Yes We Can, tailoring project

The Yes, We Can project is a socio-economic empowering project for young women in T/A Ntchema area in Chiradzulu. The program has a main component of vocational training school which requires the teen mothers, adolescent girls and young women to meet every day. The beneficiaries for the project are women and girls below 24, failing in the following groups: (12 girls) Loans, 2 groups of Village savings loan (20 girls), First Tailoring group (12 girls), second tailoring group (19), From T/A Ntchema, GVH Mpotola and Balakasi. However, because of the Covid 19 we were forced to have our girls meet in shifts to achieve social distance. Despite the many challenges including COVID-19, we managed to achieve a 99% graduation rate for our graduates. This is a major achievement because in the past, many girls would drop out, this time around only one girl dropped out on medical grounds.

After 6 months training, the girls went through an assessment with   Technical, Entrepreneurial and vocational Education and Training Authority (TEVETA). TEVETA is a regulatory body established to regulate, recommend and assist technical vocational institutions in Malawi. We were privileged to have them assess our girls. Their team of experts gave a few pointers but expressed happiness to establish a vocational school in a rural area. After the assessment, the girls were given certificates by Young Women Rise and were then provided with sewing machines to establish their businesses as individuals. The graduation ceremony was graced by a representative from ministry of Labour, Youth and Traditional leaders and Young Women Rise board members.