Tuesday 31 March 2020

Covid-19: Foundation distributes food items to vulnerable people in Kaduna

By Sani Idris
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 An organisation, Bintalya First Foundation (BFF), says it has being distributing food items to vulnerable people in Kaduna for four days to ease hardship occasioned by curfew to prevent the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19).
The Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the foundation, Hajiya Binta Hamidu-Haruna, said on Tuesday that the gesture was to ameliorate the sufferings of vulnerable people in Kaduna amidst the 24 hours curfew imposed by the state government.
The CEO added that the beneficiaries of the food items were cut across Unguwan Rimi, Tudun Wada, Unguwan Sanusi, Badikko, Hayin Danmani, some part of Rigasa and Mando which are suburb areas and only few from the Kaduna metropolis.
A correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that on March 31, the fourth day of BFF’s outreach, it distributed food items to a suburb area of Kinkinau in Kaduna metropolis.
“BFF which primarily focuses on economic wellbeing of people, empowering and educating the youths felt the necessity to assist daily-wage earners amidst the Coronavirus lockdown.
“For the last three days, BFF had been delivering relief packages including macaroni and spaghetti noodles, maggi, salt, rice and tomato pastes which we give to vulnerable people in Kaduna.
“We made our mobile numbers available and open to the public to call and request for assistance and we deliver the packages to them having certified their vulnerability and level of needs.



“The Coronavirus lockdown had cooped most of us at home, at the other end of the spectrum, however, a majority of the people of Kaduna are struggling to make ends meet.
“Such people either work as daily wage earners, street vendors, labourers or less privileged who are terribly affected by the economic and social repercussions of the Coronavirus.
“With the 24 hours curfew in Kaduna, not only the less privileged or vulnerable have run out of work but have also lost their only means to obtain a square meal for themselves and their families.

“Apart from that, they also are most vulnerable to the disease because of their inability to access hygiene products like soaps, sanitisers, disinfectants and even clean running water.
“Calamities like these, however, help us restate our compassion for humanity, various citizen-led groups and NGOs across the country should come forward to help by providing all the necessary items needed at this point in time,” she urged.
The CEO confirmed that BFF had often been receiving calls from new locations within Kaduna requesting for help.

She also said that BFF reaches out to like minds in person and association to assist in widespread of humanitarian services within and out of the nation and would continue to sustain the service until things get better.
“We need more funds to help because the demands are much, we are calling on the government and other active state machineries to assist by making donations to ameliorate the hardship as caused by the situation,” Hamidu-Haruna said. (NAN)
SA/FF/MST
Edited by Fela Fashoro/Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Monday 9 March 2020

SMEDAN begins six days intensive training of BDSPs in Kaduna


 The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) on Monday,  began a six days intensive training, certification and accreditation of Business Development Service Providers (BDSP) in Kaduna Business School.
The DG of SMEDAN, Dr Dikko Radda, said the training which was in partnership with the Kaduna Business School was keyed toward implementing the National BDSPs certification and accreditation framework.
According to him, the aim of the frame work is to set the standards for business development service interventions by providing the mark of quality for the delivery of business development services to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria.
“What we are trying to achieve as a government is to regulate activities of the BDSP in the country, one of  the major challenges faced by MSMEs is inadequate capacity to develop their businesses,” he said.
He noted that most of the people providing the services to the MSMEs were not qualified.
“SMEDAN being an apex organisation in charge of MSMES,  feels the need to regulate the activities of the BDSBs to make sure they are fully accredited and certified to meet the demands of the MSME sector of the economy,” he said.
He added the SMEDAN had entered a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Kaduna Business School and Pan Atlantic University in Lagos which could provide certification and accreditation for the BDSBs.
“As the time goes on, we will expand and have centres in each of the states of the federation that can be able to train BDSBs and for them to be able to provide what is needed of them for the development of MSMEs in the country,” he further said.
Radda also noted that skills in demonstration of technical knowledge,  relevant to effective delivery of the business development service provision to MSMEs at the end of the certification programme would be acquired.
“They BDSPs will also be able to demonstrate thorough understanding of the MSMEs sub-sector challenge and use effective facilitation skills to support MSMEs in overcoming the challenges.
“Participants will also be able to apply relevant diagnostic tools in assessing the MSMEs business and provide necessary support based on information derived.
“This will positively affect the economy of the country because the challenge of MSMEs is not only finance but lack of capacity, once their capacity is developed, we will see wonders in the subsector of the economy,” Radda said.
In his remarks, the Director of Kaduna Business School, Dr. Dahiru Sani, said the institution was drilled for about three years by international agencies based in the United Kingdom through DFID on how to go about the training of MSMEs.
“This six days intensive training is a maiden edition and it is covering seven states from the north, we have about 40 participants and the program will be run every month until we build enough capacity to support MSMEs in Nigeria,” Sani said.
SA/CHOM/
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Edited by Chioma Ugboma