UN Organizes Vocational Skills for BH Victims
The United Nations has shown its seriousness and commitment to helping Nigeria overcome the Boko Haram insurgence pains in its own way by sponsoring up to 500 victims of Boko Haram activities on acquire vocational skills. The victims were drafted from various northern states, like Yobe State, Borno State and Adamawa State. This is expected to kickoff from the 17th of August and it is hoped to help the victims live their normal lives again in their chosen vocations.
Mr. Matthew Alao, the conflict prevention and peace building analyst of the United Nations made this known to newsmen in Abuja. He revealed that the program for orientation of the victims is expected to kick off on 17th August, 2015 and it is expected to take place at the citizenship and leadership training center in Jos, Plateau state, Nigeria.
Mr. Alao made it known that the Organizers of the program had planned compulsory orientation program for the lucky 500 and the orientation program is expected to take up to 2 weeks. He said the intention of the whole program is to help ameliorate the suffering of those who had been displaced by Boko Haram’s continuous violent attacks on the Nigerian nation.
Speaking with newsmen, Mr. Alao stated that various vocation studies will be taught the participants and these will include computer studies, leather works, shoe-making, catering and decoration, knitting, tailoring and hair dressing. It is hoped that the lucky participants would be able to make good use of this opportunity, stand on their own feet by the end of the vocational training and be able to employ themselves and also provide employment for others.
As part of the program, Mr. Alao said the participants would go through physical exercises and teachings on peaceful coexistence, social integration, conflict transformation, conflict prevention, meditation and capacity building. The two weeks will prove to be intensive, he promised.
According to Mr. Alao, the United Nations had received more than 2,000 applications when the planned vocational training was made public. He said the UN had taken the applications through rigorous screening stages and had selected only 500 out of them; the 500 are deemed to be genuine applicants that were truly affected by the Boko Haram insurgent activities and are truly in need of assistance.
He said the successful applicants had been taken on 2 weeks intensive training on physical and mental activities. He said the next phase of compulsory 2-weeks training would be on business management, conflict transformation and mediation. He added that the chosen 500 would them proceed on 6 months to one year vocational training, depending on their chosen vocational training.
According to Mr. Alao, the victims of Boko Haram insurgence are in need of urgent help, hence the decision of the United Nations to put this program together. Mr. Alao said that some of the victims were well employed and had their own means of livelihood prior to Boko Haram sacking their homes, but they are now rendered powerless and could not provide for their basic needs and this had necessitated the UN’s intervention.
By Anthony Olawale Ojo
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