By Atiku Galadima, Maiduguri

The Allamin Foundation for Peace & Development has trained 60 deradicalised minors, caregivers and vulnerable women in livelihood skills and business management as part of efforts to promote peaceful reintegration and self-reliance in Borno State.

The beneficiaries comprise 20 minors formerly associated with Boko Haram who surrendered as part of the peacebuilding process, 20 of their caregivers and 20 vulnerable women drawn from host communities.

With support from the International Civil Action Network (ICAN), the foundation provided training in food vending, tailoring, trade shops, fabric and incense making, groundnut oil extraction, bean cake and awara production.

Speaking at the event, the foundation’s Monitoring and Evaluation Manager, Maigari Dadun Hamza, who represented the Project Manager, said the intervention was designed to complement the deradicalisation process by giving beneficiaries practical skills and business knowledge to build sustainable livelihoods.

Hamza said the foundation deliberately included vulnerable women from host communities because of concerns that reintegration interventions could be seen as benefiting only surrendered insurgents.

“Sometimes, vulnerable people in Borno communities complain that NGOs and government are empowering the surrendered Boko Haram while neglecting the victims, the people in the community,” he said.

“This is why the foundation selected 20 vulnerable women to train them together with the 20 caregivers of the 20 minors.”

He said the beneficiaries were also trained in small business management, savings and record-keeping ahead of business start-up support.

Hamza noted that the beneficiaries had earlier undergone formal schooling, skills acquisition and apprenticeship programmes, adding that the business management component was an additional step towards sustainable reintegration.

According to him, it was the first time the beneficiaries were receiving business management training and start-up support from ICAN.