Chronicle Editor
Mkhululi Ncube, Chronicle Reporter
THE need for vocational training centres is more pronounced now more than ever in order to rescue a generation of young people who need life skills capacitation.
Many of the country’s youths in both urban and rural areas, who are wasting their lives on drugs and substance abuse, could rediscover themselves and their potential through vocational training.
Government is setting up vocational training centres in all of the country’s districts to help young people who cannot go to universities due to various reasons.
Non-governmental organisations are also pushing to capacitate vulnerable youths.
One such organisation is World Vision Zimbabwe through the Girls Education Mentoring Support (GEMS) Programme which has so far trained 258 girls and young women from Nkayi and Mangwe districts this year.
The trainings which covered Hair Dressing and Cosmetology, Hotel and Catering, Clothing and Technology, Agriculture and Financial Literacy were conducted at Empandeni Mission Vocational Training Centre owned by the Roman Catholic Church.
The vocational training centre, which was built in 1996 and is adjacent to Empandeni High School, is accredited to run exams under the LCCI Examination Board.
The late national heroine Mama Johanna Mafuyane, wife to the late former Vice-President Dr Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo, is said to have been one of the instrumental people in the setting up of the centre. She was a Fashion and Fabrics teacher at the institution.
The well-equipped institution, which can accommodate over 100 girls has an enrolment of 15 girls at the moment, a clear sign of its underutilisation at a time when scores of girls are in need of the skills it can offer.
The coming in of the GEMS Programme by World Vision Zimbabwe has given life to the centre.
18-year-old Jessica Ncube from Mbazhe Village in Nkayi District, Matabeleland North province, is one of the girls who went through the programme at the institution and aims to start a small hair salon business in her village.
“I dropped out of school in Form Two because I couldn’t get financial support to continue. I stay with my grandmother who is unwell at the moment and when I heard about this programme, I took it because this is the cheapest way to restart a better life for myself and my grandmother. I have gained a lot of skills during the three weeks and when I get home, I will set up a small salon. We were taught about personal hygiene, managing finance and modern hair styles which I will apply and use to earn a living when I get home. This course will help me become independent as I’ll be able to raise money to meet my personal needs,” she said.
Jessica says she aims to use the money she will get to educate her two young siblings and support her grandmother.
She said there is pressure for girls without skills in rural areas to depend on boys for necessities, which comes with many disadvantages like unwanted pregnancies.
For 17-year-old Nelisiwe Sibanda from Tjibako Village under Chief Bango in Mangwe District, her life changed for the worst in 2015 when her South Africa-based father who was supporting the family was involved in an accident which left him crippled.
Nelisiwe’s dream of a future in academics suffered an immature death as her unemployed mother could not support her and her three siblings. She had to stop going to school.
“From here, I’m going to rent a place at the nearby shopping centre so that I can make some money. There’re a few people who have hair dressing skills in the area and I know that I’ll be successful. Life is tough; my mother tried doing menial jobs to support us but the money she earned was never enough to meet all our needs. With what we have been taught here, I know things will change for the better,” she said.
While for many of the girls attending the course, their academic journey ended before they could complete their O-levels, the story is different for Heroine Ncube (22) who passed both O and A-level but could not go further than that.
“I’m from Sangulube area in Mangwe and my parents are unemployed but they managed to push me up to A-level. I wanted to go to university but money became a challenge. My dream though has been to be a nurse but since 2018, I’ve been applying on the online platform without success. I did this hairdressing course so that I can raise money to train as a nurse aid since I’m not being accepted for nurse training.
But even if I get a professional job, I will continue with this skill. I’m the oldest child in our family and I have to help in supporting my family so this course is a starting point for me,” she said.
Sisasenkosi Mavuli (18) is one of the young mothers who were part of the programme and were allowed to bring their children to the training centre.
She dropped out of Sivumo Secondary School in Nkayi District when she fell pregnant and chose to do Hotel and Catering to turn around her life and support her child as the man who impregnated her is not forthcoming.
“I learnt how to bake and make various other dishes from here. I’ll apply what I learnt here back home. My aim is to bake different kinds of confectionery that I will sell around my area and raise more money to further my training. We were taught how to handle and use money which will assist in managing the money I will get,” she said.
Another girl who participated in the programme is Nokukhanya Ncube (19) from Hobodo area. She dropped out of school when she was in Grade Four.
“My father was not paying fees for me and the school asked us to do manual work at the school to pay for fees but it was not sustainable. The committee running the Basic Education Assistance Module — BEAM turned me down so I dropped out of school. This programme is my only hope to try and change my life. I wish this free programme could run for longer but I’m grateful for it because with the skills
I’ve gained here, I’ll be able to do something back home,” she said.
World Vision Zimbabwe GEMS Programme manager Mr Method Ndlovu said the programme targets both in and out of school girls.
He said under the programme, the girls will be supported with the necessary tools they need in line with their training areas so that they are able to start small businesses to transform their lives.
“In this project, we work with both in and out of school girls aged between 15 to 25 and in-school girls who are at risk of dropping out of school to try and keep them in school so that they finish their education. But at this centre (Empandeni Vocational Training Centre) we have the out-of-school girls who are being capacitated with various skills,” said Mr Ndlovu.
He said a number of girls who were trained under the programme in other districts have been empowered and are running small businesses using the skills gained through the programme.
Online Reporter