Skill Acquisition: Joy As Enugu Group Empowers Visually Impaired Man, 49 Indigent Residents

Posted by Ignatius Okpara African News, Featured, Latest Headlines, News, News Across Nigeria, News From The State Saturday, August 21st, 2021

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – A social cultural organisation Amokwe Development Foundation (ADF, in Udi Council Area of Enugu State, South East Nigeria, has empowered a blind man, Mr. Chukwuma Onyia, and 49 other indigent people of the Community to set up their own small scale business.

Our Correspondent reports that they were given unspecified sums of money to establish their own businesses for emerging the best during a free training on different skills organized by the Foundation for the four Communities of the locality.

Chairman, Empowerment Committee of the ADF, John Kennedy Chime, had told journalists at the opening ceremony of the event, that at the end of the training, the best 40 persons out of about 200 participants will be empowered to start their own businesses.

But the Managing Director and General Manager of the Enugu State Housing Development Agency, Chukwuemelia Agu awarded an additional 10 persons, increasing the number of beneficiaries to 50.

The participants were trained on different skills especially in the agricultural sector like Piggery, Poultry, as well as Sanitizer production, phone repairs, detergents, leather works, among others.

He added that they are targeting wealth creation for the participants.

Chime disclosed that the foundation founded and funded by some prominent indigenes of Amokwe community both home and diaspora, had in the past assisted the less privileged citizens of the community through soft loans, among others.

ADF had in the past also assisted some poor women in the community and also recognized some elderly people in the community and advised the participants to use the opportunity to be self employed and employ others.

Speaking at the end of the event weekend, Chancellor of ADF, Dr. Frank Iloeje expressed happiness that the foundation was able to offer free training to citizens of Amokwe as well as give money to some participants to start their own businesses.

He, however, reminded the participants that the event was organized to make them self employed as well as to be employers of labour.

The Chancellor assured those that received funds to set up their own businesses that their businesses will expand with time but advised them to make use of the fund judiciously.

He thanked God for giving ADF the wisdom to organize the event as well as other events they have been organising since the establishment of the foundation.

Also speaking, the chairman, Board of Trustees of ADF, Engineer Mike Uzoigwe told the beneficiaries of the training that everybody has equal opportunity to succeed in life.

He advised them against believing that because they are disadvantaged in one area or another, they cannot reach where those that are advantaged can reach, hence the need for them to work hard.

The chairman of the empowerment committee of ADF, Chime, while reacting to the event, expressed happiness that it ended well and commended members of the foundation over their contributions.

Some of the participants and beneficiaries who spoke to journalists, thanked the ADF for organizing the event and urged government to assist the foundation to enable it empower people