Skills/Startup Training Empowerment and Practice

“Now I’m living out my dream,” Bukurija said. “I’m a different person: I’m driving my car after many long years. I’ve started to have a smile on my face.

“Today was a day I cannot describe. Special thanks to all of you who made it possible for us to be part of your organization, I love you forever,

Looking forward, we have our ears to the ground, to listen to the community and discern a path of hope into the future. 

STEP aims to help women who are inactive in the workforce to have the confidence, resilience and support to move ahead despite others thinking they have no future as husband-less women.

Ayete has been able to tell her story as part of Operation Mercy’s community motivational meetings which have kicked off the pilot year of a brand new project –

The Sad Red Zelfija doll with a big heart is always there for everybody. The Happy Blue doll does not just live for everyone else.

The Project offers a program of Life -, Business – and Vocational skills training, in areas such as tailoring, hairdressing and cake decoration.  And the net we were throwing out was especially looking for vulnerable women who had lost husbands for whatever reason.

If a Skills, Training, Empowerment and Practice (STEP) project is going to succeed, community partnerships with the local school are a key component.

Our staff are very proud of Venera who represents not only a success story through the STEP project, but a source of inspiration and hope for others struggling in the tough northside of the capital.

As a beginner in the field with no previous knowledge of sewing, she progressed quickly. Meanwhile, she also started to relate well with the other ladies in the STEP programme.