To prevent the spread of COVID-19, out-of-school youths in EU and
UNICEF-supported vocational centres in Maiduguri, North East Nigeria are
diversifying into face mask and soap production.
By Folashade
Adebayo
To prevent the spread of COVID-19, out-of-school youths in EU and UNICEF-supported vocational centres in Maiduguri, North East Nigeria are diversifying into face mask and soap production.
By Folashade Adebayo
The mild hum of sewing machines in a UNICEF-supported vocational centres in Maiduguri, North East Nigeria echoes like the start of a heavy rain. Inside the expansive hall, 18 beneficiaries sit at a distance from one another, their noses and mouths protected with cotton face masks. Pedaling non-stop on her machine, Faisa Muhammed Abusa, 21, puts finishing touches on a peach face mask. It is her twenty fourth piece of the day.
“It took me just one day to learn how to make face masks because UNICEF already trained us on how to sew school uniforms,’’ says Abusa.
“Now I sew at least 30 face masks every day. I am not happy about the outbreak of COVID-19, but I am pleased that I have an opportunity to do something to help others. It is also an additional skill for me,’’ she adds.
The out-of-school youth who fled Gamboru, in the Ngala Local Government Area of the state says the vocational training has restored her confidence and dignity. “I was like a beggar before now. Then I was selected to learn sewing skills for three months. I have multiple skills because face mask production has been added. I am confident of sewing any material and support my family,’’ she says.
Abusa is one of 1,100 beneficiaries of an ongoing vocational skills empowerment component initiated by UNICEF, in partnership with the Borno State Agency for Mass Education (SAME). The project which has been providing vocational skills and income opportunity to out-of-school youths, females who head their households and girls released from armed groups, is funded by the European Union. Commenced in June 2019, the project has empowered hundreds of youths with skills in sewing, poultry farming, shoe making, painting, interlock making and catering across six local government areas of the state. The project provides a monthly stipend to beneficiaries for the training duration and plans to empower at least 25,000 youths in the next three years.
With the outbreak of COVID-19, UNICEF is temporarily focusing on the production of 40,000 face masks and 12,000 bars of soap for vulnerable families in the state. At two of the centres in Maiduguri, 366 youths, 10 adolescent girls and 24 women who head their households are racing to deliver the materials for prompt distribution.
Abubakar Mustapha, 25, an internally displaced person who lives at the Bakassi Camp has been trained and now makes between 200 and 300 bars of soap daily. Originally from Gwoza near the Cameroon border, Mustapha says his life has been changed since he fled the gunpowder of insurgency to Maiduguri in 2014.
“UNICEF has changed my life in many ways. I have skills through which I can earn income. Also important is that the skill I am learning can make a difference and keep people safe. We were told that hand washing with soap can kill the COVID-19 virus. The government needs my skills and my people need my skills,’’ he says.
Like Abusa and Mustapha, 20 years old Duduwa Samaila works on the frontline of the COVID-19 epidemic. Samaila says the combination of a new skill, income opportunity and contribution to the fight against COVID-19 excites her. Beyond the epidemic, the native of Gwoza who also relocated to Maiduguri few years ago plans to be an employer of labour.
“Sooner than later COVID-19 will go away. I am excited for an opportunity to do something with my hands. I had nothing to do and have been living on handouts since I came to Maiduguri. I will just say that in every cloud, there is a silver lining,’’ she says.
With Abusa, Mustapha, Samaila and other beneficiaries across Borno empowered with skills and income opportunities, the EU project aims to build resilient communities which can support and advocate for educational services.
Trainers at the face mask and soap production facilities put the daily production capacity at 1,500 and 700 for face masks and soap respectively. They also ensure that beneficiaries adhere to social distancing and wash their hands regularly with soap and water provided at the centres.
Across Hawul, Gwoza, MMC, Jere, Monguno, Mobbar LGAs, UNICEF hopes to resume the next phase of the vocational training cycle for all six skills. The training works in a three-month cycle, after which participants graduate and another batch enrolls. During the training period, beneficiaries are provided with monthly stipend to cover their transportation cost. First phase of the project has been completed with 1,100 youths empowered. Before COVID-19, graduates of the poultry farming department made a headway into the Maiduguri market after rearing broilers to table size chickens with reasonable profit.
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