An Enugu State-based foundation, The Potter’s Wheel Foundation, on Tuesday graduated 160 students including 10 visually impaired persons on free vocational skills to make them self-reliant.

The event held at the Media Centre, Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu was organised by the foundation in collaboration with the Enugu State Ministry of Youths and Sports.

Speaking at the event, President, TPWF, Godsown Onuzulike, said the foundation also used the event to commemorate “2024 International Women’s Day.”

Mr Onuzulike explained that the graduands were made up of batch M and N trainees with 110 students and 50 students respectively.

The president said that out of the number, 10 of the beneficiaries, who were visually impaired, were trained on household production.

He said they were taught how to make confectioneries, bakery, catering allied, skin care and hygienic products, natural beverages, craft, animal husbandry and others.

The president equally said the foundation used the event to induct 30 first set of digital and content creation trainees.

“We are having four in one programme today and youths should embrace skill acquisition to make the needed change Nigeria is aspiring for. This begins when they make up their mind to learn a skill to become the instrument of change,” he said.

Thanking the state government for providing a platform for the foundation, the president solicited support from the government by becoming fully part of what the organisation was doing.

“Government should assist us by providing materials and startup kits to the trainees.  We have written to NAFDAC for approval of shared facility that will enable the foundation and trainees to produce using NAFDAC approved facilities,” he said

He added that from 2020, the foundation had trained over 10,000 Nigeria youths in different vocational skills.

Addressing the beneficiaries, the Senior Programme Manager, Small Medium Enterprise, Enugu, Salem Emmanuel, appealed to them to grab various opportunities provided by the agency.

He said, “We give grants to different beneficiaries who applied as well as through the beginning Federal Government NG-CAREs programme in the state.’’

Commending the foundation, the state Commissioner for Youths and Sports, Lloyd Ekweremadu, said the ministry had supported about 60 graduates of the foundation with materials during the international Youths Day in 2023.

“It is a pleasure to be here again and I thank the effort the TPWF team is putting into the youth of Enugu State to see that they acquired skills to become useful for themselves and society,” Mr Ekweremadu said.

Rating the quality of products being produced by foundation at 9.5 over 10, Mr Ekweremadu urged them to keep the knowledge being impacted in them to ensure it was not a waste.

He restated the state government’s commitment on continuous development of the youth of the state and pledged to continue to partner with the foundation and others like it.

Speaking on the “International Women’s Day,” the Founder, Sparks Consults, Chinyere Otuonye, noted that true inclusion went beyond number but creating an environment where every woman had opportunity to fulfil her potential regardless of her background.

According to her, it is about breaking down the barriers that hold women back and to harness the energy of women as well as investing in their education, skill training and access to resources.

A visually impaired graduand, Philomena Ukwueze, said she was trained in how to make laundry tablets, liquid soaps, hair cream, shampoo, perfume and odour control among others.

She said she was well trained and capable of doing the products through the instructions given to them.

Recounting her experiences, Ms Ukwueze said, “My major challenge was transporting myself to the centre as I was not living close. Sometimes, one will stop a bus and upon realising you are visually impaired, the driver will zoom off.’’

(NAN)