Thirty women in Yola and surrounding host communities are gaining practical skills through a new initiative by the American University of Nigeria (AUN) that combines vocational training with opportunities to market and sell their products.
Launched on October 8, 2026, by the university’s Office of Community Service, the three-month program offers training in tailoring, catering, shoemaking, knitting, cosmetology, and waste-to-wealth crafts. Beyond teaching participants how to make products, the initiative aims to help them turn their skills into income-generating opportunities and contribute to their households.
Participants learn to make everyday products such as liquid and bar soaps, hand sanitizers, disinfectants, and room fresheners. They also acquire skills in making items such as foot mats and laptop bags. By focusing on products people use regularly, the program helps participants explore practical ways to earn a living from their work.
Ahmed Aliyu, Director of AUN Community Service, said the department takes trainers and equipment, including industrial sewing machines, into surrounding communities in response to residents’ needs.
AUN is also helping participants take the next step by finding ways to bring their products to potential customers. Items that meet the university’s quality standards are selected for display in the university library, while efforts are made to connect the craftswomen with buyers, including potential customers in international markets. AUN President Prof. DeWayne Frazier has also supported these efforts through his outreach.
Proceeds from verified sales are returned directly to the craftswomen under the program’s revenue-sharing arrangement, giving them an opportunity to earn from the products they make. “This is our own way of sustaining them,” Aliyu said.
The initiative builds on AUN’s record of community service, which has reached nearly 18,000 beneficiaries across the region in the last 12 years. Its focus on practical skills and access to markets reflects the university’s broader commitment to helping communities respond to everyday economic challenges.
Hadiza Aji, a Women Initiative leader and trainer involved in the program, highlighted the value of teaching women to produce household essentials such as soap. Because these products are used regularly, she noted, they offer opportunities for repeat sales and additional household income.
For Zainab Muhammed, a former beneficiary who now runs her own tailoring business, learning a practical skill opened the door to working independently. She recalled how the training equipped her to sew different types of clothing.
“I know how to sew clothes now. They taught me how to sew materials, and I can make skirts, trousers, and many other things,” she said.
Zainab’s experience illustrates what practical skills training can make possible. By combining hands-on instruction with support for marketing and sales, AUN is working to help more community members put their skills to productive use.
The initiative reflects AUN’s development-focused mission, extending learning beyond the classroom and connecting education with practical solutions to the challenges people face in their communities.
Reported by Jummai Paul