It was a day of celebration and appreciation at Ichwa Internally Displaced Persons Camp in Makurdi on Tuesday as former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betta Edu, marked her 40th birthday with a humanitarian outreach for vulnerable families.

The outreach featured livelihood support, educational assistance, free medical services, food and non-food items, as well as vocational equipment aimed at helping displaced persons rebuild their lives.

The initiative covered a range of empowerment categories, including 40 business start-up grants, 40 sewing machines, 40 grinding machines, 40 deep freezers and 40 mobile hair-washing kits. It also included vocational training, the distribution of 4,000 wrappers and a planned 10-year scholarship initiative involving 40,000 academic scholarships.

Medical services were also provided for more than 10,000 people across various IDP camps in Benue State, according to details of the programme.

For Edu, the birthday celebration was an opportunity to share with people facing hardship and express gratitude to God through service to humanity.

Speaking with journalists, she said her decision to celebrate with the displaced persons was driven by compassion rather than political interests.

“Today, I am in Benue because it is my birthday. I am here to reach out to thousands of people in IDP camps across the state. This is my passion and my covenant with God and humanity,” she said.

She recalled her visit to Benue in 2023, when she personally interacted with displaced families, adding that their circumstances reinforced her determination to support their recovery.

Edu said the livelihood component was designed to equip beneficiaries with practical resources to start businesses and improve their household incomes.

She explained that sewing machines, grinding machines, deep freezers and hair-washing kits could help beneficiaries develop small businesses suited to their skills and local economic opportunities.

She added that scholarships and other forms of educational assistance would help displaced children continue their education, while food and non-food items would provide support for families’ immediate needs.

The former minister said the intervention was intended to complement the humanitarian efforts of President Bola Tinubu, First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu and Benue State Governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia.

She urged humanitarian organisations, international partners and individuals to collaborate with the state government in addressing the challenges faced by displaced communities.

Edu stressed that sustainable resettlement should remain a priority, noting that the long-term goal was to enable displaced families to return safely to their ancestral homes and resume productive lives.

“The real idea is to ensure that we can pull them out of here back to their ancestral homes and permanently settle so they can be productive and support Nigeria with food,” she said.

The birthday outreach was met with excitement among camp residents and other beneficiaries, who expressed gratitude for the assistance and prayed for Edu’s continued success.

Women and youths outside the camp were also reported to have benefited from aspects of the programme.

Beyond the birthday celebration, the initiative highlighted the need for coordinated support that addresses the immediate needs of displaced persons while creating opportunities for education, income generation and lasting recovery.