Youth in Action for Income Generating Activities!

Youth in Action: Since 2010, the ATD Fourth World Movement in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, has been supporting vocational training for young adults who often dropped out of school at the beginning of their secondary education. The young friends of ATD Fourth World are involved as volunteers in their neighbourhoods, for their community, they run a street library with about sixty children in the underprivileged neighbourhood of Tandale and organise outings to the National Library of Dar es Salaam and cultural and artistic workshops. Preparation and facilitation of the street library in Tandale, Dar es Salaam. Over the years, ATD Fourth World has established a partnership with some vocational training centers (VTC) and several young friends have obtained diplomas in recent years. In January 2022, through a participatory methodology with precise criteria inviting solidarity with the most precarious, the fifteen members of the group of young friends of ATD Fourth World have chosen five of them who will benefit from a co-financing of their professional training project. The work of formalising, drafting and budgeting this project was thought out and written with some of the young friends of ATD Fourth World with a view to mutual training and improving their acquired skills. * The methodology and budget of the project are available upon request in English and Swahili. A Changing Society Seeks Solutions: Tanzania is making a significant effort to train many young people for various craft and industrial sectors: carpentry, welding, electricity, solar energy, car mechanics, industrial parts manufacturing, drivers, sewing, computer maintenance, smartphone repair, etc. These trainings also include learning English and a foundation for managing an economic activity (budgeting and marketing). May 17, 2021 article from the daily Mwananchi on the importance of learning English in vocational training centers. In spite of this effort, many trained and qualified young people arrive on the job market with difficulties to find a job corresponding to their desires and qualifications. Many young graduates wish to start an independent activity, however, many of them coming from extreme poverty do not have the necessary economic capital, alone or in partnership, to buy tools, rent a place to work, pay taxes and/or open a store with enough products. Godfrey, Electrician, Seeking Support : A first group of young friends of ATD Fourth World are in this situation. One of them, Godfrey Mwaja, from the Tandale neighborhood, supported to be graduated in electricity and solar panel installation, has multiplied the interviews with companies, he has obtained some daily and temporary jobs in the sector or underpaid and not very decent proposals. Godrey the electrician and one of his diplomas - of solar panel installer. Having no familial and professional network and the possibility of being co-opted to be hired in a company, he decided with three friends to start the steps to launch an independent activity as an electrician linked to the opening of a store of electrical equipment. If he has the opportunity, he will continue temporary to install solar panels. Temporary job: Godfrey and a former classmate installing solar panel street lights. Godfrey went to the local government in his neighborhood to find out about the conditions for obtaining a zero-interest loan and to micro-credit organizations. The loans allocated are too small to start the activity he is considering (e.g.: community loan at 100,000 TZS, approx. 40 €). To start an artisan activity, one needs about 1,000,000 TZS (about 375 €) and to open a small store about 7,000,000 TZS (about 2,600 €). Godfrey has also gone to a "classic" bank, however without initial capital contribution, he cannot get a loan. Even if the cost of living is low in Tanzania, some technical tools cost proportionally more than in Europe and are totally inaccessible new and second hand to a large part of the population. A Fund to Support Vocational Training and Creation of Activities: After having carried out these numerous prospection steps and on the recommendation of the employment advisor of his former school, the VTC Don Bosco Oyster Bay, we decided to create a fund to support the creation of professional activities for the young friends of ATD Fourth World in Dar es Salaam, starting by supporting his collective project of Godfrey.