Give education & training to Zimbabwean girls

The January 2018 cohort has 40 young ladies who completed the training at Rafiki this quarter. At this stage in the programme they have been in a specialist Internship which will last between 2-6 months. These included the below courses along with how many chose each course. 

6 Hotel & Catering

6 Nurse Aide

6 Interior Design

6 Cosmetology

7 Early Childhood Development or Preschool Teaching

8 Cutting & Designing

2 Cosmetology

For the 8 ladies who began Early Childhood Development and Preschool Training, one has withdrawn from the course in order to have a child. She intends to resume her studies later. Of the 7 who remain all have been offered jobs already - even though they are yet to complete their final exams. This is a great achievement and something they should all be really proud of. 

The May 2018 cohort has had the initial courses being delivered and will soon be ready for their initial graduation. Once graduated they will join with the January cohort for the biggest ever Rafiki Graduation event. They have chosen their Internships and we'll soon see them embark on learning in the range of courses available. This will be a telling phase as they gain skills and confidence in order to move into employment and (often) self-employment. 

The August cohort was made up of 30 young ladies and 10 single mothers. This was the first time that single mothers have been recruited for this intake so it's a great achievement. We've included a few case studies below;

Meet Lian, she is 18 years old and did not collect her O’level results because there was no money to pay her fees. She comes from a broken home father married another wife. Since she was growing up her parents fought over her and no one cared about her welfare. She resorted to prostitution as a solution until one day she met a friend who introduced her to Rafiki. Rafiki became the parent she has always hoped for. She wants to become a Nurse Aide and change her life. 

Then there's Blessing, her parents passed away when she was young. She knows her mother’s history but regarding her father, she has no clue. So sad. Raised by her mother’s relatives, Blessing was born HIV positive, she is only 20. She has a great positive mind and has hope for tomorrow. She believes Rafiki is going to take her somewhere.  She passed three subjects when she was doing her O levels - well done Blessing! She is an encouragement to the other girls. Her confidence will make her go a long way. Blessing wants to do a Pre-School Early Childhood Development Course.

Finally, Vannessa is a single mother of a girl aged three years. She is just 20 years and life has already made her hop and jump because of unplanned marriage. She saw herself as a disappointment to her family by being impregnated and coming back again after being rejected by the man she thought loved her. She also failed her O levels. Vanessa comes from a broken home - her mother passed away and father married a new wife who is not prepared to stay with her. She was very angry with her father and said she hated him with passion. On her first day at Rafiki though... her life tables turned. On orientation she learnt about forgiveness. She cried and shared with the rest of the group that "I forgive my father" and she now values him though he has his short comings. Vannessa trust that Rafiki will change her life. She wants to train in Hotel and catering.

Thank you donors for your suport! 

Links:

• Zimbabwe Educational Trust

This quarter was an exciting time for Rafiki as the July 2017 intake completed their training and their graduation was held on the 26^th May. A total of 32 girls graduated, with 9 girls graduating in hotel and catering, 8 in cutting and designing, 5 in interior designing, 5 in nurse aid, 4 in preschool teaching and 1 in cosmetology. Most of the girls who trained in interior designing and cutting and designing are either working for someone or self-employed. 3 girls who trained in Hotel and catering have been attached to Hotels in Harare whilst the other girls are yet to be placed. And for the first time, we have girls who have graduated in Preschool teaching or Early Childhood Development (ECD) with Diplomas. These girls plan to advance their careers to Degree level once they begin earning an income. 4 girls who trained in nurse aide are attached to one of the biggest Government hospital in Zimbabwe and one girl who was trained in cosmetology is employed. Two girls who were trained in interior designing have been employed by individual interior designers while 3 girls trained in cutting and designing are doing internship. This high success rate is a testament to how the Rafiki Girls Centre is changing the lives of vulnerable women for the better.

The January 2018 class is progressing well with training, with all 40 girls successfully completing their initial three months training. 4 girls who were doing a preschool course completed in June and 3 are now working. Four girls who trained in nurse aide are completing work placements at various hospitals and hope to find jobs as soon as they complete their training. Cutting & designing, hotel and catering, and interior and designing and cosmetology courses are progressing well.

32 girls in total were recruited and began training on 10 July 2018. The girls are excited about training and look forward to starting their training on specialized courses in October. They had their first event in July, the Parent’s Open Day, which was well attended by parents. Girls sung and teachers took turns to explain each subject’s content to parents. The event was a resounding success.

Rafiki also held a careers day which gave the girls the opportunity to learn about the various courses on offer and the career opportunities available to graduates of the school.

Despite these successes, Rafiki was nevertheless faced with its usual challenges during the quarter, the biggest being lack of funds to carry out all its planned activities. They are grateful for any assistance that can help to give their students the better life they deserve.