By Jess Hagler | Communications Intern
Nepali youth are focused on the future.
More than three years on, as BRAC transitions away from short-term relief to long-term resilience-building in affected communities, your support is helping young people access new opportunities and develop the skills they need to secure meaningful employment.
In a country that has faced historically high youth unemployment, as high as 19 percent in recent years, young people are often forced to migrate in order to find employment. Many youth in Nepal also lack the technical skills required to secure quality jobs that offer a livable wage.
Samuel, an 18-year-old living with his family in Kathmandu, was no different than most Nepalis his age. Faced with the reality that his lack of applicable skills would exclude him from the work force, and hamstrung by his family’s inability to pay for college, Samuel saw few opportunities to provide for his family, let alone focus on his own future.
All that changed when a neighbor recommended BRAC’s skill development program (SDP) to Samuel. SDP places youth in local, on-the-job training programs to learn first-hand the hard and soft skills required for success in a particular trade. Samuel soon began a six-month apprenticeship with a coffee shop owner.
Now, over two months into his apprenticeship, whether he is steaming milk, engaging with customers, or balancing the books, Samuel is building both the technical skills and the soft skills that will help him support himself, his family, and his community.
Equipped with these new skills and a modest savings, Samuel’s professional goal is to open his own coffee shop one day.
Thanks to your continued support, over 150 young people living in poverty in Kathmandu have been paired with responsible businesses for relevant, on-the-job training in trades like jewelry making and mobile phone repair. With their hard-earned skills and resources, these youth are more capable than ever of realizing their full potential.
For photos ©BRAC/ Natalia Atkins
Links:
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
