At least four thousand households who have been displaced by the activities of terrorists in Katsina State on Monday benefited from palliatives jointly distributed by the Victims Support Fund (VSF) in partnership with the State Government.
The gesture was aimed at improving livelihoods and empowering communities in Batsari, Jibia and Faskari local government areas of the State.
Speaking during the flag-off ceremony of the VSF 2023 programme held at the Katsina Old Government House, the Executive Director of the Victims Support Fund, Professor Nana Tanko, announced that the most vulnerable households were identified through the community leaders across the three worst affected councils.
“Victims Support Fund was established in 2014 with the sole responsibility of giving succour to victims of terrorism and insurgency in Nigeria.
“For this intervention, we are covering a total of 4,000 households. The majority of the beneficiaries are women and children who have lost their heads of households as a result of terrorism.
“We are giving to each household 10kg bags of rice, 5kg beans, one litre of vegetable oil, including sachets of salt, sugar and seasoning,” Tanko noted.
Speaking on behalf of the State Government, the Deputy Chief of Staff in the Katsina Governor’s Office, Barrister Mukhtar Saulawa, believes the gesture will go a long way in assisting vulnerable victims in the state.
He, therefore, assured that the beneficiaries will judiciously use the items given to them, urging other Non-Governmental organisations (NGOs) to emulate the VSF in providing succour to the needy citizens.
“This gesture is timely in this trying time. Even in the last two weeks, palliatives have been distributed by the NEMA and SEMA as well as the local government councils in the State.
“This distribution will continue as we are witnessing today. We are going to monitor the distribution to ensure that whatever is given gets to the beneficiaries directly,” he added.
In the meantime, the Executive Secretary of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) Binta Dangani advised the beneficiaries to use the items given to them judiciously.
Credit: Channels Television
