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By Egufe Yafugborhi

PORT HARCOURT – A six months entrepreneurial skills acquisition at improving livelihoods among women has taken off in Port Harcourt for 30 deaf women and girls drawn from Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Rivers state.

The capacity building on tailing and fashion designs, an initiative of the D-Ability Initiative, is being funded by the European Union, and Agents for Citizen-Driven Transformation and the British Council.

Executive Director of D-Ability Initiative, Dr Kingdom Nwanyanwu, explained at the flag off that fashion and designs was chosen because they are skills that allow the designer to demonstrate their creativity with ease of start up and potentials to grow.

On the choice of deaf as target beneficiaries, he said, “People with disability are marginalised, but the deaf are the most marginalized, most vulnerable because they can’t express their situation. Secondly, being women and deaf makes them most vulnerable because they face many forms of neglect.

“So when we give them the entrepreneurial skills that will enhance and bring their creativity to bear, it will bring about their financial independence. After this training, we are going to set up a hub, where all of them are going to work.

Ms. Uche Micah, one of the beneficiaries, speaking through an interpreter, said, “After the training I expect to be established and self dependent”, just as Jimoh Salaudeen, a beneficiary’s parent urged “government at all tiers to invest on improving wellbeing of deaf people.”