‘THE WANT TO LEARN, WILL YOU HELP THEM TO GO TO SCHOOL?

The living conditions of the inhabitants of Lilongwe in Malawi are not always easy. There is a lack of work and many people live in poverty. The current corona crisis has only made the situation worse. For many years, Music Crossroads, together with Gered Gereedschap, has been committed to improving the lives of young people through vocational training.

Gladson Msendera, responsible for vocational training courses at Music Crossroads: ‘A better life, without poverty, starts with a good education. This forms the basis. It enables young people to find work or start their own business. That is also the reason why we started these vocational training programmes. We offer short practical courses of four months in metalworking, tailoring and recently also shoemaking. And we are doing well: more than 400 young people have followed a training course with us in recent years. A fantastic result, of which we are extremely proud. Still, we have noticed that we cannot reach everyone. Many families are struggling financially, especially now because of the corona crisis. If they are lucky, they will just have enough income to cover their basic needs, such as food, drink and clothing. There is no money for education of the children. Despite the fact that a good education can break the vicious circle of poverty. Sometimes only one child can be sent to school. And that is unfortunate, because much talent remains unused among young people who cannot go to school. Especially if they are motivated and eager to learn.’

Education after all, thanks to a scholarship

‘Together with Gered Gereedschap, we want to do something about this. By means of a scholarship programme, we want to enable 40 young people from the poorest families to follow short-term vocational training as metal workers/welders. We will provide support for the costs of following the training course and for the materials’. These courses last 4 months and are very practice-oriented. At the end of the course, the student has sufficient knowledge and practical experience to be able to work independently as a metalworker/welder. For these 40 young people, this is a great opportunity!

Join us!

Would you like to help us to give these 40 young people the opportunity to receive vocational training? Then support this project! For € 100 we can send a student to school. A total of € 4,000 is needed. Every donation is most welcome. You can easily transfer your contribution via iDEAL on our website:  www.geredgereedschap.nl/donate-now. You can also transfer it to our account NL 34 TRIO 021 21 12 430 in the name of Stichting Gered Gereedschap, Amsterdam.

Thanks in advance for your support!