The EU-funded Centre for Democracy Development (CDD) has partnered with the Katsina State Government and trained one hundred (100) vulnerable women and youth in 24 communities in Batsari, Danmusa, Jibia, and Kankara LGAs.
The training centred on empowering communities through practical skills, seeks to also build resilience and promote sustainable livelihoods for the trainees.
The Programme Manager in charge of the Conflict Mitigation and Community Reconciliation Project of the Centre for Democracy Development (CDD), Kola Ogunbiyi, said that in each of the four selected LGAs, the CDD engaged Community Response Network comprising community leaders, traditional leaders and religious leaders that identify, those who are in need of the support and the Conflict Mitigation and Community Reconciliation Project, is targeted at bringing peace, and social cohesion across banditry and conflict-affected communities in the State.
He further added that the CDD is already working with traditional and community leaders, and community-based organisations to monitor and ensure that the trainees do not sell out the empowerment materials given to them.
In his own words, he said, “The project started in January 2023 and will be rounded up soon. But the legacy we want to leave is a quick impact project in which we identified 100 people to support and train them on soft and hard components.
“Soft components are how to manage their resources when they are given support and a hard component is how to make use of the equipment that will be given to them. That’s why we have an arrangement with the Youth Craft Village to build the capacity of the beneficiaries selected for this livelihood support.
“The project targeted 24 communities in four LGAs. In each of these LGAs, we have a Community Response Network comprising community leaders traditional lenders, and religious leaders that identify, those who are in need of the support.
“We also identified community-based organisations that will do a follow-up to ensure that the trainees do not sell out the empowerment materials to be given to them.
“We are also working with traditional and community leaders to monitor and ensure that none of this equipment is disposed of.
“We are also working along with the state ministries of women’s affairs and that of the youth to ensure that the equipment is properly used,” the coordinator explained.
In an interview, one of the beneficiaries, Mansir Nafiu Batsari narrated that he has learnt a lot in seasonal and irrigation farming, promising to cascade the training down to others.
Reporters, were during the training, taken around by CDD and Katsina Youth Craft Village officials, to different departments in the centre comprising tailoring, cosmetology, tie and dye workshop, perfume, jelly, and shampoo production departments.
Other departments visited include welding and fabrication, carpentry and computer departments, catering department, as well as leather work, where trainees are being trained in shoe and bag making among other leather-related trades.
In the meantime, the Centre Coordinator of the Katsina Youth Craft Village, Kabir Abdullahi, called on various organisations in the state, to partner with the State’s Youth Craft Village to train the youth to reduce the unemployment rate in the State.
He further charged the trainees to apply the skills they acquired and cascade the training down to other people in their separate communities.