IN its determination to make life better and easier, the FADAMA Additional Financing Project II Bauchi State office has distributed empowerment and food Items to a total of 1000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who are taking refuge across the State.While addressing the IDPs before the commencement of the distribution at the weekend, the State Project Manager of FADAMA, Professor Ali Garba said the FADAMA Additional Financing Project II is specially designed to address some of the immediate challenges IDPs are facing with the aim of alleviating some of the challenges occasioned by their relocation from their original places of residence due to insurgency.
Represented by an official of the Project office, Alhaji Salisu Chinade, the Project Manager appealed to the IDPs to manage what will be given to them and use them for the purpose for which they were given.
While shading more light on the objective of the exercise, the Training Officer of the Bauchi Project Office, Mallam Ahmed Wakili said that, their objectives at the project office is to ensure that items earmarked for distribution to IDPs got to them without a hitch saying, “FADAMA Additional Financing project office are custodians of these Items meant for distribution to you (IDPs). Our mandate ensures that it gets to you.”
While stressing on the need for the beneficiaries to make good use of the humanitarian gesture from the World Bank assisted FADAMA Project, Ahmed Wakili said, “You may receive a call anytime from now asking you to confirm whether or not you have gotten the Items, we want you to say exactly what you were given without any addition or subtraction. Your confirmation will tally with what we have on our record and will assist greatly in documentation processes.”
Also speaking, the Community Development Officer (CDO) of the Bauchi FADAMA office, Mrs Hajara Kushi said last year a total number of 2280 IDPs benefited from the same program and that this year the project has targeted 1000 IDPs taking shelter across the entire State.
Hajara Kushi further clarifies that “out of the targeted 1000 beneficiaries, some few months ago, 374 household heads indicated their interests in farming and rearing of domestic animals and they were given complete farming implements like seedlings, fertilizer, insects spray machines and water pumps. Others were given four ruminants each for rearing inline with their needs. Today’s distribution is targeting the remaining 626 household heads whose areas of interests are centred around vocations.”
In a goodwill message, the Head of World Bank Project Management Finance Unit in the state (PMFU), Adamu Aliyu Abdullahi also pleaded with the beneficiaries to put to use what they are given stressing that, “though what FADAMA project is giving you may not be enough to go round the entire IDPs in the State, I hope today’s beneficiaries will use what you are given to improve your economic status here in Bauchi state.”
In a vote of thanks, the Chairman of Bauchi state IDPs, Buba Musa Shehu thanked the FADAMA Project gesture, assuring that, “whenever any beneficiary is contacted for confirmation, be rest assured that our members will say it as it is.”
The Items distributed, aside the food items that were given to all the 1000 beneficiaries, includes sewing/knitting machines, fridges, generators, barbing clippers, spaghetti making machines, grinding machines and fish pond tanks and feeds while the food items include one bag of maize, beans, palm and groundnut oils, maggi, sugar and salt.
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