MTC Foundation Begins Skills Acquisition Training for Benue Youths

From Dooshima Terkura, Makurdi

The Maria Touch of Care (MTC) Foundation, a nonprofit organization, has commenced the training of 50 Benue youths, both male and female, in various skills acquisition programs.

The free training, launched under the initiative “Empowering the Youth: Bridging the Skill Gap,” targets 14 participants in its first phase, focusing on pastry and soap making.

Speaking during the project’s start-up and onboarding meeting with trainees in Makurdi on Monday, October 13, 2025, the Organizational Manager, Grace Tyowua, said the MTC Foundation—founded in 2017 by Benue entrepreneur, Mrs. Maria Onah—is a woman-led humanitarian and development organization dedicated to crisis response, poverty alleviation, education, gender equality, human rights, and empowerment.

According to Tyowua, “The Foundation is committed to creating a world where all individuals can thrive and live dignified lives, with a particular focus on advancing the rights and well-being of women, girls, children, and other marginalized groups.”

Project Lead and Programme Personnel, Emmanuella Tarzaan, explained that the MTC Skills Acquisition Program 1.0 aims to empower young people aged 16 to 25 with practical, income-generating skills that enhance social, financial, and mental growth.

“Through this initiative,” Tarzaan noted, “we seek to establish a strong foundation for continuous learning and development by equipping participants with hands-on skills that promote self-reliance and entrepreneurship.”

She added that the program specifically targets out-of-school youths and secondary school leavers to help steer them away from idleness, deprivation, social vices, and vulnerability to Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV).

Tarzaan further disclosed that beyond the skills training, participants would take part in goal-setting sessions centered on business development, culminating in an end-of-year exhibition to showcase their products and innovations. As MTC Foundation ambassadors, they would also be expected to train other youths in the future.

To sustain their progress, outstanding trainees will receive starter kits to help them establish their ventures and move toward economic independence.

Earlier, the Communications Manager of MTC Foundation, Mr. Linus Egwu, stated that the organization envisions a world where vulnerable groups, especially women and children, can live with dignity, free from discrimination and deprivation.

He added that the Foundation’s humanitarian interventions span several sectors, including Health, Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Education, Empowerment, Relief and Humanitarian Aid, as well as Gender and Human Rights.

Some of the trainees—Phoebe Wayas, Hyacinth Iorhemba, Okefe Onah, and Iverem Victoria—expressed gratitude to the Foundation for the opportunity and pledged to put their newly acquired skills to good use.