NAN-H-52
Interventions
By Lizzy Okoji
Abuja, Jan. 12, 2017 (NAN) The Victims Support Fund (VSF) said on Thursday in Abuja that it would set up more offices in the North East zone and scale up its interventions in the area.
It also said that it would increase the number of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in the zone and work closely with them to scale up its interventions.
The Executive Director of the fund, Prof. Sunday Ochoche, who made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Thursday, said the moves were with a view to ensuring proper coordination of the fund’s interventions in the zone.
Cue in audio (Ochoche)
“In the first quarter, we are going to establish our offices in the North East.
“We would be establishing an office in Maiduguri, and another in Yola.
“The office in Maiduguri will be coordinating our interventions in Borno, Yobe and Bauchi.
“The one in Yola will be coordinating Adamawa, Taraba and Gombe.
“We are also increasing the number of local partners – the NGOs – that will be our eyes and ears on ground with sufficient empowerment and support to help us work closely with communities and local agencies to implement our programmes.
“Our programmes are being scaled up in the area of education, where we would be increasing the number of pupils and students that we support and the reconstruction of a number of schools.’’
Cue out audio (Ochoche)
The executive director stated that the fund will provide books and other learning materials in addition to re-training of teachers at institutions such as the National Teachers Institute to enhance their capacity.
“We are doing some pilot programmes in a few local government areas to support victims of sexual violence.
“They will also be receiving considerable attention in the area of peace building.
“Peace building is one thing that we will move into, especially as people are beginning to return.
“We want to want work toward ensuring that there is more seamless engagement between the returning communities and those that have been on ground.
“We have already had challenges in some communities where Muslims and Christians have separate market days and as we know, a society cannot function efficiently under such circumstances,’’ Ochoche said.
According to him, the fund is considering the expansion of its agricultural support project as one of the new areas of intervention while restructuring its Women Economic Empowerment Programme so that it will be community-driven.
He applauded ordinary Nigerians’ kind gesture towards the victims of insurgency, saying their widow’s mite was more than the empty promises made by some individuals. (NAN)
LIZ/OSA/YEE
Edited by Shittu Obassa/Emmanuel Yashim
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