Overview:
Our partners run a centre for people living with disabilites in Bukavu, a densely packed city of 1 million on the border with Rwanda. This project will provide training in sewing and joinery for 17 young participants from very poor families in Bukavu and surrounding villages. These young people need education and training to learn a skill which will enable them to help support themselves financially and participate in a society where disability means rejection at every social level. It will also provide good social interaction. The one-year training program will consist of skills training together with a reintegration kit for each graduate. This includes materials needed to continue their trade.
What we like about it:
Young people living with disabilities often fall through the gaps and community networks with no support and usually end up begging on the streets. Opportunities to make a living are virtually nil. We appreciate the work of this Centre which has a solid track record, having been established in 1979. It provides skills and opportunities for those shunned by the rest of society. Vocational training forms one part of the Centre’s network of services for those with disabilities, providing hope, training, support and a future.
Budget: $15,500 for a one-year initial project.
The budget covers skills training together with some business training and a kit with the materials needed to continue the trade once the training has finished. The tools and materials purchased for this project will be re-used in further training courses for other people with disabilities.
Tax Deductible: Yes and 100% gets there!
The Need:
The Democratic Republic of Congo faces many challenges. It has been ravaged by war, genocide, militia, and corrupt governments. It has endured much bloodshed and brutal political repression. Recent Congolese elections have been called “a disaster for the people”. In the Buakvu area more than 75% of the population lives on less than $1.40 per day. Life expectancy is 53 and the infant mortality rate is nearly 10%. The population is young: 48% are under the age of 15 and 43% are aged between 15-49. Only 9% of the population is over 50 due to war, poverty, HIV/AIDS and other diseases. This project supports marginalized, vulnerable young people to integrate into the community and improve their living conditions.
Life Change:
