By Jibrin Hussaini Kundum, Bauchi
About fifty women from two groups in Kundum village of Bauchi Local Government Area of Bauchi State have been urged to use the knowledge and skills they acquired during the six-month training on oil extraction and food processing.
The initiative was designed and implemented by the Nigeria Women Rights and Empowerment Network (NIWOREN), in partnership with the Development Exchange Centre (DEC), and Brot für die Welt, aimed at revitalising the livelihoods and promoting economic independence among rural women.
To this end, the NIWOREN project, has organised under the Community Empowerment through Smart Sustainable Production Programme, provided hands on training in the production of local spaghetti, oil extraction and groundnut cake, equipment participants with practical skills to establish small scale enterprises.
Speaking during the graduation and NIWOREN close-out ceremony, held at Kundum Primary school, the NIWOREN Programme Manager, Mrs. Alfred Ojoya Precious, said the beneficiaries underwent several months of intensive training designed to strengthen both technical competence and entreprenual activities.
She explained that the programme went beyond basic skills acquisition by introducing participants to key principles of hygiene, proper packaging and market readiness to ensure their products meet acceptable standards.
Mrs. Ojonya Precious added that empowering women through sustainable production skills remains one of the most effective strategies for reducing poverty and strengthening economic resilience at the grassroots level.
She encouraged the graduates to remain committed to applying their newly acquired skills and to share the knowledge with other women in their communities to expand the programme’s impact.
Also speaking, the Executive Director of NIWOREN, Ada Samuel, congratulated the graduates and described the training as timely and beneficial for improving the economic wellbeing of rural women.
In his remarks on behalf of Kundum Community, the Village Head of Kundum, Malam Nuhu Idris who was represented by Mallam Muhammad Sani, thanked the Nigeria Women Rights and Empowerment Network (NIWOREN), and other developmental partners for selecting Kundum Village to benefit from the intervention.
He used the medium to called on the beneficiaries to make good use of the knowledge gained towards achieving the desired goals.