The Anambra First Lady, Dr Nonye Soludo, has empowered 5,000 residents with business equipment, livelihood tools and entrepreneurial support to strengthen household incomes and expand opportunities for self-employment.
The beneficiaries, drawn from the state’s 21 Local Government Areas, included women, youths and elderly residents who received grinding and sewing machines, baking equipment, deep freezers, generators, hair dryers, mannequins, grills, livestock and other productive assets.
The exercise, held at the Light House in Awka on Thursday, was a continuation of an empowerment programme launched on September 10 during the visit of Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, to Anambra.
Speaking at the event, Dr Soludo said the programme was designed to reduce poverty by providing residents with productive assets to establish or expand businesses.
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“We gather today, not merely to distribute items or celebrate another social impact programme, but to reaffirm a simple truth: when we invest in people, we invest in the future,” the First Lady stressed.
Soludo explained that the beneficiaries were selected through a screening process covering communities across the 21 Local Government Areas to ensure that the intervention reached residents who genuinely needed support.
“We want our people to be self-reliant and able to take care of themselves and their families,” she emphasised.
She urged the beneficiaries not to sell the items but to put them to productive use, saying the support was intended to create sustainable livelihoods and generate opportunities for others.
“Don’t sell the items given to you; put them into productive use. Use them to also train other people. If you train others, you have empowered the people,” Soludo urged.
The First Lady noted that the economic impact of the intervention could extend beyond the 5,000 direct beneficiaries if recipients used their businesses to train and support others.
“We are not just empowering 5,000 people. If each person trains four, five or even eight others, imagine how much progress we will make,” she noted.
Soludo disclosed that a monitoring mechanism had been established to track beneficiaries and ensure that the equipment was used for the intended purposes.
“We will monitor your progress. We have your details and numbers, and we will keep track of how you are doing,” the Anambra First Lady disclosed.
She added that beneficiaries who demonstrated commitment and required further assistance could receive additional support.
Soludo urged the beneficiaries to embrace the theme of the programme, “Onye Aghana Nwanne Ya” (Be your brother’s keeper), by supporting other members of their communities.
Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, who later joined the programme, commended his wife’s efforts and pledged continued support.
The governor urged the beneficiaries to make productive use of the items, improve their families’ welfare and extend opportunities to others.
One of the beneficiaries, Mrs Azuka Ezike from Aguata Local Government Area, who received a grinding machine, expressed appreciation for the support, saying it would help improve her livelihood.
Another beneficiary, Chibundo Ezenwego from Ekwulobia, said the grinding machine would support her egusi and ogbono business, while Charles Igbo, an accountancy graduate from Nnewi North Local Government Area, pledged to put the equipment to productive use.
