Young people are being given entrepreneurship sessions. Such sessions are organized before entering the Internship period. Through the Entrepreneurship program, young people are trained in the creation and management of small businesses as well as on how to develop psychosocial competence.
When you visit Salesian vocational schools, most of the young people who are pursuing vocational and technical courses feel confident that once they are equipped with the required skills, they might not fear facing challenges and opportunities ahead of them.
Since Don Bosco Muhazi started to offer vocational training to young people in Masonry, Culinary Arts, and Tailoring Trades, there has been a contribution that has been made so far in terms of enabling young people from vulnerable families to have access to education.
According to Sister Nyanzira Leocadie, Headmistress of the Don Bosco Muhazi Technical and Vocational Training School, “More than 800 students have graduated at this School.”
Here at Don Bosco Muhazi Technical and Vocational Training School, there are a variety of young people with a variety of challenges.
Uwizeyimana Lenatha, an 18-year-old girl has completed two years in the tailoring trade and currently practices her tailoring profession in Bukure, Gicumbi district. She says that although she used to face challenges during her studies due to family poverty, she has started reaping the fruits. "I remember how I had to cross Lake Muhazi every day coming to school to get knowledge. Now I have a job as a tailor and I can earn a living," Ms. Uwizeyimana said. She added that she plans to set up a large workshop and provide employment to unemployed youth and expand her business in other sectors of Gicumbi District which is located in the Northern Province of Rwanda.
Ingabire Olivier, aged 22, is now employing 4 young people in his Hairdressing Salon. Ingabire completed Culinary Arts courses at Don Bosco Muhazi TVET School. When the time came for the Internship, he went to one of the Hotels in Rwamagana District, Eastern Province of Rwanda. When he and others completed the Internship, the manager of the Hotel decided to employ him because of his quality work.
He said that the secret to getting employment is discipline and hard work which are some of the qualities of the students who graduate at Don Bosco Muhazi TVET School.
These young people when you talk to them tell you that their education would not have been easy if they did not have the opportunity to get a school that cares for the poor. On the other hand, the stressful life that most of the young people have lived before coming to school has led them to concentrate much on their studies so that they are becoming who they want to be.
According to Mr. Jean d’Amour, in charge of the Job Service Office at the School, the recent statistics showed that more than 90% of the graduates of the vocational studies at Don Bosco Muhazi TVET School have a job and are satisfied with it.
The Job Service Office is a structure within the Salesian TVET Centre which was established as the fruit of the long experience of the Salesians of Don Bosco in the TVET World. It is a powerful instrument for an effective TVET development process to ensure training objectives meet placement objectives.
Apart from testimony from these young people, Father Raymond Bavumiragiye, the Director of Don Bosco Muhazi and Provincial Vicar, attests to the fact that being polite and guided by Christian values are pillars that help them change the course of their lives towards improved livelihoods whether at the family level or personal level.
Source: Top Africa News
