The United Nations on Monday in Abuja announced that it had sponsored 500 victims of Boko Haram insurgency from the three hard hit North east states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe to acquire vocational  skills.

This information was disclosed by a UN Conflict Prevention and Peace Building analyst, Matthew Alao, to the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN.

He said the project was implemented under the UNDP Livelihood Support Scheme for the ravaged zone. He explained further that an orientation programme for the 500 selected beneficiaries would commence this week at the Citizenship and Leadership Training Centre in Jos, Plateau State.

According to him, the skills acquisition programme is the first phase of intervention by the UN to ameliorate the sufferings of the displaced persons. Alao said that the training would cover hair dressing, tailoring, knitting, catering and decorations as well as GSM repair, shoe-making, leather works and computer studies.

The participants will also undertake specialized training on conflict resolution and peace building, according to the analyst.

“A total of 500 beneficiaries who are victims of Boko Haram from three North East states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe will be placed in a two-week compulsory orientation programme. They are going to undergo physical exercise, training, capacity building on mediation, conflict prevention, conflict transformation, social integration, peaceful coexistence for two weeks,” he added.

He said the project could only accommodate 500 participants out of the 2,000 that applied.

Alao also said that the UN would continue to support the displaced persons until peace was restored to the region.