Skills training

At the beginning of 2008, Y Care International began a new four year project in collaboration with Gambia YMCA to reduce poverty and social exclusion among vulnerable young people in rural areas of the Gambia. 

Young people represent almost 50% of the Gambia’s population of 1.6 million. They face significant obstacles, which prevent them from realising their potential and fully participating in the development of their communities. Young people have little access to education or vocational training and opportunities for income generation. This has left many young people and their communities trapped in a cycle of poverty.

How we are helping
The project targets disadvantaged young people, including orphans, school drop-outs, heads of households and young people with disabilities, to provide vocational skills training and access to resources such as micro finance for 1,800 young people between the ages of 16 and 30. This will enable them to find employment or establish sustainable micro enterprises, helping young people to escape the cycle of poverty and improving their standard of living.

Youth-led community workshops are also educating 3,000 young people about the issues of citizenship and human rights, empowering them to demand their rights and to become advocates on human rights issues.

What we’ve achieved so far

• 97% of students in the first year of the vocational training course graduated. Over 30 of them have already found jobs and are earning $40 a month and another 120 have had their microfinance loan applications approved, so that they can set up their own businesses
• 80 youth advocacy leaders have been identified and trained across each of the four project areas and regional advocacy groups have been set up. An additional 160 leaders will be trained in the second and third years of the project
• Local government authorities, including councillors, chiefs, village heads, and members of parliament, have been targeted through quarterly meetings with advocacy groups on issues such as increasing skills training opportunities for young people, the inclusion of girls and young women in both formal and informal education and the inclusion of young people in decision making processes
• Various forms of media including TV, radio and newspapers have been successfully used to communicate advocacy messages.