The project intends to acquire 100 sewing machines, 10 over-locking machines, 10 knitting machines and 3 embroidery machines to support 200 underprivileged (unemployed) slum youths in Mbale district annually who had no chance of formal education or dropped out of school before secondary level to enable them become self-reliant through provision of short term basic practical tailoring skills.
The problem is escalating youth unemployment levels in Mbale district among the illiterate aged (14-30) who are resorting to criminal vices like robbery, commercial sex coupled with high early teenage pregnancies. Mbale district has a total population of 488,960 and out of this, persons aged 18 years and above who are illiterate is 65,559 (29.2%) while those aged 10-17 who are illiterate is 26,169 (25.3%). Youths aged 18-30 years who are neither working nor in school is 17,418 (15.9%).
The project will equip the youths with quick short term basic tailoring and knitting skills and thereafter group them into clusters to qualify for support towards acquisition of 2 sewing machines to kickstart them into self income as a means of defining a decent livelihood. The groups will also be trained on enterprise development and sustainability through operation of a mandatory VSLA scheme to enable them save and procure additional sewing machines for every group member.
The long term impact is that in 5 years we shall have created decent jobs for 1,000 youths directly and approximately more 1,000 jobs indirectly from the youth groups established. Secondly, there will be socioeconomic transformation through reduction of poverty among the beneficiaries and their communities through forward and backward linkages related to their project activities. Government will also benefit through taxes and fees levied on these youth projects hence contributing to development
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
