VSF launches N300M community restoration program in Taraba
Sylvanus Viashima, Jalingo
The Victims Support Funds (VSF) has launched a Three Hundred Million Naira community restoration program at Nyakwala village in Wukari local government area of Taraba state to mitigate the devastating effects of 2014 attack on the community.
Chairman of the Fund and former Minister of Defense General Theophilus Danjuma who laid the foundation for the reconstruction of some key infrastructure in the community that were destroyed during the attack said that the intervention was a full package.
Danjuma who was represented by his SA on Operations and Programs Mrs Toyosi Akerele-Ogunsiji said that some of the key areas of intervention included the reconstruction of the community school, total restoration of the Nyakwala Dispensary with an incinerator, stable solar power, and an Ambulance with full medical supplies.
“Apart from the school and Dispensary projects, we have already completed the construction of 4000 litters solar powered borehole with about twenty dispensing points, construction of an ultramodern rice Mill which will be the first of it’s kind when completed.
“We are also setting up a maize and cassava mills as well as a mega fish pond. All of these will be jointly managed by the VSF and the Nyakwala community to make sure that they are able to bring in even more development in the community and neighbouring communities.
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“Since a lot of families have lost their men’s of livelihoods including farmers and business owners, we have decided to provide farm inputs for various categories of farmers so that they can go back to their farms. We have also provided brand new sowing machines for other people to enable them kick start their businesses.
“The effects of the unfortunate attack on this community are indeed grave. Today, most families no longer have what it takes to keep their children in schools. Consequently, we have made provision for school bags, sandals, and writing materials. We have also selected several other people who will be given the cash sum of a Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira each to enable them start small businesses.
“I have also completed arrangement for some youth in the community to be sent to Kaduna for training on the maintenance of some of the heavy machines that will be installed at the various mills so that they are not only given a life skill, but to make sure that there is always available hands to maintain the machines instead of calling people from other places when the need be.
” The aim of these is to make sure that there is an all round restoration of the normal way of life of the people that has been taken away from them. We hope that in the next three to six months, this community will witnessed tremendous transformation”.
The village head of Nyakwala community Chief Joshua Danji Barau, who thanked the fund for coming to their aid assured that the community members will make the best of the intervention and will guard all the facilities with all that they have.
Mr Taninga Binga, the Taraba State government representative at the occasion commended the fund and the team for chosing the community and the state for the intervention.
He said that the state government will provide the needed supervision without direct interference to make sure that all aspects of the intervention are optimally maximized.
Some of the beneficiaries told our correspondent that the intervention will change their lives and help them to start up again.
Nyakwala community was attacked in 2014 by suspected killer herders. Several persons lost their lives in the attack while the Ten Thousand man community was reduced to a shadow of it’s former self.
