Foundation empowers 2000 students with soft skills
The God City Foundation and Skill Enhancement Initiative has concluded a tranche of training held at Ota, Ogun State, where hundreds of people among which were aged, young adults and children were empowered with soft skills for a trade, or business and community development.
According to the Convener, Mr Tunde Adeyemi, the foundation which kicked off four years ago has been able to empower over 2,000 students so far.
The foundation in partnership with a local assembly, The Redeemed Christian Church of God Ogun Province 14, as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) delivered the training in Catering, Events Management and Decorations, Barbing, Graphics and Creative Designing, Shoe and Bag Making, Soap Making, Photography and Cinematography, Bead making amongst many other crafts, free of charge to the participants over a two week period.
Speaking to our correspondent in Ogun state on Monday, Adeyemi said “I got this vision as a builder in 2004, when the Lord asked me to stop building houses but to start building lives. I took the challenge, wrote the vision and with serious prayers, the Foundation took off in 2010. I thank God for where we are today because we have been able to empower over 2,000 people.”
Adeyemi said the just concluded training had over 500 participants who had learned and perfected various skills.
He said his desire is to see the eminent people of the society, take up programmes such as this and sponsor it as a means to positively transform the society.
“We are doing it for free, and bearing all the responsibility because God has sent us to do it, but if we have people that can support us so that we can train a much larger crowd, we will be happy and will be fulfilling the purpose of God”
One of the trainee, Miss Omolara Akin Oyelade, who learnt bead making says although she did not start on the day the training took off, she has been able to learn and perfect her skill, she has come up with a name for her enterprise which she termed Arafe Creations and 2 years down the line she sees herself as a Nigerian Fashion Icon, who will have trained others.
“I want to be good at this, so I had to put in extra hours and that’s why I have been able to create these in less than 2 weeks,” Omolara said.
In the words of the tutor for the catering class, Mrs Ayo Bamidele, “In a country where there is no employment the best way out is empowerment. This foundation has been very helpful, towards empowering youths and the upcoming generation. Although some of these youngsters are learning while some are unserious, we are here for the serious ones, whose desire is to make an impact in the society, and I believe that with the little craft they have learnt, they will become great in future.”
Afolabi Adesola
