This past weekend, the Nigerian Armed Forces Resettlement Center Officers’ Wives Association (NAFRCOWA) provided 48 destitute widows and orphans with tools and startup capital for small companies.
Following a 12-week training program at NAFRC where the beneficiaries learned skills in catering, leather work, fashion design, hairstyling, and makeup arts, among other things, this empowerment exercise was conducted with the beneficiaries.
According to The Nation, the organization provided the recipients at their graduation ceremony on Friday with kits that included hair dryers, ovens, mixers, electric kitchen scales, a hair washer and drainer, and an industrial machine for creating shoes and bags.
Speaking at the event, Rear Admiral Akinga Ayafa, Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), Naval Doctrine Command, praised NAFRCOWA for the gesture, which he claimed would significantly lower unemployment in the local communities.
He emphasized that it was difficult for everyone to have paid job and that skill training was one of the guaranteed paths to economic progress and national prosperity.
The FOC stated that given the numerous issues the country was facing, including insecurity, unemployment, and slow economic growth, the significance of skill development in Nigeria could not be overstated.
“Skill acquisition has taken on a special relevance as a result of its position in the socioeconomic development of the country as a catalyst for economic expansion and job creation.
“A major factor in our country’s slow economic growth is the absence of residents with the necessary skills, which results in an excessive reliance on goods produced abroad.
According to him, learning technical or vocational skills has no upper age limit and gives everyone the same chance to succeed in the free market.
He contends that abilities are what set one person apart from another, regardless of their academic background or level of achievement.
“You now have the ability to take on the task of resolving our country’s unemployment issues. You must accept this challenge by making effective use of the information you’ve obtained from starting small and medium-sized businesses that will lead to job prospects.
Ayafa warned the beneficiaries not to take the chance for granted and to strive toward returning to society as soon as possible by reminding them of the significant financial costs associated with their training and empowerment.
“The Center handled this financial impact as part of the association’s Corporate Social Responsibility through NAFRCOWA. I thus implore you to be enthusiastic, committed, and creative in your chosen fields so that this investment by NAFRCOWA does not go to waste.
“I beg you to practice patience in your interactions with potential customers, keep a positive outlook, and have strong marketing abilities at all times to expand your business.
You must be cautious and prudent in the management of your hard-earned resources as a result of the high rate of illicit actions in the open market, he continued.
The program’s coordinator for NAFRCOWA, Mrs. Naomi Lubo, stated that it was intended to help the less fortunate members of the NAFRC’s immediate neighborhood and that over 300 people have benefited from it since its beginning.
The participants were exposed to contemporary trends to offer them a competitive edge going forward, she said. I firmly believe that these moral qualities, when combined with diligence, will guarantee our graduates’ success as business owners in a difficult economic climate.
Godwin Ekanem, a beneficiary who specialized in leather works, expressed his gratitude for the chance and his belief that it would enhance not only his life but also the lives of his family.
“This will go a long way toward assisting me in realizing my future goal of being an entrepreneur. I now have the knowledge and tools required to begin producing shoes and bags for sale, and this will allow me to help out my mother, a small-time trader, Ekanem said.
