The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project has graduated 120 persons living with disabilities in Ogoniland, Rivers State, after months of vocational training in skills including photography, fish farming and fashion design.
HYPREP said the graduation marked a milestone in its capacity-building efforts, particularly its drive to equip vulnerable members of the Ogoni community with practical skills.
Speaking at the graduation ceremony in Bori, headquarters of Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State, on Friday, the HYPREP Project Coordinator, Prof Nenibarini Zabbey, said skills acquisition was one of the hallmarks of the project’s interventions in Ogoniland.
He said the project had created more than 8,000 direct jobs and trained 5,000 people from Ogoni communities in 21 vocational skills, with beneficiaries receiving starter packs.
Zabbey added that 2,400 Ogoni youths and women were undergoing training in areas including cybersecurity, rigging, cloud mapping, software development, animation, graphic design, geographic information systems and full-stack development.
He explained that the special programme for persons living with disabilities was necessary because they were among the most vulnerable members of society.
“They cannot move. Those that are crippled are the most vulnerable in our society. And in all our programmes, we try to integrate them. But we feel that we should come up with a special programme for only people living with special needs, the underserved population in Ogoni,” he said.
Zabbey said HYPREP worked closely with leaders of persons living with disabilities to design the training, adding that the beneficiaries selected five skill areas.
He listed them as fish farming, photography, shoemaking, fashion design and basic computer studies, noting that the trainees received the support needed to complete the programme successfully.
“I assured them that I would take it seriously. I would personally come to their centre to motivate them and to ensure that their trainers train them properly,” he said.
Zabbey said the intervention went beyond distributing tools, adding, “We are empowering them to take charge, to become entrepreneurs.”
He commended the trainees for their resilience, enthusiasm and commitment throughout the programme.
The project coordinator said he was proud of the beneficiaries and appealed to people in Ogoniland and beyond to patronise their businesses as a way of supporting their efforts.
He said the beneficiaries had assured HYPREP that they would not sell their starter packs and had begun applying their newly acquired skills.
“And today they have reassured us that they will never sell their starter packs. Some of them are giving testimonies. Wearing the clothes that they made by themselves.
“Giving testimonies of how they have been sewing for their children and their relatives. And it is hands-on skills. The more they sew, the more they will become perfect.
“We should patronise them. They should be the ones to cover our programmes. Those who were trained in photography should cover our programmes because that is the only way we can support them,” Zabbey said.
In his goodwill message, the President-General of the Ogoni Association of Persons Living With Disabilities, Baridabdoo Ngo, described the graduation as historic.
“I want to use this moment to appreciate HYPREP for making us gather here today for the first time in the history of Ogoni, that the persons with special needs have been included in the affairs of HYPREP,” he said.
Ngo praised Zabbey for giving a voice to people living with disabilities, saying the project coordinator cared about those who were often overlooked.
“He cares so much about those that don’t have a voice, and they have found him to be a voice for them.
“And today’s programme is one of the significant events in the history of our lives,” he said.
Ngo added that HYPREP had provided walking aids for visually impaired persons and those with mobility challenges, as well as hearing devices for people with hearing impairments.
“This is the first time we are witnessing this. And that’s why we are so grateful. And we are saying thank you,” he said.
He, however, appealed to HYPREP to sustain the initiative by organising another training programme to accommodate more persons living with disabilities.
“If you’re hearing my voice, you’re my fellow special needs, don’t lose hope because those that have not benefited, the next programme coming up, you will benefit,” Ngo said.
One of the beneficiaries, Godfirst Barijasi, from Barako community in Gokana Local Government Area, expressed gratitude to HYPREP for the opportunity.
“I’m very grateful for what HYPREP did for us. Now my niece can sew. I’m very happy because I was spending money every time I was sewing outside,” she said.
She explained that her 13-year-old niece could now sew clothes for the family, saving them the cost of paying external tailors.