Wole Balogun, Ado Ekiti

A Member of the House of Representative representing Ekiti North Federal Constituency II, Mr. Thaddeus Akintola Aina, recently organised a training programme for young ladies and married women in the constituency.

The workshop was on make-up for women for all occasions, including weddings, casual and social outings and others.

Resource persons from the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and Other Related Matters (NAPTIP) offered the training, while Aina sponsored the event.

It was a two-day vocational training involving theory and practical lessons, held at the multi-purpose hall of Ido-Osi Local Government Area Secretariat, Ido-Ekiti.

One of the facilitators of the programme from NAPTIP, Mrs. Asaolu Oluwatoyin Ewatomi, who explained its benefits for the beneficiaries, said:  “We have come to enlighten Ido-Osi women on how to make money through making-up for ladies and women generally. This scheme would make them resourceful and make money for themselves and their families, and they would be supportive of their husbands.

“We have taught them make-up for brides getting married in both traditional and modern ways, and for ladies going for other social/casual functions and social outings, among others.

“This scheme is both theoretical and practical, so they would be able to start this as a business on their own. The trainees would also be issued certificates of participation with which they could start practising or get employed.”

Some beneficiaries of the programme poured encomiums on the sponsor, Aina, and NAPTIP. They described the lawmaker as a caring and performing representative of his people.

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Oluwatomisin Aina, a graduate from Ilogbo Ekiti, a community in the constituency, said: “Armed with this training, I can be self-employed. I can start up the business on my own. I appreciate Hon. Aina for his fatherly role. We pray God to bless him mightily.”

Esther Adeyemi, a student who resides in Ido community, said: “The empowerment will reduce unemployment in our community. I know we would also be given money to start up our make-up business and this is very heart-warming. I pray that the good Lord will bless Hon. Aina.”

Another excited beneficiary, Mrs. Edunkadyo Oluwatomisin, observed that the empowerment programme would reduce subtle and overt prostitution by girls and other women in the area. She said: “We really appreciate the organisers of the programme, as they have been wonderful. We also commend our honourable lawmaker, Chief Aina, who is sponsoring the programme. We have been taught so many things on make-up today, which are very marketable. They have also promised to establish the business for us so we can simply be self-employed with this. Many of our girls will no longer take to prostitution and other idle and useless things because they would have something to do to get money for themselves.

“We advise other politicians and our representatives to emulate Hon. Aina by reaching out to us at the grassroots. There is widespread poverty in the local communities in which many of the electorate live. They should reach out to us by sponsoring programmes of empowerment,” she said.

Aina, who was represented by Mr. Ayodele Alonge, said the training was not only aimed at empowering the selected ladies in the three local government areas on the need to be self-reliant but also to support them with the needed resources that would help them to establish their business.

He said many graduates were roaming the streets today all in the name of seeking white-collar jobs, without bothering to engage in vocational training, and a programme of such nature would definitely engage them and free them from being idle.

He expressed optimism that many of the beneficiaries would come up with tangible things after the programme, saying graduates among the trainees needed no further training before they could be make-over artists. The two-day symposium, he said, was okay for them to start making money for themselves without waiting for government jobs.

It was gathered that Aina, who represents Ekiti North Federal Constituency II, comprising Ido/Osi, Moba and Ilejemeje, in the House of Representatives, has empowered many people since he became a member of the National Assembly even as he has embarked on many physical projects in the constituency.