A DIFFERENT BREED

“With a vision that started with 20 fishes, I now have 3000 Catfish and 2000 Tilapia and a fixed asset worth over one million naira” said Joshua 

Joshua had a good start in life, he had supportive parents who prioritised education and ensured that he got the education to the university level. He enjoyed the acquisition of knowledge in the field of science: “I love the sciences, I love the sense of saving lives and I can say without sounding boastful that God has used me to save many lives” Joshua said his concept of saving lives changed when a neighbour child died as a result of kwashiorkor.

“When my neighbours child died of kwashiorkor, it triggered in me a new direction, I began to ask why a child would die for lack of protein, I was asking myself how a child can die of lack of fish that is cheap and can be bought in the market” he inquired of himself.

As fate would have it, Joshua's growing frustration led him to making enquiries about fish farming, he was determined to meet the protein nutrient need of his community and stop the needless death caused by lack of protein. As he began to search and learn online, he was informed of the opportunity to participate in the ActionAid Migration vocational training on fish farming.

“I would say that ActionAid found me and I found purpose afterward” Joshua affirms that he found meaning and direction for his life when he participated in the vocational training: “Initially I thought of just coming to the training so that I can leave the house, but I discovered it was exactly what I was looking for. The training started on Tuesday, by Wednesday I had bought 20 fingerlings which I started growing in a bowl but today I have ponds” he said.

Joshua was lucky to have experienced the dangers of irregular migration from people close to him and has vowed never to consider that route: “if you are leaving a place for a brighter future, then you must go with skills and through the right channel” he counsels young people who want to take to the option of migration.