The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) has inducted 100 Ogoni youths, drawn from four local government areas of Rivers State, for training as seafarers for a period of four months.
The induction and orientation ceremony, which took place at the corporate headquarters of Charkin Maritime Academy in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, climaxed with a tour of facilities at the academy by some journalists, with the Chief Executive Officer/ Managing! Director of the training institute, Dr Charles Wami taking the newsmen round the facility.
The Project Coordinator of HYPREP, Prof Nenibarini Zabbey, said in his welcome address that the beneficiaries were the first batch of trainees for the programme.
He noted that the training of Ogoni youths in seafaring was a promise earlier made by HYPREP, and expressed delight that the induction of the first batch of trainees was a fulfilment of that promise.
He said the selection process of participants for the training programme was significantly transparent, saying, “in HYPREP, we do not work for ourselves, we work for our people.”
According to him, the induction ceremony is just the beginning for the beneficiaries, as they look up to their future.
In providing and organising the training programme, he said, HYPREP took cognizance of the fact that the Ogoni people are hardly seen working in the maritime sector, stressing that the training would provide a vast window of opportunities for the beneficiaries in that sector.
Zabbey, who was represented at the event by HYPREP’s Director of Technical Services, Prof Damian Paul Aguiyi further noted that the training would equip the beneficiaries to get high paying jobs, adding that  the project took time to choose Charkin Maritime Academy for the training,  as the facilities at the institute are of high standards.
The Project Coordinator enjoined the beneficiaries to embrace the opportunity offered them by HYPREP as well as cool down and learn.
While thanking the management of Charkin Maritime Academy and the trainees, Zabbey said, “We will be here again for the award ceremony.”
On her part, HYPREP’s Head of Sustainable Livelihood, Mrs Josephine Nzidee, said the beneficiaries were selected from the four local government areas of Khana, Gokana, Tai and Eleme, stressing that the participants had applied online and were selected based on the criteria set by the Project Coordination Office.
Nzidee described Charkin Maritime Academy as the best, reiterating that it was why HYPREP selected it, in order to give the beneficiaries the very best, saying, the ball is now in the court of the participants to grab the opportunity and better their lives.
She, however, revealed that based on the experiences garnered during the training of 5,000  Ogoni youths and women, the project decided to issue concept forms, containing  a code of conduct, to the beneficiaries, which she said they must sign before participating in the training programme.
She announced that the participants would each be supported with a stipend of N150,000 monthly for transportation and lunch, highlighting that only those who make themselves available for the training would benefit from the incentive.
“If you want to be vessel captains or vessel engineers, the journey starts today.Work for it,” she pleaded, stressing that the  training would commence in earnest  in the second week of April.
According to her, participants who fail to turn up after two weeks of the commencement of the  training would be shut out.
Nzidee urged the beneficiaries to strive for the best, as only the best would be recommended to companies for employment whenever the need arises, saying, the academy would only  award them certificates at the end of the training.
She also assured the trainees that practical sessions would be given top priority during the exercise.
The Chief Executive Officer/ Managing Director of Charkin Maritime Academy, Dr Charles Wami, while speaking with newsmen, described the facilities at the academy as top notch, saying HYPREP made the  right choice by selecting the training facility.
Also addressing the participants, Mr Christopher Wami, said the academy is a world class facility, which is  well known not only in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria and the West African sub-region but also all over the world, saying, “Our certificates are recognised all over the world.”
He revealed that the acronym, CHARKIN stands for Consistency; Hard work; Attitude; Resilience; Knowledge; Integrity; and Neatness.
One of the beneficiaries, Mr Bright Nenubari Ezekiel, while thanking HYPREP for giving him the opportunity, confirmed that the selection process was transparent.
Another beneficiary, Mr Fred Goteh Dum stressed the need for the academy to focus more  on pracitical sessions  during the training.
Prof Dinebari Badey of the Stakeholder Engagement Unit of HYPREP, thanked the management of the project for all that it is doing in ensuring that the Ogoni environment is transformed, and urged the beneficiaries to always realise that the programme is not only for them as individuals but also for their communities, and emphasised the need for them to transmit to others the skills they are going to learn.

Donatus Ebi