Pulse.ng : Kaduna: UNICEF, NOA empower 1,800 out-of-school adolescent girls with skills

By Mustapha Yauri

The National Orientation Agency (NOA) in collaboration with UNICEF has empowered 1,800 out-of-school adolescent girls with skills in Chikun and Zaria Local Government Areas of Kaduna State.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the initiative aims at empowering the beneficiaries with skills, tools and voice to escape vulnerability.

Malam Hamisu Abubakar-Mayere, State Director, NOA, Kaduna State, disclosed this during the graduation ceremony of a pilot community based reorientation, life skills training and empowerment for adolescent girls in Zaria on Friday.

He noted that about 50 community leaders were selected from five local government areas of Kaduna state and they were trained on strengthening community structures to provide child protection services at the community level.

“At the end of the training it was agreed that two pilot community based centres will be equipped with child friendly safe space and life skills training for out-of-school adolescent girls.

“As a follow-up to this, NOA, funded by UNICEF Kaduna Field Office in compliance with agreed criteria selected Anguwan Juma community in Zaria LGA to conduct the training of 720 young girls on tailoring and bakery.

“While 1,080 Adolescent Girls were trained in different vocational skills in Chikun and today, we are graduating another 720 in Zaria,’’ the director said.

Abubakar-Mayere said the 720 beneficiaries in Zaria had received two months extensive training on tailoring and bakery for survival growth and development.

“We have now gotten an additional data of young girls who needs to be added to the social register of Kaduna State and enrolled in schools,’’ the director said.

Earlier, Dr. Wilfred Mamah, Child Protection Specialist, UNICEF, Kaduna Field Office said, COVID19 pandemic brought to the front burner the heightened vulnerability of children on the streets, especially Almajiri and adolescent girls who lack parental support and care.

He added that a survey carried out by UNICEF in collaboration with Kaduna State Government in 2022 revealed that 104,193 Adolescent Girls and 209, 950 Almajiri were in dire need of protection ‘as they on the streets, out-of-school with little or no means of survival.’

“The above data inspired multiple action, hence the pilot scheme in Chikun and Zaria LGAs” he said.

In his remarks, the Emir of Zazzau Malam Ahmad Bamalli commended NOA, UNICEF for what he described as laudable initiatives.

Bamalli, represented by Alhaji Balarabe Ibrahim-Musa, Garkuwan Ayyukan Zazzau, appealed to NOA and UNICEF to equally replicate the initiative on the boys, stressing that it was the boys that grow to become men and eventually marry the girls.

The royal father, therefore, tasked the beneficiaries to apply the skills judiciously to enable them eradicate poverty and become employers of labour. (NAN)