The Alheri Neighbourhood Women Empowerment Initiative on Saturday empowered nine young women in Tundu Wada South, Chanchaga Local Government Area (LGA) of Niger, with sewing machines to help them establish tailoring businesses and become self-reliant.
The sewing machines were presented to the beneficiaries during a certificate award ceremony held at Alheri Community Hall, Tundu Wada South, following their successful completion of apprenticeship in tailoring and fashion design.
Dr Mustapha Jibril Alheri, Founder of the Initiative and Chairman of Chanchaga LGA, said the empowerment was designed to complement the efforts of the administration of Gov. Umaru Bago in improving livelihoods through skills acquisition and economic empowerment.
The newsmen report that the beneficiaries underwent nearly one year of apprenticeship in tailoring and fashion design.
Jibrin-Alheri, represented by the Secretary of the council, Alhaji Muhammad Dokotako, said the sewing machines were provided to enable the beneficiaries put the skills they acquired during their training into practice.
He said the initiative was not only about presenting equipment but also about creating opportunities for young women to establish businesses, generate income and contribute to the welfare of their families.
According to him, the empowerment is also in line with efforts to support young people and women to become economically productive and self-reliant.
He recalled that the Chanchaga Local Government had earlier empowered 1,100 people with N20,000 each to establish small-scale businesses, while another 150 people had benefited from similar support.
He urged the beneficiaries to make good use of the sewing machines and utilise the equipment to build sustainable businesses from the skills they had acquired.
Also speaking, Mr Mohammed Ibrahim, Chief Protocol to the chairman, said the beneficiaries were selected and trained without political considerations.
He said the empowerment was aimed at helping the young women translate their tailoring skills into sustainable sources of livelihood.
Mr Muhammad Garba, Special Adviser on Political Strategies and Economic Affairs to the chairman, urged government and community leaders to give greater attention to vocational and technical skills.
He said practical skills would help young people become self-reliant, noting that government employment alone could not provide opportunities for everyone.
Also speaking, Hajiya Amina, woman leader from Tundu Wada South, commended the initiative and urged the organisers to extend similar empowerment programmes to women in other age categories.
One of the beneficiaries, Khadija Shafi Muhammad, expressed appreciation to the initiative, saying the sewing machine would enable her to put the tailoring skills she had acquired into practice and support herself and her parents.
Another beneficiary, Fatima Adamu, also thanked the organisers for the opportunity, saying she was happy to have acquired tailoring skills and received a sewing machine to start her own business.