Zambian carpenters invest in their futures

Vincent Sakala has never been to school. He never had the chance. Both of his parents died when he was five years old, leaving him and his older brother to raise themselves.

They were forced to grow up fast, raising enough money to get by with a series of odd jobs including working as a shop assistant responsible for enticing customers off the street.

The tragedy that befell Vincent and the life he was forced to lead from that point on have led him to focus intently on what it is he desires from life and how he intends to achieve these aims.

Now 26 years old, Vincent works as a carpenter, a trade he developed through training given by the Chifundo Youth Project, which helps the young in Zambia's capital, Lusaka, gain skills that will help propel them into good jobs.

"My life is much better now, because working as a carpenter is the start of something exciting and it gives me financial freedom for where I choose to go in my life," he explains.

Looking ahead, Vincent confides that there are two goals he wishes to fulfil. The first is that he will be able to save enough money to go to school and experience the lessons and kinship with other students denied him in his youth. His other plan is to eventually set up a business of his own using the skill he has harnessed.

"I want to continue getting better at carpentry," Vincent says, "because it gives me a chance to develop a skill which I will always have with me."

Carpentry, tailoring and welding

Chifundo Youth Project, which has trained young people like Vincent in carpentry, tailoring and welding since 2002 has twice received recognition for its work from the Commonwealth Youth Programme.

It was awarded Gold in 2005 and Silver in 2006 in the Commonwealth Youth Development Awards, which provided £3,000 and £1,000 in those years to help them continue their work. Among many improvements to their set up, this funding led to the establishment of a showroom for all of the designs made by the students like chairs and sofas.

Kedrick Siame, Project Co-ordinator, says that after the young people have been trained they then provide them with some basic initial funding to help them get off the ground.

"We found that it is not enough to just give somebody a skill. They often also need money to start working," he observes.

Training anyamata and askana

A few miles down the road on the outskirts of Lusaka's city centre, the Chawama Youth Project, which won the Silver Commonwealth Youth Development Award, carries out similar training for both anyamata and askana, young boys and girls.

Jonathan Munthali is one such beneficiary who was initially trained at the age of 14 after he left school. Now, aged 22 and with a wife and one year old child, Jonathan is proud that he is "able to support them through [his] work as a carpenter."

Like Jonathan, his contemporary Samuel Mulenga, 23, was forced to leave school due to unforeseen circumstances before he completed his education.

"Learning carpentry has helped me a lot as I now feel more confident in supporting myself. I see a bright future ahead as long as I continue to develop and use my training effectively."

Demand driven

Chawama Youth Project aims to train local youth aged between 14 and 25 from the local community in activities for which there is a considerable amount of demand in Zambia such as carpentry, music producing and computer programming.

The vast majority of applicants who walk through the door have not completed their education for a wide variety of personal reasons. With this in mind, the training takes a practical approach, rather than theoretical, so that the unschooled are not put at a disadvantage because of their lack of literary and other abilities. About 120 students a year are trained and recently instructors have noticed that more women than men are enrolling for the first time.

"It is very difficult to get employed nowadays without a skill," says Rodgers Mulenga, Secretary-General of the Chawama Youth Project.

"By enrolling with us and learning a skill, we hope these young people will be in a much better position to support themselves and their families for many years to come."

Secretariat Links:

• Country Profile: Zambia
• Youth