When someone is taught a vocational skill, it can never be taken from them. It's a real world skill that they take with them whereever the may go. When the formal unemployment rate is 90%, any kind of skill can be the difference between survival and not.  Whether it's sewing, carpentry, hairdressing, raising fowl or raising rabbits, that little bit of extra knowledge sets these girls apart from the rest.

Once we have raised the last $2100, ASAP plans to train a group of about 20 young girls. There is no shortage of requests. It's only the funds that are needed to implement the training program. Your support through Global Giving is now the primary source of support and is greatly appreciated so these enthusiastic girls can gain the skills needed to live productive lives and become self-supporting. Thank you again.

You can read our Fall Newsletter by clicking the link below.

Links:

• ASAP Fall Newsletter

ASAP thanks everyone who contributed so far to this project.The last group of girls to receive vocational training for two weeks were very pleased with the results. As much as possible, training was adjusted to suit what each student wanted. These trainings have been very much in demand by the local communities. ASAP is planning to conduct another training once the remaining $2650 of funding has been received as it is only cost effective in larger groups. 

There is more to the training than just sewing clothes.As these girls learn to produce garments they begin to feel more personally valuable with increased self esteem. The cost of clothes is high and getting higher in Zimbabwe so anyone who has the skills to actually produce decent garments becomes a real asset to the community. And it's not just clothes for adults; they also make school uniforms at a discount to the cost of buying in town. We thank everyone again for supporting this worthwhile project and we hope you will continue to support it.

The vocational training aspect of the Out of School Adolescents project partnership between ASAP and Catholic Relief Services had budget cuts. Community Facilitators were hired to give vocational skills training in carpentry, hair dressing and sewing. These facilitators were either school teachers or qualified practicing individuals from the communities where the project clusters are formed. Training was localized in the selected clusters to meet with the budget size. The training had been initially planned to run for 21 days but later during implementation the days were reduced to14 days to suit the budget size even with the Global Giving funding.

This approach is very suitable for our youth and adult Internal Savings and Lending (ISAL) members, as since 2002 they have been asking for skills training to boost their income generating activities (IGAs) by running them more skillfully. We have already started receiving request to expand this training to the community members(ISAL and non ISAL members ), local stakeholders and local schools where the trainings were held or those community members who heard about the trainings. The training was very practical and the trained youths have started to employ the skills they gained in their IGAs. The only limitation in this intervention was enough resources to buy start up kits for those who received the training. 

Thanks to your support, in 2010 the ASAP team provided hands-on skills training for 8 children in dressmaking, 18 in hairdressing and 21 in carpentry during November and December. Because of your donation, these 37 children were not turned away; in total ASAP in Zimbabwe provided vocational training for 446 youth through a 3 year project funded by Catholic Relief Services. 162 children attended training in dressmaking, 218 in hairdressing and 66 attended carpentry training.

In 2011, now that the Catholic Relief Services funding is finished, Causemore Samanga reports that the continuing demand for hands-on skill training is very high and girls eager to learn sewing even bring their own materials in order to be able to be considered for the training. Your support and the support of Global Giving is now the primary source of support and is greatly appreciated so these enthusiastic girls will gain the skills needed to live productive lives and become self-supporting. Thank you again.

Vocational skills training are one of the activities originally included in the Out of School Adolescents project partnership between ASAP and Catholic Relief Services. Due to budget cuts, worthwhile and much need activities like this one had to be eliminated.

It is only because the ground work has been done through ongoing project activities that ASAP can offer this life changing training so cost effectively. Participants are eager and ready to learn. With your help, they will succeed! Please read about the project below.

• The Out of School Adolescent Project Partnership (PDF)
  

This project moves along in spite of the cut in funding. ASAP is providing training in micro-finance for these youth and plans are still in place to train in various skills that can produce an income. This project goes along with placing girls back in school because everything is really linked. In the end ASAP's goal is to provide the basic life skills for these youth to survive in a very harsh environment. Please consider a donation to help ASAP change lives.

The attached report highlights the need for Vocational Skills. This project partnership was funded through UNICEF and partners are working to achieve the National Plan of Action for Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Zimbabwe. Unfortunately, the funding originally earmarked for education and training were used for Cholera prevention in 2008. By donating today, you can help children gain the skills needed for a future full of hope and promise.

• Project Report from July from Zimbabwe (PDF)
  

We are happy to share our current newsletter with you.

• Newsletter09_summer.pdf (PDF)
  

In Zimbabwe, where the unemployment rate is nearly 90%, vocational skills and survival skills are synonymous. By giving to this project, you will be helping families do so much more that survive - they will thrive!

These young people are already actively involved in ASAP's rural micro finance project, funded through Catholic Relief Services. This gives them access to the capital required to put their newly acquired vocational skills to work, transforming lives. Providing hope for the future. Please donated today

June 25 2009 celebration of success

To date 1,453 out of school adolescents have attended training in internal savings and lending and school fees have been provided for 904 or these young people. We are asking for your donation to provide hands-on vocational skills training to eager and worthy participants.

This project is part of a three year project partnership between ASAP and Catholic Relief Services in Zimbabwe. During these times of tight budgets, the funding for the vocational skills training portion of this project had to be cut – yet it is such an essential and vital aspect of this project that will provide children in desperate circumstances with hope for the future. Please give youth in Zimbabwe skills that will last a life time by supporting this project.