A new group of vocational training ladies at Katuuso!

Florence, Max, Flavia and Juliet during their first week of vocational training(our fifth member, Phionah, was absent on the day the photo was taken).

Florence, Max, Flavia and Juliet during their first week of vocational training
(our fifth member, Phionah, was absent on the day the photo was taken).

We recently started our second vocational training program with five new ladies coming to learn the tailoring trade with our Kumi team in Katuuso. Our Head Tailor Winnie and three of our experienced Kumi tailors - Rose, Nalongo and Grace - will teach the course. Over the next five weeks the ladies will learn new skills including garment construction, accessories and product costing and sales. When finished the ladies will receive a certificate of completion and help to find employment within the local community or beyond. 

Unemployment levels are high in Katuuso village; subsistence farming is the main form of work for the majority of the community. There's a common theme when we talked to the new vocational training women (and most women in the Katuuso area); all of the ladies dropped out of school at primary level because their families couldn't afford to pay the fees. Each of them see this training as an opportunity to get a reliable income in the future so their own children and siblings can stay in school. 

When we notified the community of the second intake of vocational training, we were overwhelmed by the amount of women who wanted to be a part of it. We are thrilled to be able to train yet another five women in the coming weeks. We'll keep you posted on their progress!

Thanks again to all those who made donations which allowed us to purchase more sewing machines for the training - without you this wouldn't have been possible!

We're honored to introduce you to these lovely ladies in our Q & A below...

Meet Nokikomeko Juliet
Age: 14
What were you doing before joining the program? I was attending school but had to drop out in primary 7 because we couldn't pay fees.
Why did you join the program? To learn how to be a tailor.
What are your hopes after you finish? I am taking this opportunity with the hope to start my own business.

Meet Nalukenge Max
Age: 20
What were you doing before joining the program? Nothing, I dropped out of school in primary 7.
Why did you join the program? To learn how to be a tailor.
What are your hopes after you finish? I want to start my own business as a tailor.

Meet Namugga Flavia
Age: 17
What were you doing before joining the program? I was at school but could not pay my fees anymore so I dropped out.
Why did you join the program? To learn how to sew and I want to be able to support my siblings so they can go to school.
What are your hopes after you finish? I want to get work and experience so I can start my own business.

Meet Nakabugo Florence
Age: 17
What were you doing before you joined the program? I was working as a house cleaner.
Why did you join the program? To learn how to sew.
What are your hopes after you finish? I hope to be able to work for someone and then I want to open my own business.

Meet Twikyirize Phionah
Age: 21
What were you doing before you joined the program? I was farming with my grandma after I stopped school in primary 6 because we didn't have money to pay my school fees.
Why did you join the program? I didn't grow up in a good situation so I wanted to take this opportunity to be able to help my future.
What are your hopes for the future? To get a skill and be able to work to improve myself.

Success Stories
Goretti

Sweet and shy Goretti lives with her aunt, uncle and cousins in a small house in the local village. When Goretti was younger, she moved in with her aunt and uncle because her parents could no longer look after her. She was one of our first students at Katuuso Primary, starting in 2011 when she was just 4 years old. Now, Goretti is in Senior One at Mbazzi High School, and is relishing the honour of being a high school student in her community - something that is taken for granted in Australia, but in Uganda, represents freedom and opportunity. Goretti also loves attending School for Life because she hopes to one day become a pilot in Uganda - a dream which she knows can only be reached with the help of a good education.

Violah

Violah has been at School for Life since since she was six years old. Sadly, Violah has experienced hardship no child should ever deal with. Her Dad passed away three years ago, leaving her Mum without the financial means to support her family - so she left Violah and her siblings with their elderly grandmother. Every day, Violah has to wake up at 5am to fetch water, cook meals and make sure that her younger sisters are properly looked after. Then she walks half an hour to get to school. Despite this adversity, Violah has flourished at school and has made many friends. She loves that School for Life is "helping me to build a future". After finishing school, Violah hopes to become a teacher to help other children.

Umar

Umar is one of our best performing students at Mbazzi Riverside High School - but life has not always been easy for Umar. His father abandoned the family in 2015, leaving his mother to struggle to support her five children on her own. School for Life has provided Umar with opportunities that may never else have eventuated for him. Umar begun his journey with School for Life at Katuuso Primary School, where his academic ability was quickly revealed. Now, he is a thriving member of our Senior 1 class and a formidable wing on the football team. With a love for mathematics, Umar is set on studying electronic engineering after finishing his senior studies - a goal which he is the first to admit is now within reach thanks to the skills and resources provided to him by School for Life.

Rose Nambooze

Rose is a 32‐year‐old single mother of one. She started working with SFL in 2013, after taking part in our tailoring training program. Prior to working with us, she was unemployed and living in her father's home helping to care for her father, who had cataracts, and his farm.
Thanks to her full time employment, Rose was able to save enough money to pay for an eye operation and restore her father's sight, allowing him to return to work as a mechanic. Now, Rose has moved into her own home and no longer relies on her father financially. 

Joseph

Joseph is one of our Special Needs teachers at Katuuso. After surviving a severe case of malaria at age four, he was left permanently deaf. He was raised by his single mother and attended a nursery school for the handicapped and later transferred to a school for the Deaf in Kampala. He eventually mastered sign language and pursued a university degree in education. Joseph decided to become a teacher so that he could give the gift of education to others who are hearing impaired.

Teddy Namatovu

Teddy is a participant in the Kumi Tailoring Program and four of her five children attend Katuuso Primary School. She and her husband farm two acres of land, which supplies fluctuating revenue. Participation in the Kumi Tailoring Project has secured income to reliably pay for school fees, nutritious meals and renovations to the family home. Teddy has gained a great deal of self-esteem from her ability to support her family and she takes pride in independently financing the education of all five children. Teddy has also been working on her numeracy and administration skills. She was appointed Treasurer of the tailoring group and will be responsible for keeping records of their savings.

Flaviah Nassaazi

Flaviah Nassaazi started working at Katuuso Primary and Vocational School in 2011. Prior to cooking at the school, she and her husband were subsistence farmers. They worked tirelessly for small yields and minimal income to support their family. Flaviah's cooking job not only enables her to pay school fees for her children, but she has also invested in a local barbershop business. She is now passing her cooking skills onto her eldest son Frank, who has also joined the school's cooking staff. Flaviah and her husband attend the adult literacy classes offered weekly at the school. Her English and reading have improved immensely, as well as her confidence.

Rachel

In 2010, Rachel began as a cleaner at Katuuso Primary and Vocational School. She was working to save money to study to be a teacher at University. Thanks to Barrie and Simone Goldsmith, her dream of studying came true and she is now fully qualified.