Underprivileged women in Bane and Kaa Communities in Khana LGA have lauded the Rivers State Government/ UNICEF skills development programme earmarked for them during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking in seperate interviews after sensitisation by RCCE, all the women interviewed were filled with encomiums, thanking the State Government and UNICEF for the initiative.
For Madam Gift Barisua, “when they train me on how to produce soap, izal and bleach, and also give me money to go into the business, I know that I will no longer beg to cater for my family again, because I will produce enough to sell and make money”.
On her part, Ledogo Nwinee, a widow, said “since, I have been looking for money to start petty trading, but nobody to help me. My family has been suffering because since my husband died, I’ve been the one taking care of the family.
“If they will train me to produce soap, izal, and bleach, and also give me money to start the business, I know that it will help me and my family a lot. In addition to being able to provide the basic essentials of life, such as food and clothing, I can also ensure that a situation in which my first daughter gained admision into university last year but could not go in due to my inability to pay for the initial entry requirements will not occur again”.
In an interview with the UNICEF Consultant on COVID-19 Response, Communication for Development, Mrs Glory Odu-Oji, she said the beneficiaries of the programme, which is at its pilot stage now, will be picked through a reliable precess that will ensure that the aim of the programme is achieved.
“The beneficiaries are selected by the Rivers State Operation Coordinating Unit, in partnership with the National Safety Net Office. They’re the ones who have done a groundwork, and know the coorperative societies that exist in these three communities that we’re partnering in this first phase.
“They have done groundwork, they know the women cooperatives that are already in existence that they will work with. In each community they are working with two women cooperatives”, she said.
The Consultant used the opportunity to charge the privileged women to be selected for the commencement of the programme, saying if they take it seriously, it could be what will change their lives for the better.
“They should seize this opportunity and see it as a time when God wants to lift them out of their present economic condition. They shouldn’t joke with it, they should give it all their best, pay attention, and see that they drive it themselves, and run with it.
“The idea may have come from outside, but they need to own it, and take it to the next level. They shouldn’t allow this dream to die, that’s why they mean to train them.
“When a mother is trained, the children are also trained, because as she embarks on her job, she sends the children on errands on the job. In the process, they also learn”, she said, adding that immediately all the modalities for its take off are concluded, the programme will commence.
