By Billy Willy, Gombe
Some teenagers in Gombe State have utilised the current holiday to build their capacity on turning their skills in creative arts into a source of livelihood.
The two weeks training which was held at Gombe High School (GHS), Gombe, was conducted by Dandalin Matasa Initiative for Rapid Development, a youth and adolescent focused organisation with key commitment to capacity building, policy advocacy, influencing and research.
The technical training was carried out by KaveGlass Concept Gombe and it’s Founder and CEO, Paul Mul’ambore Timothy who stated at the graduation that the training was aimed at making the teenagers take advantage of their skills in creative arts to make a livelihood.
Some of the sterling innovations from the youths during the training were the use of clay turned into wonderful designs, several drawings and paintings as well as many other forms of interior decorations.
Mr. Paul Mul’ambore Timothy said the whole idea of the programme was to train and build in the teenagers a culture of self-reliance and economic empowerment with their skills in creative arts.
Mr. Yusuf Bachama, the Executive Director of Dandalin Matasa, said the collaboration with KaveGlass for the training was one of the strategies employed by his organisation to enable the teenagers discover, understand and build their talents as an opportunity to have access to income alternatives.
“In today’s world, it is what you have that you can use to your advantage. Their gifts and their certificates to add value to themselves and the society.
“We hope to organise a bigger course where they can take it to the next level. The idea is for them to be role models so that they can in turn coach and mentor others. It’s also part of our leadership development programme. Giving the network we have, we want to promote their work as much as we can”, Bachama said.
Some of the teenagers who shared their experience with Ziti News expressed delight over the opportunity to showcase their talents.
One of the female trainee, Samira, who learned drawing and Arabic calligraphy said there is already an open opportunity created by her parents to push her vision forward.
For Johnson Daniel Damilade, a Senior Secondary II (SS2) student, the training was an opportunity for him to learn and discover a new skill in drawing and painting.
He said, “I feel it will help me because the economy is not encouraging right now, so, one needs something to fall back to during and after school”, he hoped.
The teenagers who displayed their works during the training, were motivated with opportunities to market, display and promote their handwork within and outside the shores of the country.