Act against Aids

Vocatio­nal skills training: 25 new participants

Our vocational skills training programme has started a new year, and a further 25 adolescents and young adults receiving treatment at Newlands Clinic will thus be given the chance to learn a vocation and start working for themselves. In light of the economic crisis in Zimbabwe, this support is more important than ever.

Vocational Skills Training for HIV patients

The programme gives young patients the opportunity to train in areas such as painting, tailoring and baking.

We launched our vocational skills training programme in 2011. The aim is to help adolescents and young adults with HIV who are receiving treatment at Newlands Clinic by giving them prospects for their future. These patients do not have the financial means to learn a profession, and with the unemployment rate above 90% it is virtually impossible for them to find work.

The road to self-employment

The programme gives the 25 young patients the opportunity to train in areas such as painting, clothing and textile design and manufacturing, and baking. The courses began in April and last between three and six months. The participants are then given the basic equipment and receive support for a year in setting up their own business. Meanwhile, two patients with physical disabilities are to be given the equipment needed to run a small poultry farm and to sell second-hand clothes. The aim is for the course participants to be able to generate an income, so giving them a sense of hope and purpose looking to the future.

At total of around 130 young patients have completed the programme since 2011. You can find out what this means to them in our stories from Harare:

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