Date: 2016-10-04

Centre for Community Development, Kwara State University, on Monday said it had empowered 266 people in the last four years. The centre's Assistant Director, Lawal Olohungbebe, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Malete, Kwara.

Olohungbebe said the empowerment was part of the interventions carried out by the centre since its establishment and that it was in line with its objectives.

"In spite of the challenges we are facing at the centre, we have recorded remarkable achievements from Aug. 2012 till date.

"So far, we have empowered 266 people – 230 women and 36 men; we have also facilitated the digging of 22 boreholes in different local government areas in the state.

"As part of the empowerment programmes, we trained men and women on soap making, production of tie and dye batik, small scale businesses and the use of solar dryer/locally made oven as renewable energy to dry fish.

"Within the period under review, we also trained 760 KWASU students on Community Development Service and it is a certificate course designed to explore the structure and practice of community development and spirit of volunteerism," he said.

The assistant director, however, noted that the centre's intervention would have been more if it had more funds.

"The fact that we are government owned limits the possibility of getting funding for most of our interventions as the funds out there, especially internationally, are for NGOs.

"Out of the more than 162 universities in Nigeria, KWASU is the only one that engages communities and this sometimes makes people see us as doing the unnecessary. "And this is a big challenge as it reduces the support we get," Olohungbebe said.

NAN