Shell LiveWIRE supports people with disabilities to achieve their dreams
Shell LiveWIRE supports people with disabilities to achieve their dreams
Without the use of his legs, and having no wheelchair or work, 32 year-old paraplegic Mbuotidem Okorie struggled to get around the streets of his hometown of Uyo on his hands, begging for food. It was a stark contrast to his dream of owning a shoemaking business.
“I was begging on the streets just to survive,” he
says.
Nigeria suffers from very high levels of youth
unemployment. For those with disabilities, finding work is particularly hard,
and there is little social protection on offer.
From dream
into reality
Mbuotidem was nominated by officials from his home
state of Akwa-Ibom for the social investment programme called Shell LiveWIRE,
which offers knowledge and support to young entrepreneurs, helping them to turn
ideas into successful businesses. The Shell Petroleum Development Company of
Nigeria (SPDC) broadened the scheme in 2014 to include people with
disabilities. Around 180 disabled people took part.
Mbuotidem trained as a shoemaker through Shell
LiveWIRE, which also provided him with a wheelchair. When he completed the
course he received financial assistance to start his own business using his new
skills.
Now he makes and sells shoes in his own shop. “I
no longer have to beg,” he said.
Mbuotidem he is one of around 5,700 young
Nigerians to have benefited from Shell LiveWIRE since launched in the country
in 2003.
“The Shell LiveWIRE Nigeria programme is a first
step in an exciting journey to success,” said Nedo Osayande, Sustainable
Development and Community Relations manager at SPDC. “This is the first time
the programme is focusing on people with disabilities. We are sure they will
continue the successes of thousands previous Nigerian participants.”
Helping others
Agnes Udo, who is severely hearing and speech
impaired, survived on the charity of friends and family until she took part in
Shell LiveWIRE. She now runs a successful poultry farm, using her business
training and start-up grant.
Thirty-year old Tom Ezekiel,
who is blind, was unemployed before starting the training. Even before
finishing the course, he too had opened a chicken farm.
“I was doing nothing before the training,” Tom
says. “With the support of the programme, I am really pleased that I am now
employed.”
LiveWIRE also offers training for disabled people
already in work who want to improve their skills or set up on their own.
Although 32 year-old Joseph Richard lost his sight
when he was15, he manages a shop selling ceremonial beads that are an important
part of Nigerian culture.
“I learnt how to improve my bead making skills and
how to be independent,” Joseph says. “I also learnt how to run a
business.”
Joseph is now planning to set up his own
bead-making company, a venture that could create employment for others.
For more information on the Shell LiveWIRE Programme
