Provide Vital Skills and Vocational Training

Dear Project Supporters,

Thank YOU for helping the Develop Africa Empowerment Training Institute (DAETI) to continue its operations.

This period has been the most challenging since we started this Institution. Due to the hardship brought by Ebola, ten of the trainees left to petty trade to help provide food for their family members. That had a serious effect in the attendance and moral of those that remain.

We are still awaiting eight of them to return. According to reports received by hearsay they said, “We have been training for the past three years and have not receive any machines as a startup kit to help us become self-reliant.”

Despite the rains, the trainees are desperate to learn. So, they are making their way here every morning except on Sundays. The tutors are working very hard to help train these youths.

The project participants received training in the following Tailoring topics:

1) Midi
2) Blouse and Skirt
3) Prin
4) Float
5) Tuntorlah
6) Yoruba style
7) Sleeveless
8) Shirt
9) Men Shirt
10) Trousers

Since our last report, we experienced the following developments:

Five new girls have joined the Institute - ages fourteen to eighteen years. Among them is a fourteen year old pregnant girl name Susan. They are doing very well.

A few of the machines were repaired to increase the number of working machines for trainees.

Four of the fourteen machines are no longer working and two of them need repairs. This is causing a serious problem as some of the trainees have to wait until a machine is idle for them to have their turn.

There is need for a designing machine to help raise the quality of clothes made by the Institute for sale to compete with other clothes made elsewhere.

One of the biggest challenges facing the regular trainees is money to buy food during lunch time. Their relatives only provide one daily meal later in the day.

We need YOUR continued support to help make the following improvements for the Institute's beneficiaries:

Since the majority of the trainees are girls, provision of lunch for them will help increase their participation and concentration.

Buying new machines and repairing the old ones will help to encourage more youth to come as this will increase the number of machines available for use.

It will be ideal to provide machines as a startup kit for those that have been trained over two years. This will increase the number of trainees in the short term.

Thank YOU so much for YOUR continued support.

On behalf of the trainees, tutors, members of the community and members of Door of Hope, we want to express our heart felt gratitude to all for helping to change lives in Wellington, Freetown, Sierra Leone.

Best Regards,

Develop Africa team