The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says it has engaged 700 youths for conduct of drain clearance exercise to control perennial floods in Borno State.
According to Mr Musa Aliyu, Project Field Officer, Cash-for-Work project, the youths had been engaged for a desilting exercise at Bulumkutu, Dala and Bulabulin communities in Maiduguri and Jere Local Government Areas of the state.
He said the Borno Environmental Protection Agency (BOSEPA) had deployed 35 environmental workers to facilitate effective supervision and conduct of the exercise.
“The total direct beneficiaries of the project is 735 with over 100,000 indirect beneficiaries across the three selected communities..
“The objective is to support and create temporary employment opportunities in the communities by engaging the most vulnerable to conduct of desilt exercise, and earn an income to enable them to cater for their needs,” he said.
The project, he said would control flood, clear waste, enhance sanitation as well as improve the social and economic wellbeing of the people.
According to him, the organisation has cleared over 125 kilometers of drain in the communities under the 2019 and 2021 exercises.
