Actionaid Nigeria says it has spent over N172 million to empower young people between the ages of 18 and 35 years under its Migration II (Dare To Hope Project) in Edo State in the past two years.
The agency said the money was spent to empower 2,000 young persons to create alternatives to irregular migration through socio-economic empowerment and sensitisation in 2021 and 2022.
It said N65 million was spent on grants, N65 million on free starter packs, N18 million on training and N24 million on transport fares and lunch for trainees in two years.
Ene Obi, country director, ActionAid Nigeria, disclosed this at the equipment handover ceremony of the second batch of graduands of the skill acquisition programme under the Migration II Project, in Benin City, Edo State.
Ene, represented by Suwaiba Muhammed Dankabo, director of programmes said 1,000 youths graduated from this year’s skill acquisitions training. She said a total of 2,000 persons have so far been empowered by the agency.
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She said a total of 1,500 potential migrants and 500 returned emigrants, 60 percent of them women, were trained and empowered in different skills.
The Actionaid country director listed the different skills to include fashion design, hairdressing, shoe and bag making, poultry, fish farming, aluminium fabrication, makeover and bead making, cosmetology, catering and graphics.
“To the graduands, you have been trained, and formed into cooperatives, you will be equipped today and will receive seed grants of N650,000 per cooperative to further support the businesses of the groups (amounting to N32,500,000 for the 50 groups).
“About this time last year, February 25, 2021, to be precise, the first batch of trainees, 1,000 youths of Edo State received the same set of equipment and grants of N32.5million.
“The amount of grants is different from the sum spent on trainers, the trainees and equipment.
While commending the efforts made so far by the Migration II Project to create alternatives to irregular migration through socio-economic empowerment and sensitization, she opined that ActionAid is a global organisation that is dedicated to the fight against poverty.
She said the overall objective of the project was to contribute to improving the socio-economic conditions of young people so that they can make informed and voluntary choices, instead of being forced by economic causes to migrate.
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