UN commences vocational training for 496 victims of Boko Haram insurgency

“UNDP feels that it is part of its mandate to ensure that the women and the youth are given skills that can last them through their lifetime

The United Nations says its vocational training for 496 victims of Boko Haram insurgency from Adamawa, Borno and Yobe State will commence on January 25.
Matthew Alao, the Conflict Prevention and Peace Building Analyst of the UN Development Programme, revealed this fact to the News Agency of Nigeria on Tuesday in Abuja.

Alao explained that the UN was sponsoring the Boko Haram victims to acquire vocational skills under the first phase of the UNDP Livelihood Support Scheme for the North East.
He said: “You will recall the impact of the insurgency in the North East and how people have been displaced and idle for a long time.

“UNDP feels that it is part of its mandate to ensure that the women and the youth are given skills that can last them through their lifetime.
“Beginning from this month and in the next two weeks, the first batch of 223 beneficiaries and the second batch of 273 beneficiaries will commence their training.”

According to Alao, during the training, all the beneficiaries will be accommodated, fed, paid allowances for the entire period and also given take-off grants on completion of their training.
He said: “From this month, the subsequent six months to one year will be meant to give them the required skills, depending on the trades they choose.

“During this period, we will arrange for their accommodation, feeding and for them to make some savings because we are taking them out of their environment to a new environment.
“So we are paying them allowance for the entire period and after the training, we are going to give them equipment with which they are going to establish.

“We are going to open bank accounts for them and ask the banks to put a ceiling on what they can spend from their allowances.
“They cannot expend beyond a certain amount because we also need to instil discipline into them for them to be successful businessmen and women.”

Alao said the UNDP had identified 14 trades in which the beneficiaries were going to be trained.
He said the beneficiaries would be trained in standard institutions like the Peugeot Automobile (Nigeria) Limited, Apurimac Onlus, an Italian training centre, and other training centres.

The UN official assured the victims of insurgency that they would be accommodated in the various phases of the Early Recovery Programme of the UN.
“We are assuring them that we are looking into their problems in phases and it will get to all of them at the right time,” he said.

Alao said all the beneficiaries had undergone orientation programme to equip them in conflict prevention, deepen the culture of peace in their communities and give them the basic business management skills.
He said: “The orientation courses include physical fitness, mental training, leadership and civic education, conflict prevention, peace building and dialogue, to prepare the trainees as assets in rebuilding their communities.

“Business management skills, including book-keeping and accounting, psycho-social, trauma counselling and healing are also included in the orientation programmes.”
NAN.