Project Report
| Sep 3, 2013
Forty six youths with disabilities graduate
By Orduh Aku Christy | Executive Director/Founder Friends of The Disabled
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A total of forty six youths with disabilities graduated from FOTD Centre in Lagos Nigeria on the 30th of August 2013 after a two-year intensive training. Eleven were trained in Welding and Fabrication, twenty-one in Tailoring and Fashion design and fourteen in Shoe making and leather works.. Those intereted in fish farming added the training to their skills.
These students were products of Partnership between FOTD and MTN Foundation. Each student was given equipment and tools according to his/her trade/business.We are grateful to MTN Foundation and every other individual, corporate bodies and Institution that assisted in any way to make this a success.
The graduation day also offered us opportunity to exhibit our products and we made some reasonable sales.Parents of our Beneficiaries crowned their joy and thanks to FOTD and MTNF with a PLAQUE to each Organisation.
The graduation and every other thing that took place has created a rush to our Centre for training. We need the suport and funding of other kind and concerned hearts to be able to equip youths with disabilities with skills for social and economic independence.
Apr 30, 2013
Progress in Fish farm and Industrial Attachment
By Aku Christy Orduh | Executive Director
We have come up with drying our catfish to save cost and attract markets. We started with four fish tanks from MTNFand now we have generated fifteen fish tanks including those from FADAMA and SNEPCOrespectively. Three disadvantaged youths have been sustained so far with the proceeds.We met officials from Institute of Oceanography and Marine Research Victoria Island Lagos for a structure of oven for drying fish. Having seen their own, our Welding Section successfully built one in use since the end of March 2013. We save extra costs for extra feeds to keep them in water when sales are slow. Any of the students can take up fish farming in part or whole from the experience of our Centre. Industrial attachment is one of the processes to pass through to qualify for graduation in our Centre. This helps them adjust to the environment they meet when they leave us. Our students started this at the beginning of April and will round it up by the second week of May 2013.Our graduation comes up in August 2013 for this set. We remain grateful to our Donors for their concern and care that have led us this far. We hope to get funders to continue this bulk training when MTNF exits after four years of two sets of students.Thanks again to our donors.
Jan 28, 2013
Provide Skills and jobs to 425 youths Din Nigeria
By Aku Christy Orduh | Executive Director
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The 49 out of 50 students are at the end of the first phase of the final year and finishing touches in all the sections are at a top gear.. One of the students dropped due to ill health.We could not carry out the Industrial attachment because we could not get aproval and so alternative arrangements were made to bring some expets to the Centre for workshop and business awareness.We are sure now that MTNF will provide them with tools and equipment but we need to hire shop/store for at least one year so that they will duelly start business in time. Their parents are also being prepared for settlement.According to our tradition of employing some of the best, we have started close discussions with those students whom we hope to hire to impact their knowledge to others and also be part of managing the Centre
We have successfully built a smoking structure for smoking our fish. We have known that smoked fish sells better and people patronise it more.Our first smoking event would be by the first week of March 2013 when our breed now would be ready for sales.FADAMA, a Federal Government Agency of Agric activities,visited our fish farm on the 21st of January 2013 to acertain our status and to see how we fair with the tools given to us and they were satisfied.We are very grateful and will forever be to those who have continued to donate to this project for so long and to those who would donate in future.