Ihumure (Skills for Life) Vocational Training
College (IVTC)
Following from the initial success of the STREET KIDS PROJECT, the challenge now is to develop vocational training facilities for the children who are ready to move on and build their new life. A bakery has been set up which is providing work and income for some of the rescued children. Larger facilities are also needed to enable the church to take on more of the street children, some of whom are sleeping in holes in river banks.
Following from the initial success of the STREET KIDS PROJECT, the challenge now is to develop vocational training facilities for the children who are ready to move on and build their new life. A bakery has been set up which is providing work and income for some of the rescued children. Larger facilities are also needed to enable the church to take on more of the street children, some of whom are sleeping in holes in river banks.
These young people have proved that they
are capable of living productive, diligent,
constructive lives. However, once they are
finished school either after senior 3 or
senior 6 they face particular difficulties.
Many still have no support structure to
help them develop an independent life in a
family context. None can afford university.
Most skills training options cost more than
they can afford. So they continue in
unemployment and unless they stay on the
street kids rescue programme they run the
risk of having to find unproductive methods
of finding money for survival. But as they
grow into their late teens they naturally
want to move on from the project and earn
their own living and start their own
families.
This cycle of unemployment and poverty affects not just these children on the street kids rescue project but many of the poor or orphaned young people of Rwanda. To break this cycle CR has set up a bakery which is training some of the older youth on the project and providing some income for them. Some of those trained have moved to bakery jobs in the city. Thanks to generous donations a piece of land has been bought on the outskirts of Kigali and work begun to build a centre called the IVTC (SFL).
The centre will house training for carpentry, welding, sewing, catering, IT, car mechanics and building. Further generous support has raised over £80,000 but it is estimated that a further £70,000 will be needed to finish and equip the buildings and set up IVTC for the first years training. After that we plan through social enterprise businesses, a proportion of fee-paying students and a scholarship/sponsorship scheme to have the college on the way to self-sustainability.
This cycle of unemployment and poverty affects not just these children on the street kids rescue project but many of the poor or orphaned young people of Rwanda. To break this cycle CR has set up a bakery which is training some of the older youth on the project and providing some income for them. Some of those trained have moved to bakery jobs in the city. Thanks to generous donations a piece of land has been bought on the outskirts of Kigali and work begun to build a centre called the IVTC (SFL).
The centre will house training for carpentry, welding, sewing, catering, IT, car mechanics and building. Further generous support has raised over £80,000 but it is estimated that a further £70,000 will be needed to finish and equip the buildings and set up IVTC for the first years training. After that we plan through social enterprise businesses, a proportion of fee-paying students and a scholarship/sponsorship scheme to have the college on the way to self-sustainability.
Land
preparation creating the platform for the
building work was finished on the 6th Feb
2011.
Amount raised so far 18th february 2011
We appeal
to you for help with this - can you help
give ex-street children and other poor
Rwandan youth a hope and a future through
this skills training project?
Click on the Charity Choice logo to send your gift.
Charity Choice is our preferred method for donations as they do not take a fee. Charity Choice do not have a facility for you to identify your gift for a specific appeal (this should be available soon). In the mean time please confirm your gift by sending an email from here to ensure your donation goes 100% directly to this appeal.
Visit our Giving page for other options on ways to donate.
Click on the Charity Choice logo to send your gift.
Charity Choice is our preferred method for donations as they do not take a fee. Charity Choice do not have a facility for you to identify your gift for a specific appeal (this should be available soon). In the mean time please confirm your gift by sending an email from here to ensure your donation goes 100% directly to this appeal.
Visit our Giving page for other options on ways to donate.
Gary
McFarlane (on the left) has been project
managing the IVTC through the extremely
tricky waters of planning permission,
building control and financial and building
planning as well as managing the different
strands of the project as they take shape.
He is nearing the end of a 6 month
sabbatical taken from his position as a GP
in Kirkintilloch in order to get the
project moving.
Roger Fleming - in middle of picture is the architect for the building, also working pro bono. Roger has had to draw and redraw the building many times to meet changing requirements of the Rwandan authorities and has done it all without a murmur!!! It is thanks to the two of them, working together with Paul and church helpers in Rwanda, that the construction permit was finally given and building work could begin.
Roger Fleming - in middle of picture is the architect for the building, also working pro bono. Roger has had to draw and redraw the building many times to meet changing requirements of the Rwandan authorities and has done it all without a murmur!!! It is thanks to the two of them, working together with Paul and church helpers in Rwanda, that the construction permit was finally given and building work could begin.