Kaduna launches girls empowerment programme

 

Kaduna state Government partnered two non-governmental organisations to launch the second phase of Educating Nigerian Girls In New Enterprise, (ENGINE II) programme, aimed at improving the lives of less privileged girl-child.
The state government in partnership with Mercy Corps and Kindling Hope Across Nations ,( KHAN) Initiative are to empower 4,750 marginalized In-School and Out of School Girls in the state through the ENGINE II programme funded by the UK Department For International Development Fund (DFID).
According to the Executive Director of KHAN Initiative, Mr Kizito Andah said the programme will enable all girls whose schooling had been interrupted to have the opportunity to build their functional literacy and numeracy skills , while building assets and diversifying their income sources.
The Director stated that the platform will provide the In-School Girls an opportunity to transit to the next phase of education , or complete their current education cycle, while the Out-of -school girls will have the opportunity to access second chance education, in which they return to formal schools to complete their studies.
Andah who spoke to journalists shortly after the program was launched in Kaduna said in its first phase, over 24,000 marginalized girls between the ages of 16 to 19 were supported to improve their learning outcomes and economic status.
“Building on the success of its first phase, ENGINE II aims at helping all marginalized Nigerian girls to transform their future by fulfilling their potential in education and in work, while giving outreach and specialized support to ENGINE I girls,” the director added.
In her opening remarks, National Program Manager of ENGINE II Shweta Shah said the second project is intended to improve social, literary, and entrepreneurial skills of the girl-child, adding that “the girls were selected on the basis of marginalization criteria.”

“Some of them are extremely poor and can’t afford to go to school, some due to poverty pulled out of school and are sent to hawk on the street,” she added.

The programme managed also disclosed that “we are working with government on policies implementation to remove the barriers which girls are facing in school and out of school, to address issues like poverty ,access to quality education and facilities in school.”

In his remarks, the state’s commissioner for education, Alhaji Jaafaru Sani said the ENGINE II programme been launched will “enable remarkable improvement” in number of girl- child enrollment for primary, secondary and tertiary education.

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