Improving employment opportunities of youths

The project led by Kids Club Kampala, aimed to improve the employment opportunities of 20 unemployed young men from the Katanga slum in Kampala, Uganda. More specifically it would provide the youths with good quality carpentry skills training over the course of a year at the Kids Club Kampala Carpentry workshop. Over the month of August 2022, the carpentry workshop was fully renovated and equipped, enabling double the number of students to use the workshop and take part in the training compared to previous cohorts. Once the workshop expansion was completed, tools and machinery were purchased to fully equip the workshop for learning Good quality carpentry skills training was provided daily for all students, alongside business skills training, mentoring, counselling and literacy lessons where required. The curriculum has been designed in line with the Ugandan Directorate of Industrial Training (DIT) curriculum, although an informal approach means it was also tailored depending on students’ specific needs. Twenty young men from Kampala’s slum were recruited through an interview and needs assessment. Priority was given to the most vulnerable young, many of the challenges faced by students are associated with poverty such as homelessness and inadequate housing, drug abuse and managing the emotional pressure to help support their families. As a result of feedback from the students, in April and May 2023, Kids Club Kampala held counselling and guidance sessions for all students. Topics included career and job issues, and how to deal with anxiety and depression. The sessions were very interactive as students shared their experiences, asked questions, and asked for more of such sessions. In August 023, the men graduated from the carpentry course with a qualification in Carpentry and received a full toolbox of carpentry equipment to help them start up their own business. They will officially receive their certificate in early January 2024.

Founded in 2009, KCK is a UK registered charity and registered Ugandan NGO that aims to help vulnerable children in the slums to survive and thrive and transform poor communities