By Cathy Godfrey
KATIMA MULILO, June 8 – Ten young women trained at the Katima Mulilo Youth Centre received kits to make dishwashing liquid in the town on Tuesday.
Project Hope, under the Dreams programme, facilitated the handover of the kits to the 10 young women who form part of a group of 120 in training in different fields that include hospitality and tourism (20), poultry (20), horticulture (25), basket weaving (15) and 40 currently in training at the Zambezi Vocational Training Centre doing plumbing and pipefitting and joinery and cabinet making.
Speaking at the occasion regional programme manager for Dreams2, Namasiku Muhinda, said she was excited about the progress the programme has made in the four years since its inception in the region.
She said when they started they first focused on tackling issues of HIV and gender-based violence prevention among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW), and now they are empowering the young girls to be independent and self-sufficient.
Councillor for Katima Mulilo Urban, Kennedy Simasiku, said recent reports have shown that a lot of girls are exposed to violence and that it goes unreported, hence there is an alarming need for parents and caregivers to encourage their daughters to join such programmes that help them find their voice.
He said he had no doubt that Dreams2 will continue prioritising and strengthening economic activities in the Zambezi region.
“Many AGYW engage in transactional sex due to poverty but if we empower them we will also decrease cases of unwanted sex, HIV and gender-based violence,” said Simasiku
Trendy Simataa (21) a beneficiary of the project, said she is very grateful for the opportunity as she had once lost hope in accomplishing her dreams when she fell pregnant while still at school because she had to drop out. However, with the learned skills, she hopes to become her own boss and realise her financial freedom.
Another beneficiary, Memory Liswaniso, encouraged her fellow trainees to use the skills acquired and not let them go to waste and thanked the Dreams team for the opportunity. – Namibia Daily News
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