The Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation (WAPA) has empowered 250 refugees, vulnerable and indigents of the Ikotun -Igando Community at a Short-Term Training Programme on Nine Entrepreneurship Skills.
This event forms part of efforts to ensuring financial stability and independence amongst all active residents of Lagos State,
Speaking at the closing ceremony of the training programme held on Monday, at the LASEMA IDP Camp, Igando, Mrs. Cecilia Bolaji Dada, Commissioner fir WAPA, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Oluyemi Kalesanwo, said the programme is an intervention initiative tailored to specifically uplift the lives of residents for social inclusion and viable means of survival.
She said, “With the Lagos State being recognised as the 19th global human capacity building city by ‘Time Out Group’ ratings, we are proud to be one of the key factors that has enhanced this accomplishment, possibly because one of the key factors contributing to this recognition is our commitment to providing free skills acquisition training and empowerment programmes for the indigent, vulnerable, people with disabilities, and internally displaced persons from some African Nations”.
While commending the efforts of the 1,250 participants towards financial independence across the five centres of the State, the Commissioner applauded the participants for their resilience in acquiring different skills, such as Tie and Dye, Catering and Confectioneries, Gele Tying and Make-Up application, Hair Dressing and Wig Making, Fabrics Stoning and embellishments, Production of Soap and Pomade/Healthy Insecticide Production, Barbering Techniques and lots more, during the four weeks duration of the training programme.
She reaffirmed the State Government’s commitment to provide start-up packs to enable participants commence their businesses immediately upon completion of the training, reiterating that the Social inclusion in the T. H. E. M. E. S Plus agenda of Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu’s administration has afforded these recipients the opportunities of training and empowerment programmes for their developmental progress.
In the same vein, she implored participants to adopt the entrepreneurship skills they were taught during the training and practise proper bookkeeping, in order to access loans through the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF).
According to Mrs. Onyime Obioma, the Associate Protection Officer, United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), Lagos State, who represented Ms. Bernadette Mutashi, the representative of UNHCR in Nigeria, recalled that the four weeks short-term Skills Acquisition programme for refugees is a response to WAPA’s capability to train and empower refugees following UNHCR’s courtesy call to the Ministry in the year 2023.
In his remark the Chairman of CDC Ayedade Community, Mr. Ogbagbolabo Orefuyi said, “I am very impressed by what WAPA has done for my people and I will ensure that the beneficiaries share their wealth of knowledge with others, thereby creating a chain of empowerment. Also, I encourage you all to maximise your knowledge and skills, so that you can bring glory to our community”.
The highlight of the programme was the presentation of Certificates of Competency and Start-Up Packs for various ventures, including Wig-Making and Hair-Braiding, Barbing Sets, Make-Up and Gele Tying, Tie and Dye, Catering and Confectionery, Garments Stoning, Pomade Making Insecticide and Stove Wick, Ankara Craft and Interior Decoration, which were presented to all participants of the four weeks, short-term training programme.
