By Dickson Omobola, edited by Sola Ogundipe

TO tackle unemployment and transform the nation’s socio-economic atmosphere, a non-governmental organisation, Whitefield Foundation, has pledged to transforming the lives of 1,000,000 disadvantaged women and unemployed youths before 2025 through vocational skills training programmes.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Foundation, Mrs Funmi Johnson, who disclosed this  on the organisation’s 20th anniversary in Lagos, said Whitefield’s vocational skills project has seen financial grants awarded to over 1,300 participants, with more than half being women.

She highlighted that in Kano State, over 2, 200 women drawn from 44 Local Government Areas have been trained and empowered by the organisation, saying she is driven by the need to support the government’s efforts.

“Apart from financial grants, about 100 participants have also received support in the form of tools, including business registrations, laptops, sewing machines, and industrial machines. To date, the vocational skills training programme has directly empowered over 114,000 youth and women in Nigeria. A further 320,000 plus have also been empowered indirectly through a unique ambassadorial system of beneficiaries paying it forward.”

On how Whitefield started, she said: “It started as an initiative to help people go to school. We started doing free Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, JAMB, classes and free West African Examination Council classes. We started with a few people, but after a while, the numbers increased. We also noticed that when they graduate, they are not able to get jobs, so we started vocational training for them to start creating job opportunities for themselves.

“As the foundation strives to change the narrative of Nigeria as one of the poorest nations, it calls for collective action and support. Together, with partners, sponsors, and well-meaning individuals, Whitefield Foundation aims to create a future where education and empowerment uplift millions of distressed Nigerians.”

On his part, the Chairman of Yaba Local Council Development Area, Mr Kayode Omiyale, said a lot of people have benefited from the Foundation.

He added that Whitefield’s accomplishments in the last 20 years means the government needs to do more for the needy, saying: “With what we are seeing from Whitefield, it means that as a government, we should buckle up.”