….Charges Beneficiaries on Contributing Quota to Lagos Economic Development
The Lagos State government has admonished beneficiaries of the Life Skills Economic Empowerment Programme to ensure they practice what they have learned during the short-term skills acquisition programme.
Commissioner of the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Hon. Bolaji Dada, gave the admonishment on Tuesday, 15th October 2024 at the closing ceremony of the four-week programme at the Eti-Osa Local Council Development Area in Ajah area of the State.
Hon. Dada who spoke through the Director of the Women Department in WAPA, Olufunke Shyllon noted that it is part of the Sanwo-Olu THEMES Plus agenda to ensure that more women are empowered as small and medium enterprises are the souls of every economy.
She noted that the present administration has empowered about 16,500 women across different Local Government Areas, LGAs, and Local Council Development Areas, LCDA of the State since its inception.
Chairman of the LCDA, John Campos Ogundare, also charged the beneficiaries to maximise the opportunities and not relent in improving on the skills acquired during the four-week training scheme.
“We admonish you to make use of the equipment they have given you; do not sell it off”, Ogundare added at the closing ceremony.
One of the beneficiaries, a nineteen-year-old student, Aishat Olaiwola, noted that she learned soap-making and cream because of its simplicity.
“I can make soap and sell to my colleagues when I return to school and make money for myself”, Aishat said.
Another Beneficiary, who learned Make-up artistry, Eberechukwu Juliana, said she is grateful for the opportunity as this will enable her to become financially independent.
“My church members wear makeup to Church on Sundays a lot; so, learning how to do this is a step in the right direction for me, because I’ll tell them I can now do make-up. And I will make their faces up on Sunday and earn some money for myself”
Eberechukwu also appreciated the Lagos State government for not only training beneficiaries but also providing equipment to enhance their productivity on the job.
Skills learned during the four-week training programme were: fabric stoning, throw pillows and duvets, soap making, catering, and make-up artistry.
Equipment such as sewing machines, make-up boxes, and ring lights, gas cylinders, basins, stoning machines among others were handled over to one hundred beneficiaries from across the Eti-Osa East LCDA.