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A professional perspective for youth in Lesotho

Many thanks for your support, which meant we were able to complete the project successfully.
project summaryWith the project "A vocational perspective for youth in Lesotho", we want to offer access to vocational qualifications to young people who otherwise don't have a perspective. Help now with a donation!

Background

The Kingdom of Lesotho is a small mountainous state in southern Africa. It ranks 165th out of 189 on the UN Human Development Scale. Most of the approximately 2.1 million inhabitants are poor and live from agriculture. High unemployment forces many young adults to seek work in its neighbour country, South Africa, for example in the mines. Since the pandemic, the situation has become even worse.
Children and young people in Lesotho
Due to this situation, there are health and psychosocial consequences for the young people. For example, 10 percent of the under-24s are HIV-positive. Teenage pregnancies as well as juvenile delinquency and substance abuse are widespread. In Lesotho, around 200'000 children grow up without their parents. Two out of three orphans have lost their relatives to HIV/AIDS.
Primary school is free, but after that, school fees have to be paid. Especially in rural areas, the nearest secondary school is often far away. Those who still manage to finish secondary school first and then middle school need a very good grade point average to get a university scholarship. A state vocational training system is being set up, but there is a lack of money to offer good, practice-oriented training nationwide. Then again, most young people cannot afford an apprenticeship at a private vocational school.
Thus, many young people do not have a qualified qualification. Their chances of finding a living wage are very slim. They lack opportunities to develop their talents and to participate in social and political life.
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Idea

SOS Children's Villages counters this with its apprenticeship programme. The participants receive sound vocational training in a promising industry, acquire skills in promising fields and are given everything they need to be ready for entry into the labour market.
In addition to apprenticeships in the construction and textile sectors, the young people receive sound vocational training in the catering industry. 65 apprentices are not only trained in the art of cooking and baking, but also learn what is important beyond preparation: how to prepare and serve food, hygiene, food science and the purchase and storage of food and beverages. Besides three months in a school kitchen, they complete a one-month internship in an external company. Afterwards, they receive a certificate from the vocational school.
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Implementation

With your support, we want to help 67 young people to get prepared for their professional future through sound vocational training. With as little as 530 Swiss francs, you can finance a young person's complete training in the hospitality industry, for which there is actual demand on the labour market in the southern African country. The project 'a professional perspective for youth in Lesotho' is financed from various sources. The total donation target is CHF 35'000 in the first phase. With this crowddonating project, you support young people for a future in the gastronomy sector and thus enable a sound education for 14 beneficiaries. For this, a total of CHF 8'050 are needed. This covers the gastronomy training, skills, monitoring and evaluation costs as well as further training costs on site.
We attach particular importance to the following criteria for implementation and are working on continuous improvement/expansion:

  • High recognition of the certificates within the hospitality industry

  • Additional teaching in business administration and information technology for later possible self-employment in the hospitality industry

  • Promotion of social and personal competences (e.g. conflict management, self-reflection)

  • The apprentices and their families should be relieved of as much financial burden as possible (e.g. coverage of transport costs)

  • Targeted support offers for apprentices after completion of training (e.g. support in setting up their own small business)


Success story
Likeleli Likotsi, one of the beneficiary young people, reports: "Thanks to SOS Children's Village, I was able to complete the gastronomy training and took advantage of the opportunity to do an internship in a restaurant. These experiences have enabled me to get a job. Now, I have been working in a local restaurant for seven months. The small business not only offers menus, but also a catering and take-away service."
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Initiators

SOS Children's Villages Switzerland Foundation and SOS Children's Villages Lesotho.
SOS Children's Villages continuously monitors how far the project's goals are being achieved. To this end, regular meetings are held with government agencies and vocational schools. This enables SOS Children's Villages to react quickly to changes and to continuously develop the project. SOS Children's Villages also exchanges information with local businesses with the aim of ensuring that as many graduates as possible find jobs. At the same time, local business people are being sought to accompany young people as mentors.
Please find more information here in the SOS Children's Village FAQ (site in German).
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Herbert Gnos 100 CHF
Anonymous 100 CHF
Galenica AG 5'000 CHF
Anonymous 210 CHF
Oliver Pauly 240 CHF
Yvonne und Daniel Birrer 50 CHF
Esther Bärtschi 175 CHF
Anonymous 330 CHF
Herman Güdel 330 CHF
Vermittelt durch Swisscom 200 CHF
Anonymous 335 CHF
Alfred Rub 165 CHF
Verene Wirth 245 CHF
Vermittelt durch Swisscom 205 CHF
Cornelia Haessig 100 CHF
Martin Mäder 36 CHF
Anonymous 205 CHF
Currently, there are still no project partners if you are interested, please contact us via info@there-for-you.com.

Primary Partners