NEWS AGENCY OF NIGERIA
Jaiz Charity and Development Foundation (JCDF) has disbursed loans to 54 persons in Jahi community in the Federal Capital Territory, to enable them to run their businesses.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Foundation, Dr Abdullahi Shuaib, made this known at the launch of the disbursement of the Micro-Finance Loans Scheme on Thursday in Abuja.
According to Shuaib, the gesture is to support the Federal Government’s move towars6 achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 1 and 2 aimed at ending poverty and hunger respectively.
He said the foundation, in its aim to improve the quality of life and provide timely socio-economic development support through direct and indirect interventions, had gone around the country to empower people.
He said the foundation had covered 20 states so far, including all the states in the South-South except Delta and Akwa Ibom, hoping to go there soon.
“This is one of the mandates of the foundation with respect to financial inclusion of the most vulnerable people that is why today we are here as a foundation to fulfill the promise that we made to them some couple of months ago.
“What we are doing may look small to some people but based on our fieldwork experience, it is very significant because these groups of people are the wealth creators the little things they do to make ends meet need to be supported.
“We once gave a woman not captured in our programme N3,000 from our pockets out of pity; but the following year she traced us to our programme and gave us 70,000 as her support, saying she used the money we gave her to do pancake (Masa) business.
“If she could part with N70,000, it meant she had extra, so this strengthened our commitment that this little money we are giving; if people put them to judicious use it could turn around their lives,’’ he said.
Shuib said that there were other opportunities in the pipeline for the beneficiaries if they judiciously utilised the money and succeeded in their businesses.
He said that the selection criteria was very simple because it was done in collaboration with the community leaders who knew their people better and picked those struggling to make ends meet.
He said that 150 people were identified, but were later screened to 54, adding that they cut across tribes and religions because the foundation does not discriminate.
In his remarks, Alhaji Adamu Dogo, the Community Leader, commended the gesture and urged the beneficiaries to ensure effective utilisation of the money given to them.
“I pray that God will bless and help the management of the foundation.’’
A beneficiary, Mr Adamu Yunusa, thanked the foundation for helping him, promising to put the money to good use the money and engage in productive activities.
Another beneficiary, Grace Enwerem expressed joy for being selected to benefit from the programme, and promised to be committed to her business as a show of gratitude.
NAN
