The empowerment of women and youths in Ogun State has taken a new turn as more than 30,000 people have already benefited from a large-scale vocational training programme.
The initiative is being facilitated by the Alliance for Kamosky, a coalition of friends and supporters of Alhaji Kamardeen Yusuf, who serves as the Personal Assistant to the President on Special Duties.
A statement released on Thursday explained that the project is focused on improving the lives of underprivileged communities by providing practical skills that can lead to self-reliance and income generation.
The training covers soap making, tie-and-dye, hairdressing, and shoemaking, with the aim of creating opportunities for small businesses and reducing unemployment.
Beneficiary communities include:
1. Ado-Odo
2. Agbara
3. Igbesa
4. Lusada
5. Ketu
6. Ayetoro
7. Idiroko
8. Odogbolu
9. Odeda
10. Ilaro
11. Obafemi Owode
12. Ikene
13. Imasayi
14. Owode Yewa
Others are Ijebu-Ode, Ijebu East, Ijebu North, Ogun Waterside, Remo North, Sagamu, Abeokuta North and South, Ota, Imeko, Oja Odan, Ipokia, Ewekoro, and Ifo.
Speaking on the programme, Abimbola Odunlami, who represented the group, praised Yusuf and Dr. Abdul-Lateef Sulaiman, describing them as champions of grassroots empowerment and economic growth.
“Alhaji Kamardeen has performed excellently well in securing jobs for youths and providing soft loans to traders, thereby endearing himself to the people,” Odunlami said.
She explained further, “On our own part, as beneficiaries of Alhaji Kamardeen’s efforts, we thought about what we could do to complement his work. That is why we initiated this programme to enable our people to acquire vocational skills such as soap making, tie-and-dye, hairdressing, shoemaking and others. When women are empowered, it goes a long way toward creating a positive impact in our society.”
Organisers emphasized that this scheme is part of a larger plan to address unemployment, encourage entrepreneurship, and promote economic inclusion across Ogun State.