Expanding economic opportunities and reducing poverty

​Three young women completed a two-year vocational training program in early 2016. Engage Globally provided the graduates with seed money to open the first women owned sewing business in the area. These seamstresses now sew school uniforms for the students in our early childhood programs, as pictured here.

After the success of this program, many young adults asked if there would be opportunities for them to learn about operating a business and to open their own small businesses. In 2017, a young man completed a bicycle training course and has been provided funds to open a small bike repair shop. He will repair the bicycles used by our vocational training students.

We hope to expand our  economic development program in 2018 with the following:

• Business training including: buying and selling; planning; budgeting; and food safety – estimated cost $1000.
• Offer ten business start-up grants. Our community partners will ask interested community members to submit business plans and then will select the plans they believe will be most successful. We will request that half of the grants be given to women. They will then monitor the businesses and offer support, including trainings – estimated cost $5,000.
• Fund ten vocational training scholarships for young women and men to work as apprentices at local businesses in the nearest city for a year – cost $5,000.