Mercy Corps Nigeria Empowers 24,000 Adolescents in Kano

Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano

Mercy Corps has launched life skill programmes for 24,000 adolescents in Kano as part of an intervention to upscale their entrepreneurial skills.

The empowerment programme tagged “Girls Improving Resilience Through Livelihoods and Health” (GIRL-H programme) is designed for beneficiaries between the ages of 10 and 24.

The Country Director of Mercy Corps Nigeria, Mr. Ndubisi Anyanwu, disclosed that 24,000 adolescent and young people between the ages of 10 and 24 who are out of school in Kano and Lagos would be educated.

He said: “Mercy Corps Nigeria has been in operation since 2012 working in areas of education, conflict, livelihood and cash intervention, among others reaching a cumulative of 2.64 million people in fiscal year 2012.”

Anyanwu spoke yesterday at Ungogwo Local Government while launching the Girl H- program in collaboration with Isa Wali Empowerment initiative held at district head palace, explained that they will undergo weekly sessions on skills, numeracy, literacy and business education before they are transitioned to livelihood pathways to success.

The country director stressed that the multi-country programme running in Kenya, Uganda, Haiti and Nigeria is to improve the well-being of adolescents and young people to increase their access to and uptake of life skills and financial literacy, as well as foster pathways to economic opportunities.

The country director, who was represented by Senior Subaward and Compliance Manager of Mercy Corps Nigeria, Mr. Vincent Adejoh, stressed that “one important aspect of the Girl-H program is building young people’s resilience and providing access to livelihood opportunities.”

“These are much needed skills for them to actively partake in the country’s sustainable development.

“With its large population of which one third is made up of young people Kano state is a strategic location for the girl-H program.”

Also speaking, the executive Secretary of Isa Wali Empowerment Initiative, Haija Hassan Hanga, explained that her organisation is partnering with Mercy Corps Nigeria to implement the programme in five councils of the state.

Hanga said the implementation would involve partnering with the Kano State Ministry of Women Affairs to reduce youth unemployment and create economic opportunities for indigenous people.

In his short remarks, the District Head of Ungogo and Magajin Malam of Kano, Mr. Abubakar Ahmed Chedi, believed that the intervention would reduce the influx of youth unemployment in Kano, and applauded Mercy Corps Nigeria for the opportunity.