A group of women from Wakiso district has been trained in various skills to help boost their financial statuses.
Over 150 women including; poor and single mothers, school dropouts and married women, were awarded certificates following a one-year training in tailoring, tie and dye, crafts, making fireless cookers and liquid soap making among others, at the Lubaga Women Volunteers Initiative (LWVI).
The women are expected to use the skills attained to create their own jobs and become financially independent.
The chairperson of the initiative, Esther Najjemba said the organization offered to help women through training them in hands-on skills to end domestic violence.
“We realized many cases of domestic violence were resulting from poverty in homes in our area. Our research shows that 60% of cases of domestic violence are as a result of the little money left by men for there wives to cater for basic needs. We also realized that many women are housewives without work,” she noted.
Najjemba, also the chairperson Najjanankumbi II women council, explained that the initiative was started in 2014 to help women to attain entrepreneur skills which they can use to earn some income.
The training is done with support from the Directorate of Industrial Training (DIT), with financial and material support from Skills Development Facility (SDF) through the private sector.
“We train women for free. We want to give women the skills to start their own jobs than depending on men. We also realized many women had been abandoned by men and had taken on the sole responsibility to raise children. That is why women need this training,” Najjemba noted.
The initiative also targets girls who dropped out as a result of early pregnancies.
Ritah Nagawa, 20, a senior four dropout joined the training after failing to raise money for further education.
“I did my senior four at Babra High School in Busiika Gayaza and got 21 aggregates but I did not have money to continue. My aunt brought me to this place. I learnt tailoring and I am already working with my other colleagues,” she noted.
Agnes Nabatanzi, 38, a single mother of two from Ndeeba, said she was abandoned by her husband and had to take on many tasks to raise her children.
“When I had of this opportunity; I just rushed to register and gained training in tailoring. I have already acquired my own tailoring machine and I am working in Najjanankumbi. I started four months ago and mainly designing children clothes,” she said.
Rose Nakiwala, 48, dropped out at primary seven and has been running an eatery in Nalukolngo market all his life till she realized the opportunity.
“I was in the market and had an announcement of free training for women. I went there with two passport size photos and LC letter which they had asked for and I was admitted. I started training in tailoring and it is my business now,” she said.
The board chairperson of Forum for Women in Democracy (FOWODE), Joyce Tamale said vocational training is the way to go for women to stand out.
“We are now focusing more on lifting women. But we should also engage boys if we are to end the issues we are trying to fight,” she added.
