us who obtained livestock training skills N50,000 each to start our business.

“I will soon start poultry business,” he said.

The secretary of the foundation, Barr. Abdullahi Kyari, said during the graduation ceremony of the trainees that so far, over 250 youths in the state have obtained skills under its Sustainable Agricultural Development Training Scheme (SADTS).

“The ultimate aim is to make people self-reliant through vocational training and provide them with some assistance in that regard,” he said.

He said the foundation would continue to conduct skills development training to build the capacity of the youth in insurgency-ravaged Borno State with the aim of creating more job opportunities and self-reliance.

He stated that with massive youth empowerment, poverty would be reduced.

The foundation, according to him, also strived to provide quality education for the less-privileged kids and women.

“The centre has more than 300 pupils studying at the regular section now, and more than 400 learners at the Tahfeez and women sections.

“The foundation has also acquired and built more classrooms to accommodate more pupils in the new academic year.”

In her remarks, State Coordinator of NDE, Hajiya Mairo Aliyu, called on the trainees to use the starter packs and grants given to them to turn ideas into successful businesses.