YAI Graduates 150 in Sierra Leone
150 Women have graduatted from YAI’s Center for Women Empowerment in Sierra Leone. The women mainly drawn from the slum community of Kroobay were awarded certificates for completing courses in Tailoring, Hairdressing, Jewelry Making, Computer, photography and Adult Literacy.
The graduation ceremony took place on 30th May 2009. Women who had gone through the program graduated with new skills and capital to start up a businesses. During the course of the program, students and instructors were evaluated on a monthly basis. The monthly evaluation provides an opportunity to review successes and failures in completing tasks and meeting desired goals, as well as those of the instructors.
These women, through the support of their instructors can now produce finished products and are exhibiting their products at the center for sale. The Center for Women Empowerment uses a comprehensive approach to empower and improve the lives of vulnerable women to break out of the circle of extreme poverty. This approach consists of the following:
- Basic Education (Reading, Writing, Arithmetic)
- Alternative Counseling, including treatment of post traumatic stress disorder
- Vocational training
- Micro-credit loans
The graduation ceremony was attended by the Mayor of Freetown, Herbert George Williams and the Minister of Education, Dr.Minkailu Bah.