I failed the national exams. After my failure Paul (our partner in Rwanda) visited us. Now I am no longer scavenging charcoal to sell but I have skills and I am learning. I thank God for Pastor Paul who is supporting us and for you people who are sponsoring us.
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 drains under the roads as they wait for a place on the project.
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. Thanks to generous donations a piece of land was bought on the outskirts of Kigali and the Ihumure Vocational Training College (IVTC) is now ready for use.
Although the main building is complete there is some outstanding building work needed to complete all the site requirements such as retaining walls and drainage.
The centre will house training for carpentry, welding, sewing, catering, IT, car mechanics, building, electrics and hairdressing. A container has been sent out with classroom equipment and tools needed to begin training. Further generous support will be needed for on-going support of staff and consumables and any classroom fitting and tools not sent in the container. 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. If you feel you would like to support this project you could choose to sponsor a young person to attend the training college or support the project directly. We are now looking forward to starting our pilot year of training in the New Year. At the end of 2012 God willing 4 colleagues from a Christian organisation in Germany will be joining the project to formally oversee the initial 3 years of the project.
