I scavenge to meet my school financial needs —Undergrad
For Khitgak Shanding, the closing down of universities, following the COVID-19 pandemic brought him an opportunity to further test his resilience and ability to fend for himself.
Shanding, a 100 level Political Science student of University of Maiduguri, Borno State, used the long break, further extended by the strike embarked on by university lecturers to engage in scavenging for plastic bottles in the nooks and crannies of Jos.
Assisted by his sibling, the undergraduate collects empty plastic bottles, cleans them and sells to dealers in Jos.
Speaking with Benue/ Plateau Trust, Shanding, who operates from behind NTA Jos, he said he took to scavenging in order to raise money to meet his needs when schools re-open.
An indigene Kanke Local Government Area of the state, Shanding said he had no option than to engage in the business because he did not want to overburden his parents, who are not very buoyant financially.
He said he first tried a security job in Rayfield area of Jos which did not work out before one of his friends told him about the plastic scavenging.
He said he contacted his relative, Panshak Godfrey, who was a security man at a private residence behind NTA Jos to support him and together they began gathering the plastic bottles.
Shanding told Benue/ Plateau Trust that they have been collecting the bottles for three weeks and were now in the process of sorting them out and washing them, adding that already some buyers have shown interest.
“I am doing this to raise money for my school resumption because my parents are not quite buoyant and I don’t want to put pressure on them. I need to do something that can fetch me money that will take care of my school needs,’’ he said.
He said he expected to make at least N50,000 from the bottles he has collected and would continue so that he could make enough to take care of his needs at school.
Shanding said he had applied for several government empowerment grants but was yet to receive any.
He advised the youth to always engage in something positive to enable them to be self-reliant.
He said as an undergraduate, he was not ashamed to go about scavenging for empty plastic bottles and sell them in order to earn money to take care of his needs.
The European Union funded Technical Assistance to CSOs (EU-TAC) project has said 25 civil society organisations (CSOs) have been strengthened to drive water, sanitation and water governance in Plateau State.
The WaterAid Nigeria Communications and Media Manager, Mrs. Oluseyi Abdulmalik, said this in a statement on the occasion to mark the end of the project in Jos, the state capital.
She said the project was implemented by the Society for Water and Sanitation (NEWSAN) with technical support from WaterAid.
She said the EU-TAC project, which is now coming to a close, was launched in 2018 to execute the Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Reform Programme III ( WSSSRP III) in Plateau State, to improve governance of the sector and provide improved services in urban and small towns of the state.
“The project is part of the overall EU support of over euro 260 million to reach more than 10 million people with improved access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene facilities in 14 states of Nigeria.
“The project had the specific objective of improving the capacity of civil societies in the state, and in Riyom and Shendam local government areas, to advocate for better governance in the water and sanitation sector and to act as a potential driver for good governance in the broader context of the public sector service delivery,” Abdulmalik said.