The story of CEP’s Yana Vocational Center
Sarah* is one of a dozen children in her family in Namagera village, Jinja district, Uganda. At 16 years old, she dropped out of school because her family lacked funds and the government-aided free secondary school was too far away from her house to walk. When a local organization announced a scholarship program in her village, she promptly interviewed and impressively landed the scholarship. However, six months into the scholarship program, Sarah became pregnant and dropped out of school. After having the baby, Sarah could not re-enroll in secondary school because she had no one to care for her child and her former school would not take her back.
A proud graduate of the tailoring program makes a speech at graduation.
Sarah is not alone – most secondary schools in Uganda do not readmit young mothers. There is high stigma attached to admitting girls who have babies back into the school. In Ugandan society, there is a perception that the girls should have to deal with consequences for getting pregnant while in school. This is especially true in small villages where everyone knows everyone else, like Namagera.
Situations like Sarah’s and those of other girls who drop out of school but need a second chance prompted Child Empowerment Program (CEP) to start a vocational training program specifically for youth who cannot attend regular secondary school but wish to gain vocational skills. Prior to this project, CEP ran a small vocational program in the community but it lacked resources. CEP’s partner, Tusubira-We Have Hope, supported CEP’s plan to start the vocational center. Tusubira’s mission is to help rural communities address issues that perpetuate poverty through education and community development programs. With Tusubira’s partnership, CEP was able to secure a piece of land onto which they planned to set up permanent infrastructure for a vocational center.
In 2018, CEP started the vocational center with a tailoring course offered to a cohort of mostly girls who couldn’t attend regular secondary school. A new partnership with Pangea Giving helped to realize this plan. Pangea provided funds for purchasing the sewing machines, a computer and printer, and hiring two teachers to train the youth in tailoring. At the end of 2018, the vocational center graduated 10 students who can now make a livelihood from these tailoring skills.
In 2019, the vocational center will move to a permanent building on the new piece of land that will have electricity to upgrade to advanced sewing machines. Products made in the tailoring program will be marketed in shops in nearby towns to work towards financial sustainability for the vocational center. Eventually, the center will expand to include other courses such as hairdressing, carpentry, and brick-laying.
Through its partnerships with Tusubira and Pangea Giving, CEP is realizing its plan to help overcome factors that perpetuate poverty in rural eastern Uganda and enable girls like Sarah to have a second chance.
Young women who participate in the Tailoring Vocational Program
The new Yana vocational building built with the support of Tusubira-We Have Hope. Electrification and furnishing of the tailoring vocational classes is supported by Pangea.
This blog post was contributed by Pangea Giving friends and supporters Carol Bogezi and Joel Masselink
You can learn more about CEP”s partner Tusubira by visiting their website: www.tusubira.org.
Also click the links to follow Child Empowerment Program and Tusubira on Facebook.
*Sarah’s name was changed to protect her identity.