A Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), Lend a Hand Initiative, on Monday urged well-meaning Nigerians to empower the less-privileged women in small scale businesses to reduce poverty in the country.

Founder of the Initiative, Hajiya Saratu Abdullahi-Idris, made the plea at the graduation ceremony of 21 women who underwent two weeks intensive training on various skills that would make to be self-reliant.

She appealed to other well-meaning individuals to engage in similar initiatives to eradicate poverty among vulnerable persons in the Nigerian society.

Beneficiaries acquired skills on how to make liquid soap for cleaning kitchen utensils, hand and cars wash, air fresheners, perfume spray, Vaseline, Rub, Confo and hair creams.

The 21 less privileged women were also given starter packs worth N15,000 each to start businesses based on the skills they acquired during the training.

Hajiya Abdullahi-Idris said while the non-profit organisation would continue to expand the scope to realise its vision to be a reference point for others in the country, there is need to call on other well-meaning Nigerians to also invest in charity to assist the less privileged persons, especially women.

Speaking on the training, Idris noted that a race of 1,000 miles starts with a single step. Her words: “We deliberately decided to start small and we just ended one training to test the waters and gather some level of experience.

“I was moved to start the initiative in 2015 when I visited some parts of the state which were in a state of abject poverty and vowed that I will start something where I can help the needy and less privileged folk in the society.

“We trained them on skills that they will replicate by training others, so that the level of poverty and unemployment will reduce in the state. I want them to help other women and youths to become self-reliant by setting up their businesses.

“I initiated this project because of the situation l witnessed in Kaduna State not even in the rural areas.

“The situation is pathetic and what l saw, l thought l was in a local village and l have to ask someone where l am and they told me that l am inside Kaduna and there and then l decided to help people but especially the women, youth and the less privileged.

“So my advice to the 21 beneficiaries is for them not to end only here, l want to see them progress into big ventures, enterprises, and even at export of what they have acquired from the trainings the underwent here.

“I want to restate that we are nonprofit, non-partisan and non-political organisation, but only out to assist in uplifting the standard of living of our people and liberating others from poverty.”

In his remarks, the Acting Coordinator of National Directorate of Employment (NDE) in Kaduna State, Mr. Sani Maiwada, while congratulating the beneficiaries, urged them to use the skills they acquired so that they can be self-reliant.

Maiwada lauded the initiative, saying that NDE would be willing to support such moves to contribute to reduce poverty among the vulnerable groups in the state.

He urged the beneficiaries to train more people in their communities “and by so doing, poverty and negative vices will reduce in the state. So we need more of Hajiya Sa’adatu in the state.”

Meanwhile, the NGO also donated food items worth thousands of naira to an orphanage home with more than 117 inmates in the Kaduna metropolis.

Hajiya Abdullahi-Idris, who delivered the items to the home, said it was part of effort to reduce the hardship for volunteers who run such homes.

•Photo by Garba Ahmad shows the founder of the Initiative, Hajiya Saratu Abdullahi-Idris, spending time with orphans after delivering food and other items to the orphanage home in Kaduna.