SKAID Empowers 1,000 Women, Foundation Chairman Harps On Cultural Development
A Non-Governmental Organisation, the Southern Kaduna Aid Foundation, has empowered over 1,000 women and distributed smartphones to twelve presidents of community development associations across southern Kaduna,in a bid to strengthen grassroots leadership, enhance communication, and promote inclusive development.
Chairman of the Foundation, Rear Admiral Ferguson Dukas Bobai (Rtd.), said the gesture was borne out of the need to bridge communication gaps that had affected participation in cultural and developmental activities, particularly the Southern Kaduna Festival.
He noted that many associations could not take part in the 2024 edition due to financial and communication challenges.
Rear Admiral Bobai, who also chairs the Southern Kaduna Festival Central Planning Committee, disclosed that the initiative was supported by indigenes of Southern Kaduna in the United States, who donated the devices to enable effective coordination and timely dissemination of information.
He explained that the beneficiaries signed bond forms to ensure accountability and smooth handover of the phones to incoming leaders.
The retired naval officer also highlighted the Foundation’s broader mission of lifting women and vulnerable households out of poverty through targeted empowerment.
According to him, women engaged in small scale businesses such as roasting corn and selling groundnuts and are often the backbone of their families, and supporting them would improve household welfare and community prosperity.
He revealed that the Foundation is disbursing twenty thousand naira each to about one thousand women entrepreneurs, saying the approach was designed to reach more beneficiaries within the available budget.
Rear Admiral Bobai further urged well meaning Nigerians, philanthropists, and corporate organisations to emulate what the SKAID are doing by extending support to the less privileged in Southern Kaduna.
"Poverty alleviation should not be left to government alone.If each person lifts one or two individuals out of poverty, the collective impact will move us from a micro level to a macro transformation,” he added.
The Foundation also announced plans to establish a comprehensive database that would capture development indicators such as the number of out of school children, the scale of ginger farming, and other socio-economic challenges across Southern Kaduna.
The data, according to the Chairman, would be made available to researchers, policymakers, and even government agencies for planning and development purposes.
Rear Admiral Bobai expressed optimism that with continuous partnerships, transparent interventions, and collective action, Southern Kaduna will witness stronger communities anchored on empowerment, health, education, and accountability.
The beneficiaries of the smartphones signed accountability bond forms, committing to hand them over to incoming leaders at the end of their tenure to ensure continuity and transparency.
Speaking on behalf of the recipients, the presidents of Nendem and Rumeya Community Associations, Mr. Derick Musa and Mr. Daniel Danjuma, commended the Foundation, describing the gesture as timely and impactful.
They said the devices would enhance mobilization in their communities ,boost efficiency, and restore dignity to grassroots leadership.
Some beneficiaries of the smartphone distribution, including the presidents of Nendem and Rumeya Community Association Derick Musa and Daniel Danjuma respectively described the initiative as timely, stressing that it would improve mobilization, transparency, and dignity in leadership.
With this move, the Southern Kaduna Aid Foundation says it hopes to build stronger communities anchored on communication, accountability, and grassroots empowerment.
