All 20 trainees at the Hope Community School Project in Lusaka have officially passed their bricklaying trade exams – congratulations to them!
The eight women and twelve men will receive their tool kits and certificates at graduation ceremonies held in the coming months. The passing of exams is just the start of the journey for our trainees; they will now take part in post-training activities and workshops that will increase their skills and ability to secure work.
One of these workshops, ‘finding a job’ has already taken place at Hope, all trainees attended the session and learnt valuable skills such as preparing for interviews and how write a CV. The trainees have found these new skills useful and have already found construction work in the local community.
Misozi Lungu, has completed the painting of a shop in Lusaka, pictured in the gallery at the bottom of this article. The owner of the shop was very happy about the quality of her work, noting her work was much better than previous painters he had used. Misozi was also pleased “I am proud to have a career that I thought was just for men. I can compete with them and am equal to them.”
Six trainees; Christine, Elizabeth, Joshua, Paul, Derrick and Moses have also found work in the area. They have been hired by Hope Worldwide Zambia to build a new house for a local resident in their Help a Family programme. Rose, fondly known as ‘Auntie Rose’, like many in the district of Chawama has had a hard life but has always helped other women in the community; she helps to run a Women’s Support group and a Kids Club. Construction is currently underway at the house and expected to be finished in December.
Sixty more trainees from the Kapiri area will take their exams in November, we will keep you updated with the progress of all our trainees as they take their first steps into a career in construction. Thank you for your support.
