Photo by Mohamad Almahady, UNAMID.
On 25 July 2018, UNAMID’s Governance and Community Stabilization Section (GCSS), in partnership with the Network for Women's Development, concluded a one-month training programme on food processioning for 50 women in North Darfur.
The training programme, organized as part of the Community Stabilization Project (CSPs), is aimed at providing economic empowerment for rural women, to increase their income and raise their standard of living through widening prospects of their employment opportunities in food processing. It also provided the trainees with a wide range of scientific and technical skills in food processing, including the production of different types of dry vegetables, making of fruit juice, jam, biscuits and pasta. Additionally, the women were trained on the production of hand crafts.
Addressing participants, UNAMID representative who is also the Head of Office in North Darfur, Ms. Sunaina Lowe, emphasized that the training is an opportunity for the women to play an important role in uplifting their communities. “I strongly encourage all participants to use the acquired skills to contribute effectively to achieving peace and stability, not only in your homes and localities but in Darfur as a whole”, Ms. Lowe added.
The Chairperson of the Network for Women's Development, Ms. Fawzia Abass, informed the gathering that the training is in line with the current situation in Darfur where “women play a vital role in facilitating voluntary return of Internally displaced persons from their Camps to their chosen place of return. “
Speaking on behalf of training participants, Ms. Haneena Saad Allah, commented on the valuable benefits accrued from the training on food processing. She indicated that the knowledge acquired will improve their standard of living through income derived from these projects. “We sincerely appreciate this gesture from UNAMID, which has now transformed us to business women,” Ms. Hannena stated.