A CASE STUDY OF SUSAN CHINOMBA A TAILORING STUDENT
YOUTH EMPOWERMENT THROUGH VOCATIONAL SKILLS TRAINING.
CADECOM with financial support from SCIAF is implementing Mangochi Livelihoods and Economic Recovery project in Mangochi district St Augustine (TA Chowe) and Nankhwali (Ta Nankumba) parishes. The project is for 6 years (2017-2022) targeting 4500 vulnerable households .The project works in thematic areas of Food and Income diversification, vocational training and entrepreneurship, Environment and Natural Resources Management and Gender.
Susan Chinomba is a 21 year old girl who comes from Mbondo village, Group village headman Mtuwa, Traditional Authority Chowe, Mangochi District. She is the first born daughter in the family of 6 children. She left school when she was in standard eight due to early pregnancy in March 2017.She is a single parent.
Susan has gone through difficult life during pregnancy and after giving birth. She lacked food, clothes and other needs. Susan has been involved in doing casual work, selling firewood and charcoal as a copping mechanism but to no avail. She could not get employed because she had no skills in any field.
She was interested to pursue training in vocational skills development but had no access to such type training .The coming of the Mangochi Livelihood and Economic Recovery Programme (MLERP) in the area by CADECOM with several interventions that include youth vocational skills in 2019 in her village gave an opportunity to Susan to fulfill her ambition. She enrolled in Tailoring and Fashion Designing course in December 2020.
Susan is one of the best student among the nine students who are attached to a Local Artisan in Tailoring and Fashion design. Every day she cycles 22 kilometers to and from the training venue. As she is about to finish her course in May 2021, she is able to design and make the dresses, jackets, skirts, shorts and face masks.
When Susan was visited during monitoring, she was quoted saying, “I have seen my life changing just in a few months to come”. Susan was extremely happy when she heard that CADECOM will provide a start- up kits (sowing Machine). Her plan is to open her own tailoring shop right in her village. Susan was happy to tell that her mother support her by taking care of her child and in return she will support her mother too in just near future.