No fewer than 4,500 vulnerable youth and women were supported by UNICEF in technical and vocational skills acquisition training in the Hong Local Government Area of Adamawa.
The Education Specialist, UNICEF Bauchi field office, Mr AbdulRahaman Ibrahim, made this known at the graduation of 1,500 beneficiaries on Thursday in Hong.
Ibrahim who was represented by Mrs Paulina Kigbu, UNICEF Senior Education Facilitator, said that the 1,500 beneficiaries were the 5th batch in the series of the training programme.
He said the beneficiaries were subjected to training on tailoring, welding, poultry, interlocking, shoes and soap making.
According to him, the project was under KFW2 and was funded by the Government of Germany, and it had impacted positively on the beneficiaries.
“This milestone marks a significant achievement in empowering 4,500 youth, young adults, female-headed households and other vulnerable people that were affected by the insurgency who cannot go back to formal school due to their current age bracket,” he said.
Also speaking, the state’s Commissioner for Education, Dr Garba Pella, expressed the state’s appreciation to UNICEF and other stakeholders who contributed to the success of the training.
Pella said the training would help transform the lives of the beneficiaries and contribute to the socio-economic development of the state.
He urged beneficiaries to apply the knowledge and skills acquired in their various place of work where they would be operating not only as self-employed but also as employers of labour in their respective communities.
Similarly, the Acting Executive Secretary, Adamawa Mass Education Board, Maryam Daji, thanked the state government for providing the enabling environment.
Daji, who was represented by the Director of Literacy, Mr Emmanuel Adiel, commended the dedication of the trainees and expressed gratitude to the partners for all the support.
She advised the beneficiaries to take advantage of the skills acquired to be self-reliant for the benefit of all.
However, one of the beneficiaries, Mohammed Bello, who spoke on behalf of the beneficiaries, lauded UNICEF’s efforts for training the vulnerable and appealed to the state government and other partners to help the beneficiaries with starter parks. (NAN)
UNICEF Trains 4,500 Adamawa Women, Youths On Tailoring, Shoemaking, Others is first published on The Whistler Newspaper