Yobe Gov’t, UNDP empower 300 volunteer security personnel with vocational skills

The Yobe State Government, in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), has successfully trained and empowered 300 members of local Volunteer Security Outfits (VSOs) with vocational skills and start-up kits.
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The VSOs, who comprise both men and women, were instrumental in defending their communities during the periods of Boko Haram attacks. The current programme focuses on economic empowerment to ensure their long-term reintegration into civil society.
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The project which is funded by the European Union (EU) and implemented by the UNDP in close partnership with the Yobe State Government and an organization named ANI, is aimed at strengthening community stability through economic empowerment and sustainable livelihood for persons formerly associated with security groups (VSOs).
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The Executive Secretary of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Dr. Goje Muhammad, represented by Dr. Ibrahim Jalo Muhammad, emphasized that the distribution of start-up kits and cash disbursements is crucial for this transition.
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‎The beneficiaries were trained on five different marketable vocational skills clusters, selected based on local economic needs. The beneficiaries were selected from three frontline Local Government Areas that bore the brunt of the insurgency which include Potiskum, Damaturu, and Gujba. The skills include;
‎Painting, POP (Plaster of Paris), charcoal brackets production, interlocked bricks production, solar installations and aluminum pot production
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