From Wilson Okereke, Afikpo
No fewer than 50 youths from across the 20 deaneries of the Abakaliki Diocese of the Catholic Church in Ebonyi State have benefitted from the empowerment programme of Missio Stiftung Foundation, Austria.
The foundation, in its Empowering Youths for Economic Self-Reliance (EYES) programme, sponsored a sustainable and revolving empowerment scheme aimed at creating young entrepreneurs as role models.
Diocesan Bishop, Most. Rev. Peter Chukwu, during the inauguration at the Pastoral Centre, Abakaliki, on June 22, charged the beneficiaries of the scheme to utilize the opportunity in such a way that it would have multiplier effect.
He extolled the project director, Dr. Nkechi Echiegu, whom he said God was using to affect the lives of the people positively. He said: “Most of us know how difficult it is to gain the confidence of the Europeans but she was able to win their trust.
“It is based on this virtue that the people were able to provide the beneficiaries with this support and I am appealing that she should keep on justifying the trust and confidence so that the partnership will have multiplier effect with time, because what the people enjoy most, is constant feedback.
“I am advising them not to burn the bridge after they have crossed so that others will also cross. I want you to strive towards success stories. This event is a good way of helping you for you to help yourselves.”
Echiegu spoke on the significance of the one-year programme: “The programme itself was designed to be generating income for the youths, keep them away from getting involved in crime.
“We started the journey by carefully bringing 50 young people whom we first of all changed their orientation about life, they were trained on viable business selection, business plans and risk management and our partnership with Umunnachi Micro Finance Bank gave us security and credibility, the training also involved career counselling and selection of the targeted beneficiaries.”
She listed the skills to include: photography, GSM repair, bakery, computer repair and installation, make-up and gele (head gear) artistry, computer programming and graphic design.
Others are shoemaking, decoration, bead-making, tailoring, barbing, aluminum works and painting. The training locations were in Abakaliki, Afikpo, Ikwo, Ezzamgbo, Edda, Onueke, Izzi and Ishiagu in Ivo LGA.
Some of the items distributed to them were sewing machines, generators, grinding machines, cameras, laptops, bead making materials, baking machines and make-up kits among others.