Our Mandate Is To Make Sure That N/Delta Youths Are Gainfully Employed: Search For Common Ground.

 

Search for Common Ground a body that has been pushing to maintain Peace in the Niger Delta Region, has disclosed that the whole idea is to make sure that the youths of the region are gainfully employed so that violence and criminality can be reduced to the barest minimum.

This  the body is said to be doing  this through the  establishment  and strengthening of  community peace architecture which has been established in communities  up to the states in the region.

Search for Common Ground is doing this with  funding from the European Union thereby providing  livelihood projects in the Niger Delta.

A statement on Friday  by Sunny Dada, Mass Media & Information Management Coordinator of the body in the region stated that this is being done in partnership with other partners.

The statement reads:"  Search for Common Ground and its consortium partners are making significant progress in the implementation of an 18-month European Union funded peacebuilding project titled: Community Centered Approach to Transforming Criminality and Violence in the Niger Delta across Rivers, Delta, and Bayelsa States.

" The project, which spans 66 communities in 33 Local Government Areas, aims to strengthen peace through sustainable development and community empowerment.

"A major component of the initiative includes the execution of various livelihood support projects designed to address both the  economic needs and local infrastructural  gaps. 

"These include the construction of cassava and palm oil processing mills, markets, lock-up stores, installation of solar-powered boreholes, provision of fishing nets and the provision of solar toilets, etc.

"These interventions which were directly nominated by the project communities, represent a body of local solutions and responds to the sustainable developmental goals.

"In addition to the various physical infrastructure, the livelihood initiatives also include human capacity development through targeted skill empowerment training.

"In several communities, official project groundbreaking ceremonies have already been conducted, while in others, work on key infrastructure is approaching completion.

"Community leaders and residents have expressed optimism that these interventions will not only improve livelihoods but also enhance social cohesion and long-term peace in the region.

"All these empowerment initiatives are focused on the goal of improving employability and reducing youth vulnerability to violence and criminality.

"Beneficiaries are undergoing hands-on training in trades such as fashion design, information and communications technology (ICT), pipeline welding and fabrication, etc.

"The initiative represents a coordinated effort by Search for Common Ground and its partners to address the root causes of conflict through inclusive development and local ownership."