Funds from this project will provide training in weaving, leather working or tailoring for 100 young people in Niger. The students will receive instruction, use of the facilities and equipment, supplies and transportation to the school free of charge. Three quarters of the students are young women.
Over 45% of the population of Niger lives on less that $1.90 per day. The literacy rate is about 30%. Fewer than 60% of young people enter secondary education and less than 20% complete secondary school. Under these conditions, there are limited opportunities for young people to get an education or find work.
We provide training in trades to young people so that they have skills that allow them to find paying work or to be self employed. Instruction, equipment, materials and transportation are supplied free of charge to the students. We select trades (tailoring, leather working, and weaving) that are in demand in the local Nigerien market and that require only modest startup costs.
We graduated 36 tailoring and leather working students from a three year training program in July 2021. In February 2022, we did a survey of our graduates and of the 33 we located, all had paying work. We have now increased the number of students to 100, and we hope to be equally successful with this group.
This project has provided additional documentation in a DOCX file (projdoc.docx).
