Britah is a young leader volunteering with Restless Development as part of the Development Alternative.
Britah has been monitoring a community project called Young Women skilling implemented by Somero Uganda, worth UGX 463600000 (£100,000) implemented by the Uganda Government.
It is located in Bwaise, one of the poorest suburbs in Kampala, Uganda. The Young Women Skilling Project targets young women, who are trained in tailoring to help them get skills they need to earn a living.
“While monitoring the project project monitoring, I realised that the young women faced a number of challenges such as shortage of sewing machines – the few available machines were broken.
“Due to the poverty levels in this area, the girls also cannot afford to buy material to help them practice what they have learned. The girls at the institution also had a problem of space where many of the new learners were being denied an opportunity to participate in the training by the continuing students, which eventually demotivated them.
These problems were identified through regular monitoring visits and meetings with the women, and recorded using using the DevelopmentCheck phone application created by Integrity Action, one of Development Alternative partners.
“Using my training with the Development Alternative, I was able to identify these problems that young women were facing at the institution. I discussed these challenges with them and together we looked for a way forward to address them.”
To fix the problems Britah had identified, it was important to engage with the development organisation running the project. Britah used her leadership and communication skills to put forward the problems and advocate for changes to the director of the institute.
“After discussing with the director of the institution, the tailoring machines were repaired, and new ones purchased. This motivated the girls to learn and value their time while at the institution. It also increased confidence among the girls towards their work.”
“To solve the problem of space, the girls were divided into shifts as some study in the morning and others in the afternoon, which has provided a balanced opportunity for all to participate and gain from the hand skills training.”
“The young girls are looking forward to completing their course and becoming professional seamstresses.
“They are not worried about unemployment since they are now equipped with hand skills that will help them become self-employed in future.
“I am happy that I can now identify problems that are affecting the community members and work together with the responsible people to find a solution.”
