Japan-UNESCO Project Empowers 1, 000 IDPs Vulnerable In Gombe

On Apr 4, 2024

By: Rebecca Mu’azu, Gombe

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, (UNESCO), through a Japanese-sponsored Project on Strengthening Peacebuilding and Resilience in Northeastern Nigeria, has empowered 1000 Internally Displaced Persons and vulnerable people in Gombe through Education, Economic Empowerment, and Social Change.

Speaking during the presentation of its End-line Report and closing event for the project in Gombe, the UNESCO Representative in Nigeria, Mr. Abdourahamane Diallo, said the UN organization had in the past 12 months supported the IDPs and vulnerable families in host communities, particularly young women and girls, with experiential learning for peacebuilding, psychosocial support for long-term recovery, and opportunities for socio-economic empowerment.

Mr. Diallo said the project implementation covered psychosocial support, which involved the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, which ensured experiential learning through sports and games.

He said there was the Adult and Non-formal Education Agency, which anchored the vocational acquisition programme.

According to him, the project facilitated the monthly monitoring of the project in the six focus Local Government Areas, demonstrating capacity and an unequaled commitment to its operations.

Mr. Diallo said the project had also contributed to the United Nations response to the humanitarian crises in North East Nigeria and supported Gombe state authorities to deliver on social and economic development.

He said Gombe State was one of three states in Nigeria, that benefited from the first project which was implemented in 2021-2022, for the empowerment of women and girls in marginalized communities in three selected states in Nigeria.

According to him, the second phase of the project was one of the key recommendations made during the first project, which was the call for economic empowerment of marginalized and vulnerable groups through the provision of vocational skills.

“Our work here in the past 12 months has been a logical follow-up of the previous project. Over 100 IDPs and vulnerable persons in host communities have acquired vocational skills in their chosen vocations for Improved livelihoods and self-reliance,” said Mr. Diallo.

For the sustainability of the present project, Mr. Diallo said there was the need for sustainability of the gains made, to ensure that the impact continued, saying UNESCO has taken into account the sustainability of the project in the project design.

“There Were Deliberate Efforts To Work With Existing Structures And To Strengthen Systems For Continuity,” said Mr. Diallo.

He said UNESCO expected continued implementation of activities carried out during the project implementation.

“I therefore urge, our partners, the counselors from the Ministry of Women Affairs and the NGOs, the Adult and Non-formal Education Agency (ANFEA) Including their offices in the communities, the Sports coordinators and coaches, to continue the good work. Let the counseling sessions, the Sports for Peace Initiative and the football matches, that have promoted the Integration of the IDPs in the host communities continue. This way the project will continue to reach additional beneficiaries, although the project activities have been completed,” Mr. Diallo said.

He also appealed to the authorities in Gombe State to make annual budgetary provisions for the responsible agencies to embark on similar activities to support the IDPs and the vulnerable groups.

Mr. Diallo said because their capacities had been strengthened, he was confident that the beneficiaries would deliver better on their mandates, while counting on partners of UNESCO to continue the good work, to guarantee the sustainability of the project.

He thanked the Government of Japan for funding the laudable project and the impact of the existing Japan-UNESCO collaboration for the promotion of sustainable development and shared prosperity.

Mr. Diallo therefore called on the graduands to make good use of the items given to them to improve their lives and those of their family members.

Responding on behalf of Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, the Deputy Governor of Gombe State, Dr. Manassah Daniel Jatau, congratulated the beneficiaries and urged them to make good use of the lessons and vocational skills learned within the timeframe, so that they could become catalysts of change.

He said the United Nations and other donor partners had been standing strong behind Gombe State, commending the Japan- UNESCO Team, which had been with the state since 2020, becoming reliable and dependable partners in the struggle to improve the socio-economic standing of the population.

“For this, I on behalf of the Governor and the residents of our dear state want to say thank you very much and to appeal for you not to leave us as it is not yet “Uhuru”. Please be assured of our support, partnership, collaboration and learning to ensure the laudable development projects that touched the lives of residents continue to flourish,” Dr. Jatau said.

Olusola Akintonde