By Stanley Onyekwere
The Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA) and FCT Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in partnership with trained and handed over groundnut oil processing equipment to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) at Yimitu settlement, in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC).
FEMA Director General, Alhaji Abbas Idriss commended JICA for its numerous interventions in the IDPs settlement, aimed at improving the lives of the settlers.
Idriss, noted that the IDPs lacked basic amenities like portable water, healthcare facilities and schools, as such intervention by JICA would improve the wellbeing of the beneficiaries.
He enjoined residents of the settlement to utilize and manage the installed equipment judiciously for economic development.
Idriss also charged the residents to protect the equipment and to cascade the training to other women in the settlement.
Similarly, in a goodwill message, the Managing Director of the North East Development Commission,(NEDC), Mr. Alkali G. Muhammad, represented by Hajiya Fatima Ciroma commended JICA for empowering women, in view of the important role they play in society.
Ciroma advised the women to use the skill acquired and the equipment to generate income and live life with more freedom.
Also speaking, the representative of JICA, Mr. Yuzurio Susumu explained that the intendment of the empowerment programme was to enable the IDPs fend for themselves.
Susumu noted that JICA has empowered over 500 IDPs on rice paddy and soap making.
He added that JICA would continue to strengthen the capacity of IDPs to improve on their livelihoods.
On her part, a beneficiary and Woman leader of the IDP settlement,Yimitu, Halita Joseph said the Programme would greatly improve the wellbeing of the women,adding that they had earlier been trained on soap making.
Not left out, the Acting Director of the Relief and Rehabilitation Department of FEMA, Engineer Abdulrahman Mohammed, explained that since 2019 JICA has been training IDPS on liquid soap making and urged the women to come up with a simple system to ensure that members of the community benefit from the equipment.
