This project pays for the lunches of 15 girls training to be hair stylists during their 6 month apprenticeship training. These girls are identified from HIV infected and affected families whose families cannot afford to provide girls with further studies. The girls work all day during their apprenticeships on empty stomachs making it very difficult to get through the day. The project will give them nutritious meals each day enabling them to focus and complete their studies successfully.
Our project provides necessary items for the girls to complete their apprenticeship training, but unfortunately our funding is not enough for their meals too. The girls end up studying on empty stomachs yet the majority of them are on ARVs which need to be taken with food to prevent side effects. Due to hunger, and poor health related to malnutrition, the girls may not be able to finish their apprenticeship without support for meals.
The project will buy food enough for them to feed on for the remaining four months while on their apprenticeship program which attaches girls to salons to enable them learn to do hair and make up. Each girl's meal is less than 50 cents per day. Providing them with a good meal will not only support their health but enable them to finish their apprenticeship and become self-sufficient and provide for themselves and their families.
We will ensure that the girls receive a well-rounded and strong education so they can grow up to be knowledgeable and prepared contributors to their communities and our world. Mountains of Hope also knows that no child can be successful on their own. That's why we support the whole community by distributing water filters, healthy food, and other services so that they can support the child all throughout their education. Through the holistic approach, we will create lasting change.
