Lagos: The Nigerian Red Cross Society (NRCS), with the support of the British Red Cross, has launched the second phase of its flood recovery programme with business and financial aid to 270 households in the flood-prone Agboyi community in Lagos State.
The NRCS Secretary, Lagos Branch, Mr Olakunle Lasisi, said this in a statement made available to reporters on Friday in Lagos.
Lasisi said the initiative was part of the second phase of its Food Security and Livelihood intervention in the Agboyi area, Ketu Local Council Development Area.
He said the programme was aimed at strengthening the livelihoods of vulnerable households and also promoting sustainable recovery.
“This initiative follows the remarkable success of the first phase in December 2024, during which 180 households each received N310,000 to strengthen their businesses.
“The funds empowered families to become more self-reliant, especially in navigating the country’s current challenging economic climate and to build their resilience against the impact of floods,” he said.
Lasisi said as part of the initiative, which commenced on Thursday, 40 trained Red Cross volunteers had been deployed to register beneficiaries in Agboyi 1, Agboyi 2 and Agboyi 3 communities.
He said all selected households would undergo a compulsory two-day financial literacy training to equip them with essential money management and business skills, before receiving funds through pre-loaded ATM cards.
Lasisi said the programme was part of a long-term disaster management intervention that had been ongoing for the past five years in response to recurrent flooding in the community.
The Red Cross donated resilience items in December 2023 to Agboyi 1, Agboyi 2 and Agboyi 3 communities, to help mitigate the effects of flooding.
The Country Manager of the British Red Cross in Nigeria, Karsten Voight, in April 2024, said the project recorded a lot of progress.
Voight said that apart from the cash and items given to the communities, simulation exercises were also carried out to prepare the volunteers ahead of the flood.
“So, we can see that the solutions that we have given to them are not only addressing their immediate needs after the disaster.
“They’re building family income for the future in the long term,” Voight said.