By Astrid Gifford | Managing Director
Mankosi Skills Development Center
The skills development center is our newest project and managed by Khanyisa, a very talented lady from Mankosi area. The purpose of the program is to fight youth unemployment through skills transfer.
The Building
The last three months saw the beginning of the building, where the Skills Development is going to be housed. We managed to cast a strong foundation out of concrete and build the walls up to roof height. Between a group of Dutch Architects and our local builders, we were able to design and build half of the center already. We are busy fundraising for the completion of the building.
Adult Education and Training
Since January 2020 we have a great group of young adults studying NQF level 4 at our center. This level will equip them with a Umalusi Certificate which can open doors to TVET colleges and tertiary education. 15 young adults are busy wring their Exams at the moment. We are very excited about their progress and we can see that they are on the right track towards a better future. After that we are planning to enroll them in a work readiness workshop, which was designed by us, to suit the special needs of our young people. After that a 3-week work experience in a retail sector is lined up, to expose them to the competitive world. We started with career guidance, to explore their ambitions and dreams. We are certain that we will be able to help them find tertiary education, transfer a skill or create business opportunities.
Sewing Project
Nosphelele and Nolethu are well trained seamstresses of the Skills Development Center. They already learned many techniques, including how to work with an electric sewing machine and an overlocker.
In September Nosphlele and Nolethu learned how to sew graduation gowns for children. Every year the Preschools around the area need those gowns for the end of year celebrations. The sewing ladies identified this as an opportunity to make some money as we could hire them out to the schools. Khanyisa found a sewing lady from the neighbouring village to transfer these sewing skills to our ladies. Nosphlele and Nolethu are busy making them now to be ready for December 2020.
A local guy named Sive is already familiar with a hand-operated sewing machine. He is using the sewing machine from his mother and repairing trousers for the community members. His goal is to learn how to use the electric sewing machine and to start a business in making men's and ladies trousers. The lessons started at the beginning of July 2020 and he already learned how to cut the trousers using a pattern and sewing the different pieces together. We are looking forward to seeing how Sive will develop and maybe help him with a Microfinance loan to get his business started.
Driver Licence program
Daniel Mvumbi is our manager for the Driver licence school and Microfinance program. We are happy to report that he passed his practical driver licence test in September 2020. He is the proud owner of a licence now. We observed that all community members with a driver licence have a job. We identified this skill to be of paramount importance to become employable. Next year we will start courses to enable applicants to become capable drivers of cars and even trucks.
Agroecology
The inland village of Qolweni identified a young lady from their midst to go for training in basic agriculture skills. The training was sponsored by the Department of Agriculture and taught original and fundamental agriculture practises. We are excited about working towards sustainable solutions for the gardens in our area, together with the community members who are farming. Our team of managers had a side visit and met with the leaders of the project. They identified a nice piece of land close to the river. This way we have a flat area and enough water for the plants. Qolweni is a very hilly side with very steep slopes.
Volunteers
Mirthe our volunteer from the Netherlands who was paramount in the development for the Center, will be leaving the area in October. She is going back to Holland after 3 years of volunteering and managing the Skills Development Center. She will be greatly missed. We are looking for competent and reliable volunteers for this Project.
I would like to thank all of you from the bottom of our hearts for your ongoing support!
Without you we would be hopelessly lost!
Yours Astrid Gifford
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