Knowing that handouts from the public are not enough, internally displaced persons have embraced skills acquisition, GRACE OBIKE reports
Give a man a fish, as they say, and you feed him for a day. Teach him to fish, and you feed for a lifetime. At a camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Abuja, this Chinese proverb has a literal meaning.
The IDPs depend largely on charity, but even as they cherish every handout, they still lack most of life’s basic necessities.
Things are changing. The truth of the Chinese saying is sinking in, and the IDPs have started learning trades in order to be able to support themselves. And they are doing quite well.
Some well-meaning entrrepreneurs have dedicated their time and knowledge to training the displaced persons to be self-reliant.
The government of the Federal Capital Territory says the displaced camps are in the wrong places, meaning it is not obliged to take care of them. This attitude inspired a lot of Nigerians to take up the responsibility of giving to the displaced out of the little they have which has so far been sustaining them but some residents in some cases have gone a step further in providing education, health facilities and empowerment programmes to the IDPs. One of such organisations, the Life Builders Initiatives formed by a couple, has erected structures in Durumi and presently teaches over 1000 children. The organisation also feed the IDPs ones a day.
Whereas most of their parents, especially mothers, have nothing to do, a few people have taken to training the mothers as well. Recently, the Sisters of Our Lady of Apostles (OLA) empowered 43 women in different skills ranging from bead-making, soap making, making of hand wash, bags, flower vases and a lot more.
The training which took place at the Maria Centre Abuja, located around the Durumi camp was coordinated by Rev. Sis. Anne Falola who explained that she had always visited the camps to provide them with relief materials but she felt that they should not simply be reduced to simply relying on people’s hands out.
She said, “I was coming to the camp like every other person to give food and clothing but I felt that no human being should be reduced to just handouts, I feel that these people’s lives have been disrupted, their normal way of livelihood, they have lost everything in the crises and felt they should be re-equipped to face life so that the time that they are in transition and away from home can be put into a useful purpose.
“Each time we spoke with government agencies about them, they always told us that this was a temporary thing, that we should not invest too much on them and I feel that is not right because every human life is precious. I feel that where we need to invest in our country is not in buildings but in persons; that is our greatest resources, so all this put together made me say that the little people gave to me for my birthday, let me divert it to use. I saw how downcast the women where and decided to give them a space to play and talk which brings healing in itself and in the process learn something that they will not need a lot of money to invest in, many of them are very happy because it is useful for them, it takes their minds away from being depressed now they see that they can do things, sell and make money.
“Today 43 women graduated after three months and we were able to give a small start-up for 11, others are waiting and we want to give to all of them, with as little as N20,000 we can put something beautiful for them.
“My dream will be that in all the suburbs, there should be empowerment centres because we don’t look at the potentials in people in this country, we look at people as problems which is a mistake, the women where really surprised when they made their first purses, they never believed it was possible before then, I have seen people from other countries come here today to say that they can actually take the items home and tell people that they bought in from Nigeria. In all the suburbs where joblessness is the daily song of people, where depression is bitting hard and people are unable to think because they don’t see a future, people need to learn to start little things, different handwork, this was how Indonesian shops where developed and now they supply to chain stores in Europe, there are wasted spaces everywhere in this country, even a little poultry will bring down the price of chicken in the market, we need to learn to stop importing stupid things in the name of joblessness, we do not actually need big money to start a lot of things.”
Coordinator Governmental and Public Relations of the IDP camp in Area 1, Idris Ibrahim Halilu, explained that even though they appreciate being provided with food and clothing items, they will love to be self-reliant.
He said, “The sisters of the Ladies of Apostles contacted us that they wanted to organise a skills acquisition training for our wives, widows, sisters and we welcomed the idea, we spoke with our people and got the number required to register and I had the privilege of being the translator and it has been a success story so far.
“This is an opportunity for our women to acquire skills to enable them become self-employed and trainers to other, so they can be a relief to the society instead of depending on NGOs, individuals and the government to come to feed us, with something to do, for instance, if she is a widow, she can make use of her skills to take care of her children, which is good because the men are equally being trained because when a man gives you food, it is just for a day but being thought skills is being given food for life. If you bring a hundred thousand trailers of food, it will finish but these skills will always remain and can be imparted to others and the impact is on the larger society.
“When they return home, this is what will sustain them and they will be eager to teach others, as we train them.”
Executive Secretary of Caritas Nigeria, a relief and development agency of the Catholic Bishops conference of Nigeria Rev. Fr. Evaristus Bassey, added that the problem with the country is that, unemployment and the level of hardship in the country makes it difficult for a lot of people who would have ordinarily want to help the needy in their midst, to help because people with jobs in a family have a lot of dependants which makes it difficult for a lot of people to make much to give after providing for their families.
His said, “We have supported the project financially and in terms of guidance, we have made substantial donations like the container with toilet facilities, sewing machines for the women etc.
“The philanthropic culture in Nigeria is very poor, many Nigerians give so that their names can be mentioned, they give when it is relatives but to give not knowing where it will be used is poor here it is something we have to work on but it could be linked to poverty, when one has employment or a means, he has lots of dependence, so before he can take care of these dependents and reach out to people outside the circle is challenging, there is a lot of extended family and community dependency, it’s probably the reason and not that we are not generous but there are still people that can reach out and help those in need.”
One of the beneficiaries, 17-year-old Fatima Ali from Gambarongala Local Government, who appreciated the opportunity, stated that she now believes that she has something that she can one day use to take care of not only herself but family.
“I decided to learn because it can be a way of taking care of myself in future; if I don’t have anything doing, with this I can work for myself and get enough money to pay my bills instead of depending on anyone, with this I can become a businesswoman who can afford to take care of her family; it took me five months, now I can make bags, belts, flower vase, ear rings, bangles, key holders and lots more.”
Another beneficiary, mother of five, 27-year-old Mariam Isah, said that she now believes that what she learnt will keep her going.
“I learnt to make bags, soap, hand wash, vase and a lot more, they thought us a lot of skills, formerly we used to just sit at home doing nothing but now we can confidently call ourselves business women, now when I return home, I have a craft to keep me going, I have a business to use in taking care of my children.”
