Yobe: Giving hope, succour to returning IDPs

Over the years, Nigeria has had confrontations and assaults of Boko Haram in which hundreds of people were killed and others displaced without means of livelihood.
Thus, they become refugees living with the status of Internally Displaced Persons.
MUSA M.
BUBA reports on the extra-ordinary efforts by NERI in Yobe state to give the victims hope.


Groups’ Interventions The responsibility of coming to the aid of the victims of crisis cannot be single-handedly done by governments alone, therefore calls for intervention by Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) across the globe.
Th ough there has been great intervention by groups and individuals across the globe NERI touched many lives in Yobe state.
North-east Regional Initiative (NERI), one of the humanitarian organizations which with the objective of reducing the perception of marginalization and challenging extremists narratives and ideas has transformed lives of IDPs and their host communities in a great style considering its fl exibility.
It operates in many local governments in the state, especially the four most aff ected local government councils that were once overrun by the Boko Haram insurgents namely; Gujba, Gulani, Geidam and Yunusari.

Trauma Healing In order to restore back the children’s traumatic experience, the NERI had constructed children’s amusement park and children’s play ground in Damaturu, in collaboration with National Open University, Damaturu Centre.
The idea of having a recreational centre for the children is to cushion the traumatic experience of the insurgency.
It has also organized different counseling to those who are the victims of crisis.

Means of Livelihood The NERI had organized capacity building trainings on micro business skills Trainning on fashion design for school drop outs at Geidam A school drop out being trained on interlocking Over the years, Nigeria has had confrontations and assaults of Boko Haram in which hundreds of people were killed and others displaced without means of livelihood.
Thus, they become refugees living with the status of Internally Displaced Persons.
MUSA M.
BUBA reports on the extra-ordinary efforts by NERI in Yobe state to give the victims hope.
Yobe: Giving hope, succour to returning IDPs Groups’ Interventions The responsibility of coming to the aid of the victims of crisis cannot be single-handedly done by governments alone, therefore calls for intervention by Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) across the globe.
Though there has been great intervention by groups and individuals across the globe NERI touched many lives in Yobe state.
North-east Regional Initiative (NERI), one of the humanitarian organizations which with the objective of reducing the perception of marginalization and challenging extremists narratives and ideas has transformed lives of IDPs and their host communities in a great style considering its flexibility.
It operates in many local governments in the state, especially the four most affected local government councils that were once overrun by the Boko Haram insurgents namely; Gujba, Gulani, Geidam and Yunusari.
Trauma Healing In order to restore back the children’s traumatic experience, the NERI had constructed children’s amusement park and children’s play ground in Damaturu, in collaboration with National Open University, Damaturu Centre.
The idea of having a recreational centre for the children is to cushion the traumatic experience of the insurgency.
It has also organized different counseling to those who are the victims of crisis.
Means of Livelihood The NERI had organized capacity building trainings on micro business skills for over 100 youth school drop outs in Ashekri, Bololo and Filtu communities in the state for them to establish themselves and regain their livelihood after the insurgency.
The training includes carpentry, interlocking, Keke Napep repairs, tailoring among others.
Also in an effort to restore back the means of livelihood and reduce the succour among the victims of Boko Haram insurgency, the NERI has empowered 100 vulnerable women in Buni-yadi and Goniri communities in the state.
46 women got three bags of 50kg groundnut and a mini grinding machine each.
Others were 28 women who got one Refrigerator and Petrol Generator as a take off , for selling of soft drinks’, 26 women who were trained on fashion design, were presented one Sewing and Netting machines each respectively making a total of 100 women that benefited from the gesture.

Infrastructure When Boko Haram overran the four affected local government councils, physical government structures and individuals’ properties were all destroyed.
The NERI took upon itself the reconstruction and upgrading of over six general hospitals and health centres, including local government secretariats in the affected areas which are of mutual beneficial to the areas.
Also in an effort to reduce the worries of the desert inhabitants who depend solely on locally drilled wells at oasis areas and rain water which falls between July and August only, the NERI has drilled a solar-powered borehole to Toshia, Bitor and Kanamma communities in the state.

Environmental Sanitation The NERI had also organized 10 days “cash for work” programme for over 200 youths in Geidam local government council geared towards restoring the community to its former glory.
The State Programme Manager, Mr.
Birma Mshelia, had in chat with Blueprint said, “it is a way of empowering the youths and also supporting them to clean up the communities and get paid”.
He further said, the gesture was also meant to inculcate the habit of cleanness in the community which the youths are expected to build upon what the NERI has done.

Conflict Resolution In order to reduce violence and promote peace, stability and resilience among communities especially the victims of Boko-Haram insurgency, the NERI had organized a symposium aimed at re-awakening the traditional rulers on the importance of peace in a given society and the need to resolve conflicts amicably without involving the law enforcement bodies looking at the gab identified in the administrative system among the returning IDPs.
In evaluating its mandate in the region, there is no doubt that NERI has lived up its obligation in transforming the lives of the returning IDPs in diverse ways, as well as helping to fi ll the gaps that governments have failed to fi ll.
It will not be surprising if the IDPs have written in their history how their lives were touched by NERI during their trials periods.

 

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