Ademola Aderemi
Mrs. Becky Alele is a happy woman. At the recent vocational training and empowerment programme of Club 5 Loaves, a humanitarian, non-governmental organisation affiliated to the Joy Cometh Ministries, with headquarters along Ebute-Igbogbo Road, Ikorodu, Lagos, she lifted many hearts with her testimony.
At the event, she assured the newly empowered participants that despite the fact that the programme was just for two weeks, it was the opportunity of a lifetime.
“I was one of those that benefitted from this empowerment initiative last year. As a full-time housewife, I had lost hope in myself because, back then, I was just at home doing nothing. Then I made up my mind to enrol for this free empowerment and vocational programme. For those two weeks, I was trained as a fashion designer. And shortly after the programme, I decided that I had to put all the training I got here to practice. So, I started sewing some Ankara clothes as well as shoes and bags. I started advertising it on my social media platform. I think that singular effort did the magic because the very first person that placed an orders for the clothes came from Zamfara State. She asked to know if I was the person that made the designs. And I said yes. At the end of our discussions, she placed an order, and we struck a deal. And since then, I have been making several designs of clothes, shoes and bags for people. I did it for a senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Some are even making orders from outside the shores of this country,” she said.
She was not the only one. Several others also testified that the skills programme of Club 5 Loaves had given them the opportunity to earn a livelihood.
The latest vocational training and empowerment programme was concluded on Friday, April 19. Each day, for two weeks, no fewer than a thousand participants assembled at the church premises, where they went through intensive training in different skills. Some of the skills were cake baking, event planning and decorations, hats and throw pillow making, detergent and insecticide production, catering services, dry-cleaning and laundry services, makeup and costume making, hairdressing and fashion designs, photography, shoemaking, making of Ankara bags and clothes, and many others.
On April 19, the participants were given certificates at a colourful ceremony. Ologijo of Ogijo, Oba Kazeem Gbadamosi Kuselu, was the royal father at the event.
Wife of the senior pastor of Joy Cometh Ministries, Pastor (Mrs.) Yemi Aromolaran, said the successes recorded in the last two years by the Joy Cometh Ministries, through the Club 5 Loaves, had been unprecedented. She noted that the empowerment programme had turned around the lives of so many people.
“It is great that the group is achieving its objectives. They are giving hope to the hopeless, bringing smiles to the faces of the poor and the less privileged. Many of the beneficiaries of this year’s programme are graduates that have to think outside the box and engage themselves in skills and vocations that can help them in the future. On this note, I commend the group for impacting lives, even as I urge the participants and the beneficiaries to make good use of the opportunities,” Mrs. Aromolaran said.
While presenting certificates to the beneficiaries, president of the club, Mr. Sopade Olakunle, said Club 5 Loaves had empowered more than 2,000 people in various skills. He urged the beneficiaries to impact positively on society, adding that the platform had given them the opportunity to be independent.
“With the success of the second edition of this laudable initiative, I think we have made significant impact on the lives of all the beneficiaries. We are sending you to the world to make it better by using all the skills you have learnt here to improve the society positively,” Sopade said.
The Ogijo monarch, Oba Kuselu, said residents of Ikorodu and its environs were very lucky that the Joy Cometh Ministries, with an organisation like the Club 5 Loaves, was domiciled in the town. He urged the beneficiaries to see the initiative as an opportunity to launch their careers, using Mrs. Alele’s testimony as inspiration.
“Here, today, I see great possibilities. I see hope and I see a bright and rewarding future for all the granduands. For me, it is not about how far but how well. As you are graduating today, you all have a role model in Mrs. Alele, who told us that we can always bring out something out of nothing. So, I want you to go out there and prove to the world that you have something good to offer the world,” the royal father said.
Secretary of the club, Mrs. Anne Ogundare, said the club and its programmes were initiatives of the senior pastor of JCM, Pastor Olaitan Aromolaran.
“The programme cuts across religions and denominations. Many of the beneficiaries are not members of the Joy Cometh Ministries. Many are Muslims. We do not discriminate. And the church is expanding in grace within and outside Ikorodu,” she said.
One of the instructors, Mrs. Jadesola Noah, said the two-week programme exposed participants to the various opportunities that abound in the world.
“I want to advise young men and women that are graduates but have no jobs yet to look beyond their certificates, take initiatives and look for opportunities to grow and be self-dependent,” she said.
Annah Omolua, who trained in auto gele and turban making, said the club had given her and her 47 classmates a meal ticket. Mrs. Oruore Efemena, who was among 75 persons trained in baking and cake-making, Olubunmi Ademokoya (hat and throw pillows) and David Samson (dry-cleaning and laundry services), all expressed gratitude to the club and JCM for giving them the opportunity.