Lagos Govt Collaborates With GIZ, NCRMI To Empower Refugees, Vulnerable Persons

(Permanent Secretary of WAPA, Mrs. Oluyemi Kalesanwo)

In a bid to eliminate the effects of poverty amongst women, particularly refugees and other vulnerable persons, the Lagos State Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation (WAPA) has intensified its collaborative efforts with the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCRMI) to empower vulnerable women and youths through its Skills Acquisition and Vocational Training Centres.

The Permanent Secretary of WAPA, Mrs. Oluyemi Kalesanwo, made this known while receiving a visiting team from NCMRI and GIZ, who were on a courtesy visit to the Ministry, adding that the Babajide Sanwo-Olu Administration has zero-tolerance for idleness and mediocrity, hence the focus on empowerment programmes as a means to ensure financial sustainability for vulnerable women and youths in Lagos State.

Kalesanwo further charged the unemployed and underemployed in the State to enrol in any of the 20 Skills Acquisition Centres in the five divisions of the State offering tuition-free vocational courses, The centres were established to provide vulnerable persons in the State with vocations that will make them financially independent.

“The Skills Acquisition Centres provide access to training, information and resources, to increase the productivity of enrolees by making them financially capable and transforming them into contributors towards the economic growth of the State”, she added.

Speaking on the purpose of the visit, the Human Rights and Social Policy Expert for GIZ, Nigeria Chapter, Sandra Vermuijten, expressed gratitude to WAPA for a warm welcome, stating that the team intends to seek an enhanced collaboration between the Ministry and the Association towards the empowerment of women, particularly with regards to the successful reintegration of refugees into the society.

She affirmed that the association plans to support WAPA through capacity building of the staff and solicited the State Government’s support where needed to have a seamless and beneficial relationship.