Council empowers 357 with working tools, cash
The Chairman, Surulere Local Government, Mr Yusuf Bamidele, inspecting the items at the council’s secretariat on Thursday before they were distributed to the beneficiaries.
By Adekunle Williams
The Surulere Local Government Area in Lagos State on Thursday distributed working tools and cash to 357 women that it had trained in different skills acquisition programmes to reduce unemployment and poverty in the area.
The Chairman of the council, Mr Yusuf Bamidele, distributed the tools and cash to the first set of 357 beneficiaries of the programmec during their graduation ceremony at the council’s secretariat.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the skills’ acquisition programme started on Sept. 4 and ended on Sept.11.
Bamidele said that the tools and cash would enable the beneficiaries leverage the various skills acquired, and other vocational training supports which had been offered to guide them toward adjusting to a better life.
The chairman said, “Various career fields where the beneficiaries received trainings include: photography, catering and the production of household chemicals.
NAN observed that those who trained in Catering and Cake Making were equipped with utensils, catering accessories, while those who trained in Household Chemical products, were given chemicals and tools as start-up kits.
“Cocktails and Mocktails trainees were equipped with dispensers, service utensils while the Tie & Dye beneficiaries were equipped with chemicals and mixing tools.”
According to the chairman, This empowerment will encourage the beneficiaries to start businesses of their own.
“It is interesting to note that we have four of our beneficiaries that had started their business with N10,000 cash gift each but they are millionaires today.
“It will be our joy to see the trainees competing with other big industries within Surulere Local Government,” he said.
Bamidele thanked the Yield Africa Foundation for initiating the empowerment programme.
The chairman said that empowering members of his constituents with vocational skills was one of his campaign promises to reduce poverty at the grassroots.
He said: “I remember during my campaign that I said that my door would be open to anyone that has a good initiative of how the council will move forward. What you had witnessed today is one of its examples.
“When Yield Africa came to me for us to organise a training for the people of Surulere, originally we came up with 250 people but today we have trained more than 350 people in this council.”
Bamidele said that more people would still benefit from the programme.
The Founder of Yield Africa Foundation, Mr Olatunde Martins, said that the mission of the programme was to empower the people at the grassroots with different skills.
Martins noted that these skills include the catering department which involves small chops, cakes, cupcakes, and chips, just to mention a few.
“We have households chemical products department, which consists of detergent, disinfectants, toilet soap,and hands sanitisers. We also have photography department.
“Others are the Tie and Dye department, Cocktail and Mocktail department, “he said.
Martins said that the programme had been able to impact the lives of the 357 participants and to the glory of God, some of them had already started their businesses through this programme.
He noted that the training was opened to all the people living within Surulere constituency, adding that the foundation would soon liaise with other local governments in the state for a similar training.
Speaking on behalf of other beneficiaries, Mrs Toyosi Adekunle, thanked the council’s chairman for organising the skills’acquisition programme and Yield Africa for giving them tools to start practicing their skills.
Adekunle said that she learnt baking and pastries adding that such skills would assist her to become self reliant.
