Yola, 04 February, 2025 / 12:34 pm (ACI Africa).
Nigeria's Catholic Diocese of Yola is spearheading an initiative to empower 150 young people by the end of December 2025, an official has told ACI Africa.
Organized by the Justice, Development, and Peace Commission (JDPC) with support from Mission Take Heart, the program aims to provide practical skills, business startup support, and a pathway toward economic independence.
In an interview with ACI Africa on the sidelines of a seven-day training program for displaced youths, the JDPC Coordinator in Yola Diocese, Fr. Maurice Kwairanga, highlighted goals of the initiative, the challenges that displaced youths face, and the urgent need to shift perspectives on employment and self-sufficiency.
“For the past two decades, many young people in Yola and surrounding areas have lived in camps for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), their education disrupted, and their economic prospects dimmed by instability occasioned by insecurity,” Fr. Kwairanga told ACI Africa on February 1.
The initiative that he described as “empowerment program is designed to restore hope and rebuild livelihoods by equipping the youths with skills that will enable them to stand on their own.”