Vocational Training in Mnukwa, Zambia

It was good to be able to visit Mnukwa village this week, see the skills centre and talk to those involved in its development. Arriving at the tail end of a very wet rainy season, it was immediately apparent how rural a location this is and how vulnerable the dirt roads are to stormy weather. At times the village is in effect cut off, with consequent difficulty for those children trying to get to school, or those attempting to take their harvested crops to market.

I find it hard to communicate the level of poverty which exists here. Although not a war-torn country or one hitting the news headlines for malnutrition, life for most people here is at a very basic subsistence level. Simple things which we easily take for granted don't happen here because of a lack of a pound or two to replace light bulbs, buy exercise books, a torch or get tools sharpened.

The centre comprises an L-shaped block where one arm is a carpentry workshop, and the other a tailoring one. Nearby is now a house for Wilson the carpenter / manager, a bore-hole and toilets. The village school is not far away and has recently started to accept older children as it grows into secondary status. Importantly this means that teenagers studying woodwork and home economics will increasingly form the bulk of those young people using the training centre, along with younger children on short work experience days out of school.

If the children here are ever to break out of the depressing cycle of poverty, they need to stay at school, then move on to further training and hopefully into employment. This skills centre is vital to their futures.

At HATW we are very grateful for your past support and ask you please to encourage your friends to help us make a huge difference in the lives of these children, young people and their families. Thank you so much, on their behalf!