It was not just another empowerment ceremony. It was the end of a two-year journey.
SOS Children’s Villages Nigeria on Saturday distributed working tools and equipment worth pound 300,000 to 206 young people in Lagos under its Empowering Lagos Youths (ELY) project – a project designed to move young people away from poverty, give them decent jobs, and help them start their own businesses.
From solar panel installation kits to HP laptops, Canon EOS cameras, hair styling equipment, tailoring machines and IT tools, each item was personalised. No generic package. Each participant got what matched the trade he or she trained for.
Speaking at the event, Eghosa Erhumwunse, the Country Director of SOS Children’s Villages Nigeria, said the project, which started in January 2025 and ends in December 2026, was deliberately built to do more than hand out tools.
‘Like you can tell from the name, it’s all about Empowering Lagos Youths, ELY. The idea is to accelerate the empowerment of young people to move them away from poverty and provide them with opportunity for decent job and also empower them to start up their own business,’ he said.
‘It is very important considering the economic situation and how much young people are always on the receiving end. We as an organisation work with young people to ensure we help them, support them to achieve their aspiration so that they can become responsible individuals and be able to build their own family in the long run.’
Erhumwunse said the 206 youths went through rigorous training before the distribution. ‘These young people you have seen today, they’ve been tested and they are trusted. They have gone through a lot of training, vocational training skills. They’ve gone through entrepreneurship. They have gone through a whole lot of rigorous process including mental health and psychosocial support, because we often forget that young people face challenges.
‘The training we’ve given to them is not enough for them to deal with situations they will face while even doing their own business or working as the case may be,’ he added.
The project was funded by SOS Children’s Villages’ sister organisation in Germany, Children’s Villages Worldwide (CVW), with local partners, trainers, hairdressers and artisans forming an ecosystem for sustainability. ‘We believe in local partnership. We have trainers, hairdressers and all other artisans. So we’re able to work with them. It’s an ecosystem because it’s still the same environment these young people will find themselves. So why don’t we begin to enable the ecosystem so they can interact for the sustainability of whatever trade they decide to go into afterwards,’ Erose explained.
The target was 200 participants. SOS exceeded it. ‘We targeted 200 participants. We tried to avoid using the word beneficiaries. They are participants. In some instances, we got more than we needed. A few of them left, but at least we achieved more than what we targeted. Today we achieved more than 200, slightly more than 200. About 206 or thereabouts. So it’s a success for us.’
On the items, he said: ‘You have some who are into installation of solar panel. You have IT gurus. You can see the computers there. You have those who want to go into hair styling. You have those who want to go into tailoring. It’s personalised, not generic. Every individual decides what you want to do based on the outcome of your training.’
The project covered the entire Lagos State, with an open and transparent selection process. ‘We advertised it. Young people applied. Those of you who understand what we do in SOS, you know we are very strict with our selection criteria. We put it out there for vulnerable young people, people who are hard to reach, to be able to have this opportunity. I believe that’s the right thing to do,’ Erose said.
Speaking on the cost of the project, he said that the entire project for two years is about pound 300,000.
Lagos State Government, he said, is a partner but not financial in this case, but in development agenda. ‘We work with them. We came to their development agenda. And we are part and parcel of what Lagos State is doing.’
He disclosed that SOS, which operates in 136 countries, will continue to run projects, he assured. ‘These are project-based. And we’ve been running a lot of projects. We’ll continue to run projects as far as it impacts children and young people. That’s why we’re here.’
Asked how SOS will ensure the tools are not sold, Erhumwunse was honest. ‘We have a mechanism in place. We cannot guarantee 100%. I mean, we are human. But we have a mechanism in place. And those who will follow through with them, who will support them, they’re also there. Post-empowerment support is there.’
Celia Dalyop, a photographer, received a Canon EOS camera and an HP laptop.
‘I didn’t pay anything for it, I didn’t pay a dime for it. I’m very, very grateful for this,’ she said.
She got to know about the programme through a friend in Abuja who works in SOS Abuja branch. ‘I was assigned to a training centre for three months and then I did another three months internship with a professional photographer. I intend to use it to build my skill, build myself, build my brand, build my business, to just capture moments and make money from it.’ She is already active on social media, and said she is working towards getting a space on the Island for her studio.
Ashogbon Goodness Tibiebi, a data analyst, could not hide her joy.
‘I feel so happy. I don’t know how to express it, but I’m just happy for the milestone and everything, the journey so far,’ she said.
She got the link through a relative and signed up. She trained for six months, having had no prior experience in data analysis.
‘Before now, I had a little knowledge of data analysis, but I was very confused at first. If you walk up to me, I’m not really confident enough. But at this point, now, after this training, I’m bold enough. Data analysis doesn’t just stop here. It’s something I keep on learning. So I can beat my chest, that whatever comes my way now, I don’t have to start panicking.’
Goodness, a student of Accounting at Miva Open University, plans to build herself, help others, and eventually teach data analysis in schools and privately, like an academy.