No fewer than 600 youths in Kaduna State have graduated from a free skills acquisition and empowerment programme organised by the Mercy Angel Foundation, an outreach arm of the Restoration Bible Church, as part of efforts to promote self-reliance, reduce unemployment and foster peaceful coexistence across religious and ethnic divides.
The graduation ceremony, held on Saturday in Kaduna, attracted traditional rulers, religious leaders, community stakeholders and church members, with beneficiaries drawn from Kaduna North, Kaduna South, Chikun Local Government Area and neighbouring communities. The event brought together participants from different backgrounds in a show of unity, cooperation and shared commitment to youth development.
Speaking at the event, the founder of the foundation, Rev. Tunde Bolanta, said the initiative was designed to equip young people with practical and marketable skills that would enable them to become economically independent and productive members of society. He explained that the programme focused on hands-on learning and real-life skills that could translate directly into income opportunities for participants.
Bolanta explained that the programme was part of a broader 18-month empowerment project aimed at addressing youth unemployment, poverty and social vices, particularly crime, drug abuse and the manipulation of young people for violent activities. According to him, empowering youths economically was a key step toward reducing social tension and insecurity in the state.
The graduates were trained in vocational areas that included fashion design, baking, bead-making, hairdressing, soap making, phone and computer repairs, and other skills tailored to meet everyday societal needs. Trainers were drawn from experienced professionals, some of whom had previously benefited from earlier empowerment programmes organised by the church.
According to the cleric, the training programme, which is offered free of charge, recorded a high turnout, with over 1,200 youths currently involved in different batches, while about 580 beneficiaries are graduating in the present class. He noted that the large number of participants showed the growing demand for practical skills among young people in Kaduna.
“As we are doing training here, the programme is still ongoing and it is totally free. Anyone who needs this kind of training is welcome to come,” he said. He added that the foundation remained committed to keeping the programme accessible to youths regardless of their religious or ethnic background.
He said similar training sessions were ongoing in Kaduna North, even as he announced that another graduation ceremony would be held the following Saturday in collaboration with the Ashafa Foundation, traditional rulers and religious leaders. He explained that working with multiple stakeholders helped strengthen trust and widen the programme’s reach.
Bolanta stressed that beyond vocational training, the foundation was also committed to promoting dialogue and engagement among religious and traditional leaders as a strategy for building trust, mutual understanding and peaceful coexistence in Kaduna State. He said the empowerment programme was deliberately structured to bring people together across divides.
“Dialogue is the key to resolving problems. What you don’t know, you are afraid of, but when you engage with others, you begin to understand each other better,” he said. He noted that sustained engagement remained essential in a state with a history of ethno-religious tensions.
The cleric recalled that similar empowerment programmes were organised by the church in 2008 and 2012, noting that many beneficiaries from those initiatives were now business owners, with some returning as trainers in the current programme. He said this cycle of learning and teaching showed the long-term value of skills development.
“Some of the trainers you see today are products of those earlier programmes, and that tells us that what we are doing is working,” he added. He said the foundation remained encouraged by stories of past beneficiaries who had become employers of labour.
Bolanta, however, expressed regret that the foundation could not provide start-up equipment for all the graduates due to limited resources, despite the scale of the programme. He said the demand for support was high and resources remained stretched.
“My heart’s desire would have been to give over 400 sewing machines to graduates to take home, but we are doing the little we can,” he said, while announcing the introduction of a small loan scheme for qualified beneficiaries. He explained that the loans would help some graduates start or expand small businesses.
He further explained that traditional and religious leaders in Kaduna North and South would play a role in identifying beneficiaries eligible for the loan support, to ensure transparency and community ownership of the process.
Describing himself as a native of Kaduna, Bolanta said the initiative was his contribution to restoring the unity and peaceful coexistence for which the state was once known. He also commended both the federal and state governments for their efforts at bridging divides and supporting peace initiatives.
He called on philanthropists, corporate organisations and other stakeholders to support youth empowerment initiatives, pointing out that more needed to be done to secure the future of young people in the state and reduce the risk of social unrest.
Also speaking at the event, Sheikh Nuraini Ashafa, the Co-Coordinator of the Interfaith Mediation Centre, commended Mercy Angel Foundation for deploying youth empowerment as a practical tool for bridging religious and ethnic divides.
Ashafa, who also leads the Ashafa Foundation, described the initiative as “bridge-building in action” in a city long affected by ethno-religious tensions. He said the programme demonstrated how economic inclusion could support peace.
“Kaduna has become a divided city – north and south, Muslim and Christian. Many talk about peace, but few build bridges. What we are seeing here today is not just talk. It is action,” he said.
While lamenting what he described as the “artificial poverty” created by poor governance, he insisted that youths had become the greatest victims of failing education, health care delivery and economic systems.
“No matter how comfortable you are, as long as your neighbour is living in pain, that comfort becomes a threat to your own peace and security,” Ashafa said.
He disclosed that over 5,000 people had benefited from the foundation’s food bank initiative, while more than 100 individuals had received medical support, adding that the shift to skills acquisition was aimed at achieving long-term impact.
Earlier in her remarks, Dr. Tina Bolanta, wife of the foundation’s founder, emphasised the importance of combining formal education with practical skills, urging youths not to rely solely on academic qualifications.
“School is very important, but having a skill in hand is sometimes what puts food on the table,” she said.
She announced that the programme would continue until December, with another intake scheduled for the long vacation period between July and September, and urged beneficiaries to start small businesses with the skills acquired.
The event concluded with prayers, goodwill messages and the distribution of start-up kits, including sewing machines and hairdressing equipment, to selected beneficiaries through a raffle draw, as graduates expressed optimism about their economic future.
