Bomba Dauda
The Chief Executive Officer of the Kaduna State Peace Commission (KAPECOM), Barr. Priscilla Ankut, said, the Livelihood Support Orientation Programme for youth victims of conflicts from Southern Kaduna was organized by KAPECOM in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) with sponsorship from the Norwegian government.
Adding that, the programme is aimed at helping youth victims devastated by violence from conflict affected communities to restart their lives through entrepreneurship that would help reduce poverty and unemployment.
Ankut made the comment at the closing ceremony of the programme at Shere Hills Centre for Citizenship and Leadership Training over the weekend in Jos.
She went further saying, 100 youths drawn from Chikun, Kajuru, Kachia, Sanga, Kaura Zangon Kataf and Kauru Local Government Areas (LGAs) participated in the programme which was conducted at Citizenship and Leadership Centre, Shere Hills in Jos.
Victims from Anambra and Benue states who are resident in the affected communities are also benefitting in the programme.The applicants were recommended by Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working with community based organisations (CBOs) in the LGAs following engagement and advocacy programmes while actual screening was conducted by the Peace Commission.The orientation programme lasted two weeks and precedes the actual six-month training programme which will be conducted by the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) in Kaduna.
Under the programme, the beneficiaries would undergo training in areas such as hair-dressing, carpentry, woodwork, wielding, tailoring and livestock production.This support is aimed at helping the youths from conflict affected communities to restart their lives through entrepreneurship that would help reduce poverty and unemployment. The Peace Commission believes that sustainable peace will best be achieved when structural drivers of poverty and youth unemployment is addressed. Beneficiaries of the programme expressed satisfaction with the orientation and are confident that it will impact positively on their lives.
