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| The Trainees in a group photo with ECM Secretary General and Hope for Youth project Staff |
By: ECM’s Stella Zulu
Employees from the technical colleges that are implementing the Hope for the Youths Program, namely Namitete, Andiamo, Namitembo, Mitengo, Thondwe in the country have undergone a one-week training of trainers on Savings and Loans Clubs to facilitate and encourage youths trained in Vocational and Entrepreneurship Skills through the project, to save money for self-employment.
The Hope for the Youths Program under the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM) continues to train youths in construction-oriented skills namely Brick laying, Carpentry and Joinery, Electrical Installation, Plumbing and welding and Fabrication for the improvement of their social economic lives.
Speaking during the official opening of the training, the Secretary General of ECM, Rev Fr. Henry Saindi said one of the values of the Church is preferential option for the poor. Therefore, the training aimed at assisting vulnerable groups like women and the youth to achieve employment and self-employment for the betterment of their lives.
“We believe that this training will provide necessary skills for the establishment and running of youth friendly Savings and Loans Clubs among the youths who have been trained in the colleges, but they don’t have the capital to start businesses. We are aware that some of the trained youths have been employed and some are self-employed, but there are some who are just staying idle at home because of poverty. We want to capacitate them by joining these groups so that they too may save the little money they find and be able to start their own businesses.” Said Fr. Saindi.
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| Training session in progress |
In her remarks, the Coordinator for Hope for The Youth Project, Miss Cresensia Kansale said that College Principles, Finance staff and Learning Career and Employability (LCE) staff needed to be capacitated in establishing and running Savings and Loans Clubs. She said this is due to the realization that most of the youths who have completed courses under the project do not have the financial capacity to establish businesses.
One of the trainees, Dora Sitima from Namitembo Technical College said the training has been an eye opener on how they can assist the youth whom they see doing nothing in the communities despite having the technical skills they acquired through Hope for the Youth project.
“Most youths targeted by the project are vulnerable as most of them are the poor, the orphans and young people with physical disabilities. They don’t have enough money to start their own businesses. If they can be encouraged to come together and form Savings and Loans clubs, each will be able to save a reasonable amount for their self-employment at a given period,” said Sitima
Hope for the youth project is a three-year program designed to increase access to formal and informal education for vulnerable groups like women and youths. It targets to train 2,400 youths within the age group of 18 to 35 in the country.
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