IN a bid to ensure financial stability and independence among the residents of Lagos State, the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation (WAPA) has empowered 250 refugees, vulnerable, and indigents of the Igando-Ikotun community at a short-term training programme on nine entrepreneurship skills.
While speaking at the closing ceremony of the training programme held on Monday, February 5, 2024, at the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) IDP Camp in Igando, Mrs Cecilia Bolaji Dada, the Commissioner for WAPA, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Mrs Oluyemi Kalesanwo, said the programme is an intervention initiative tailored to uplift the lives of residents for social inclusion and viable means of survival.
In her words: “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”.
The Commissioner applauded the participants for their resilience in acquiring different skills, such as tie & dye, catering and confectioneries, gele tying and make-up application, hairdressing 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 to commence their businesses 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.
Similarly, she implored participants to adopt the entrepreneurship skills they were taught during the training and practise proper bookkeeping to access loans through the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF).
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.
