Training material for vocational training in Uganda
Nansana, Uganda

Nurture Africa has an HIV clinic in Nansana where about 67 HIV-infected adolescent girls are enrolled in an Anti-Retroviral therapy (ART). The girls are all early school dropouts who not only did not complete their primary education but also did not learn any skill or have any income generating activity.

In addition to giving an ART, Nurture Africa wants to teach these girls a trade in their youth centre in Nansana to enable them to start small businesses and generate their own income.

The Van Doorn Foundation provided funds to set up one of these vocational training courses.

Project has been executed successfully!

Amount donated : € 3,900.-

Sponsor: Addo Kranendonk Fund

Project information
The situation

Nansana is a suburb of Kampala with a population of 150,000 people. Besides a large youth unemployment Nansana is also known as a hotspot of juvenile delinquency, prostitution and a large percentage of HIV-infected youth.

The importance of the project

In 2012 a HIV clinic was established and in 2014 a youth centre was built that provides these adolescents a safe environment where they can support each other, and learn about sexual and reproductive health issues. In the youth centre Nurture Africa started – with the limited resources at its disposal – to teach some girls in the mornings some sewing and hairdressing skills.

However, the demand for such programs is greater than the resources available. Moreover Nurture Africa currently has only two sewing machines and a few dolls heads with which the girls practice hairdressing. That is too little in relation to the demand, but also too little learning tools to really learn a trade, so training now acts more like an occupational therapy. It has to date not yet led to work for these girls.

The implementing organisation

Nurture Africa – a local, non-governmental and non-profit organization in Uganda, founded by Irishman Brian Iredale.

Nurture Africa provides health and education to the most vulnerable children from the suburbs of Kampala. The so-called ‘most at risk youth’ are mostly early school dropouts, who have not learned any skill and therefore have great difficulty to find work in the labour market and consequently at significant risk ending up in crime or prostitution. Nurture Africa is aiming to improve their conditions so that they can live productive lives and can make a positive contribution to society.

The envisaged project results

In addition to the classroom training, the young people’s practical skills will be developed and their employability enhanced through an internship program. During the internship they will work in the private sector with potential employers. They will gain work experience and learn to collaborate with colleagues, and learn to cope with the transition from non-binding learning to bearing responsibility and to perform in a work environment with an employer.

The project will pay the tuition fee and an allowance to the youngsters. With the internship program, young people can generate income from which a large part of the training fee can be paid. Possibly the internships can also yield some pocket money for the basic livelihood of the Most at Risk youngsters. This will solve the problem of not being able to pay for the training, the biggest barrier to training for the “most at risk” youth.

The Van Doorn Foundation supports Nurture Africa in setting up the hairdressing training by funding the necessary training equipment and tools. The financial contribution of € 3,900 has been made available from the Addo Kranendonk Fund.

The chance of sustainability

To provide the youth of Nansana a real service, Nurture Africa wants to give “most at risk” young people a chance by providing them in the youth centre professionally guided “best practice” training. After a market investigation, it was decided to develop three vocational training courses in phases; a tailor training in the spring of 2017, a hairdresser’s training in the autumn of 2017 and a chef’s training in the spring of 2018.

Vocational training will teach young people technical skills and life skills training, focusing on behavior and social skills. The purpose of this is to train them in a coherent way in self-reliance and sustainability and to enable them to participate in the labor market or to become entrepreneurs themselves.

The result

Since January 2018, various vocational training courses have started. The training materials for the hairdresser training were purchased and other sponsors made funds available for the tailor training and the catering training. Meanwhile, Nurture Africa submitted an application with the government for an official recognition of the centre. Nurture Africa has also started the construction of a “business center” where over 2018 small businesses may be initiated, such as a coffee shop, a beauty salon and a tailor shop. The business centre must ensure that the training ultimately leads to an autonomous and financially independent existence for these young people.