Eve Afrique Initiative Set To Empower Niger Delta Children

In order to help improve access to resources and employment opportunities for the Niger Delta children which will help them lead a better life in future, Eve Afrique Empowerment Initiative, a Non Governmental Organisation(NGO) based in Port Harcourt, Rivers State is set to start an empowerment programme.
The President of the NGO, Mrs Ivy Davies Etokapan made this known in an interview in Port Harcourt, recently. 
Etokapan said as an NGO,they realised over time from reports that most of the youths, even graduates do not have basic skills in office management, was a worrisome situation that had affected the employment status of the Niger Delta youth.
The NGO President said she got the report that employable Niger Delta youths were few,specifically those from Rivers, Akwa Ibom,Bayelsa and Cross River states. The ones from Edo and Delta states were more engaging.
“So we thought about vacation jobs for our secondary school students where employers would give them stipend for transportation. 
“In other parts of the world, this is how young people gain experience which is called internship. So,we hopefully want to raise the Niger Delta youths’ chances for employment. We want to use this opportunity to achieve this.
“We intend to start this August, 2021 but the school system  is distorted due to Covid-19 pandemic. Previously, we knew the school calendar and period for long vacation. But now,we are waiting to streamline our activities alongside the school system”, she said.
According to her, they have 15 companies that want to engage the children for vacation jobs. These companies indicated their interest during their last RedBall event in Port Harcourt. The NGO would look out for children from the public schools to be employed first..
“We are calling on people who have the same mindset with our goals to start mentoring these youths in the Niger Delta. We must make sure that our children learn from us. The parents, during holidays. We should not allow our children to sit at home and watch television throughout, rather,we should teach them basic essential skills on how to grow money and also on how to spend it wisely.
“We are praying that in four to five years time,this programme will produce results to reorientate the minds of the Niger Delta youth. Nobody is paying us,we are doing this as our give-back to society. This is a trial,we will storm this programme by partnering with the parents of the children that will be involved and make sure this programme works.By next year’s RedBall event,we hope to bring in reports about the success of this project”, Etokapan said.

By: Ibinabo Ogolo