Online Reporter
Theseus Shambare
ONE hundred and twenty young people from Hopley have graduated with vocational skills in areas including dressmaking, baking, catering, horticulture and poultry production as ActionAid Zimbabwe intensifies efforts to equip youths with practical skills to create livelihoods.
The graduates, drawn from the Dignified Lives and Decent Livelihoods (DTV) project, were recognised at a ceremony held at Tariro Clinic in Hopley, Harare, where ActionAid Zimbabwe said the programme was designed to help young people move from surviving to building sustainable livelihoods.
The project, supported by ActionAid Denmark and implemented in partnership with specialist training institutions, seeks to address challenges faced by young people in Hopley, a peri-urban community where limited economic opportunities have often constrained access to decent livelihoods.
Speaking at the graduation ceremony, ActionAid Zimbabwe country director Dr Selina Pasirayi said the milestone represented more than the awarding of certificates, but the beginning of a new journey towards economic independence.
“Today is not merely a ceremony, it is the public recognition of courage, of perseverance, and of the quiet daily decision made by each of our graduates to imagine a different future and then to work for it,” she said.
Dr Pasirayi said the young people had acquired practical skills that could form the foundation of small enterprises, household incomes and independence.
“Through vocational training, they have acquired real marketable skills in horticulture and poultry, in baking and catering, and in dressmaking,” she said.
“These are not abstract pieces of paper, they are the foundations of livelihoods, of small enterprises, of household incomes, and of independence.”
The training was delivered through partnerships with organisations including Fambidzanai Permaculture Centre for horticulture and poultry, the City of Harare for baking and catering, Vichelle for dressmaking and Young Africa for other vocational disciplines.
Dr Pasirayi said a major challenge facing young entrepreneurs was not always lack of skills, but the difficulty of accessing resources needed to start businesses.
“For too many, the single greatest barrier between ability and livelihood has never been talent or determination, but the simple want of start-up capital,” she said.
She said the Youth Empowerment Centre developed through the programme would provide graduates with a platform to begin their entrepreneurial journeys.
The facility includes equipment and spaces such as kitchens for baking and catering, a fashion studio for dressmaking, a greenhouse for horticulture and facilities for poultry production.
Women’s Rights and Economic Justice manager at ActionAid Zimbabwe, Ruvumbo Nhunhama, said the training was aimed at strengthening youth agency, entrepreneurship and economic resilience.
“Today is more than a graduation ceremony. It is a celebration of determination, resilience, hard work, and hope,” she said.
She encouraged graduates to use their acquired skills to build enterprises and contribute to the development of their families and communities.
“The skills you have acquired are not merely certificates or qualifications; they are tools that can open doors, create opportunities, and enable you to build the future you envision for yourselves,” Nhunhama said.
The graduation also recognised Friendship Bench volunteers who were trained to provide psychosocial support within the community through the Friendship in a Box model.
Dr Pasirayi said the volunteers were providing an important service in a community that had experienced significant social and economic challenges.
“Through the Friendship in a Box model, these volunteers have learned to listen, to counsel, and to walk alongside their peers through hardship and healing,” she said.
ActionAid Zimbabwe said the programme was part of broader efforts to promote youth empowerment and create pathways for young people, particularly young women, to access opportunities that strengthen their independence and resilience.
