On the 29th of September 2026, Caritas Nigeria concluded a two-day inception meeting for the Building Sustainable Livelihoods for Vibrant Communities (B-SLiC) Phase 3 Project, funded by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. The meeting, which began with a Holy Mass, brought together existing and newly onboarded religious congregations and project staff to strengthen collaboration, share experiences, and advance sustainable community development.
In his opening remarks, the Executive Secretary/CEO of Caritas Nigeria, Rev. Fr Peter Audu underscored the importance of partnership, human dignity, community ownership, and sustainable livelihoods, while expressing appreciation to the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation for its continued support.
The Director of Humanitarian Services and Early Recovery, Nkese Maria Udongwo, highlighted the objectives of the meeting and encouraged participating Religious Congregations to look beyond B-SLiC by exploring and applying for other funding opportunities to expand their development impact. She noted that Caritas Nigeria’s capacity-strengthening efforts over the past four years have equipped partners with the knowledge, skills, and confidence needed to pursue broader opportunities, while encouraging the newly onboarded partners to embrace the learning and collaboration opportunities ahead.
B-SLiC Phase 3 marks a significant expansion of the project into four additional states, Akwa Ibom, Enugu, Edo, and Ondo, and welcomes four new Religious Congregations: The Carmelite Missionary Sisters (CM), Adoration Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (SSH), Daughters of Divine Love (DDL), and Handmaids of the Holy Child Jesus (HHCJ).
Throughout the meeting, partners and project teams reviewed implementation plans, shared lessons from previous phases, strengthened safeguarding and accountability mechanisms, and explored innovative approaches to promoting sustainable livelihoods and resilient communities.
