Following several welfare challenges faced by Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, in the North East, a non-governmental organization has organized exhibition and sales of caps produced by the female displaced persons in order to provide them with means of survival.
Explaining the reason for the exhibition and sales, Fakhrriyyah Hashim, a coordinator at Girl Child Concerns, a non-profit active in establishing income generation scheme for female IDPs, said the IDPs are the most disadvantaged and vulnerable set of Nigerians.
“Their vulnerability makes them overqualified for all aid packages offered by GCC, which thrives to empower girls and women from devastating situations as theirs.”
“GCC began the initiative by collating information about IDPs at various camps its members visited in Borno state, and then resolved to start with cap-making, which is a skill largely possessed by most IDPs interviewed at Farm Centre, Bakassi and Dalori Camps.
“The women were skilled in making the trendy Maiduguri and Bama caps, which are of high demand across Nigeria.
“The scheme began with 125 women and these beneficiaries were provided with cap-making materials like threads, needles and various patterned materials for designing and weaving caps of various colours, shapes and sizes.
“The condition for benefiting from this scheme, as provided by the non-profit, was the promise by the beneficiaries to have their daughters enrolled in school, and the commercial arrangement was proposed to continue even after leaving the camps.
“GCC, which also monitors and analyses conditions of displaced children, women and girls at the camps, have been coordinating sales of caps made by the engaged IDPs.
“Returns from the sales are distributed to the beneficiaries based on their outputs,” Ms. Hashim added.
The founder of GCC, Dr. Mairo Mandara, announced on Twitter this week the exhibitions and sales of the caps take place at Plot 3685, Erie Close, off Nile Street, Maitama, Abuja.
