Borno First Lady Empowers 500 Women With Soft Loans

SAN FRANCISCO, April 12, (THEWILL) - The wife of Borno State governor, Hajiya Nana Kashim Shettima, has empowered 500 less privileged women in the state with soft loans to enable them engage in petty trading.

Nana Shettima, through her pet project, SWOT Foundation, specifically targeted the women, most of whom are orphans and widows, in order to assuage their loss to the Boko Haram crisis and alleviate poverty in the state.

Inaugurating the scheme at the multipurpose Hall of the Borno State Government House in Maiduguri, the governor's wife said the loan was designed for the economic empowerment and educational advancement of the vulnerable women.

Maintaining that it is her dream in life to render assistance to the less-privileged members of the society hence the need for the establishment of SWOT Foundation to achieve this, she disclosed that the beneficiaries were selected based on merit without consideration to their tribe, religious or family background.

She however called on the beneficiaries to enroll their children or grand children in Islamic or Western education schools available in the state and also acquire skills and meaningful businesses that will brighten their future and make them useful members of the society.

Nana Shettima also promised to support the educational needs of the children with poor family backgrounds, while encouraging the beneficiaries to invest the funds in profit yielding ventures, calling on them to pray for the return of peace to the state and the nation.

In her remark at the occasion, the Borno State Commissioner for Women Affairs, Hajiya Inna Galadima, expressed gratitude to the governor's wife for showing concern and love to the women in the state and urged the beneficiaries to form cooperative groups to benefit more from bank loans.

this came as Mallam Imam Malik Kalli of Jaiz Bank, Maiduguri branch, outlined the benefits of Islamic banking to the society, explaining that the bank is purely based on Islamic principles with special consideration to small scale businesses.

Responding on behalf of the beneficiaries, Khadija Buba, expressed gratitude to the wife of the governor and promised to use the loan for the purpose for which it is given.

She also prayed for the restoration of peace in the state and country at large.