Our young trainees are making great progress on the construction of the new Multi-functional Hall at our Centre for Excellence, our training centre just outside Lusaka.

The construction of the Centre is at the heart of our aim to significantly increase both the number of people we can train, and the types of courses we can offer.

The Multi-functional Hall is a statement building and has a prominent location on the site. The hall is one of the last buildings to be built as part of Phase 1 (2016 – 2019) of construction at the Centre for Excellence. The hall will provide flexible learning space to meet a range of needs.

It will be used for training and workshops, as a conference and lecture facility and will also be available for entertainment/social events. It will incorporate up to date audio-visual and ITC equipment.

We have recruited twenty young people who are undertaking their training on the construction of the hall, including 19-year old Lwiza.

Lwiza is from Kitwe on the Copper Belt Province and is an only child. Her mother died when she was very young and Lwiza lives with her grandmother. Lwiza was keen to enroll on the training as she had not been able to complete her education.

Despite facing some discouragement from friends, Lwiza thought it was worth pursuing. Lwiza recognised that having a skill will help her find a job.

Lwiza found the start of the training challenging; it was all very new and different, and she found the tools tricky to use. However, Lwiza said that the techniques learnt as part of the Life Skills training around perseverance and mental toughness, has helped her to pull through these challenges.

Lwiza’s confidence has grown. She is enjoying laying the bricks and the sense of achievement as the building takes shape.