From Sola Ojo, Kaduna
A total of 500 adolescent girls and boys including those with disabilities have benefited from the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) transferable and employability skills programme in Kaduna State.
The programme which was designed to empower adolescent girls with practical, gender-neutral skills to enhance their future career opportunities, foster creativity, problem-solving, and critical thinking among participating girls is being executed in ten selected secondary schools by the Kaduna State Ministry of Education.
The programme which lasted five days activity involved artisans and other professionals, equipping them with gender-neutral skills, focusing on shoemaking, cap making, bag making, and other relevant skills such as life skills, coding, and robotics.
Speaking at the concluding ceremony of the exercise on Friday November 24, the Assistant Director Project, Ministry of Education, Planning Department, Kaduna state, Mrs. Ziriah Shedrach clarified that 10 schools were selected within the Kaduna metropolis (Kaduna North, Kaduna South, Chikun, and Igabi LGAs).
She added that each school has 50 students from various classes to participate in the training.
Accessing the students’ eagerness to learn the skill, Mrs. Ziriah, said all of them were ready to learn, “we selected only 50 from this school but even today those that were not even selected also came because they want to participate.
“But because the materials we had were only for 50, we had to beg them to go with the promise that they would be selected in subsequent phases. All of them are ready to learn without any issues and even ask whether the organisation will still come to continue with them.
“We want them to have a skill that will help them with the initiative that they can survive even without the white collar job.
“We know that the Kaduna state government has been working on girls’ education in collaboration with UNICEF. So we want this skill imparted so our girls will become productive on their own even at home without the office work”, she said.
On why they included boys in a programme that was originally to empower girls she said, “we mixed them with the boys because both the boys and the girls are now moving in the world that everybody needs the skill whether you are a boy or a girl so it can help them develop different businesses on their own”.
The Principal of the Government Secondary School, (GSS) Television, Kaduna, Mrs. Esther Asabe Zakka expressed satisfaction with the readiness of the students to learn.
She disclosed that none of the children dodge the skill as it were in adolescent practice urging them to sustain the tempo while appealing to UNICEF and other partners for more interventions.
Some of the benefitting students shared their experiences. For Praise Jonah an SS 2 Science, said “I feel good. It’s not easy doing what you have not done before.
“This is my first time making shoes and it’s nice, very good. When I get home I will tell my parents to enroll me further so I can go and learn more about shoes$, said.
Also, Agatha Adejo from SS1 Art expressed her satisfaction with the process saying, “I feel great because aside from learning, there is something I can still do. I hope through this handiwork by the time I finish from here I will continue with it.
“At first I thought making shoes was very difficult but after this live training exercise I discovered that shoemaking is very easy”, she revealed.
Juliana Mark, SS 3 Art, said “I am very happy to be part of this exercise because it’s not every student that was opportune like me. I am very surprised that a lady too can participate in this kind of work.
“Our teacher who taught us is a lady and she is earning from the work. She also encouraged us that we can also participate in the training and earn a living through it.”
Favour Ikechukwu: SS 3 Art said “I feel good to have participated in the shoemaking. Although fixing the material was very stressful but other areas of strength encouraged me to do it.”
On his part, Leonard GoodLuck, SS 3 science, noted that “the skill is going to help me and I will try to go and develop myself for self-reliance.
“I see myself making a career out of it because the job is very good and fun. I learned enough and I am very happy to be part of the training”, he promised.