Empowering Youth Through Education and Lifelong Skills: VAD’s Focus on Girls Who Dropped Out of School

Voluntary Action for Development (VAD), in partnership with Friends of Uganda-Germany, has supported 45 girls in acquiring valuable tailoring skills. These girls have been trained in sewing clothes, making menstrual pads, and producing liquid soap—practical skills that empower them economically and socially.

Notably, five girls have already sewn their own school uniforms (blue skirts and cream T-shirts), which they proudly wear. They have also secured contracts from various schools to sew uniforms, significantly improving their livelihoods and providing sustainable income opportunities.

This initiative not only promotes education but also fosters lifelong skills that enable girls to build independent and resilient futures.

TRAINED YOUNG GIRLS/MOTHERS AT KAPALEBYONG VOCATIONAL LEARNING CENTRE; THEY DROPPED OUR SCHOOL AND WERE GIVEN CHANCE BY VAD WITH FRIENDS OF UGANDA-GERMANY TO ACHIEVE LIFE LONG SKILLING OF TAILORING
THE KAPELEBYONG VOCATIONAL LEARNING CENTRE CONSTRUCTED BY VAD SUPPORTED BY FRIENDS OF UGANDA
THE FIVE GIRLS WERE ABLE TO SEW THEIR UNIFORMS, AND ARE HAPPILY SMART
IN ADDITION TO ACHIEVING HANDS ON SKILLS, THE GIRLS WERE GIVEN REVOLVING LOANS IN FORM OF GOAT DISTRIBUTION AS AN INCOME GENERATING PROJECT
CAROL OMONG IS NOW A GOOD TAILOR AND HAS BEEN AWARDED SEVERAL CONTRACTS TO SEW SCHOOL UNIFORMS

Community of Anyangareng, Kapelebyong District Gains Access to Clean, Safe Water for Improved Health and Wellbeing

This well was constructed with funding from Just a Drop – UK and now benefits a total of 920 people from the surrounding communities.

Key Benefits:

  • Improved Personal Hygiene: Access to clean water has enhanced daily hygiene practices for community members.
  • Reduced Burden on Women and Girls: With safe water nearby, women and girls spend less time searching for water and can now focus on more productive activities.
  • Lower Incidence of Waterborne Diseases: The risk of illnesses related to poor sanitation and unsafe drinking water has significantly decreased.
  • Better School Attendance: Children can now get to school earlier, as they no longer have to travel long distances to fetch water before classes.
  • Convenient Water Access: Community members now travel less than 1 kilometer and spend under 30 minutes to collect clean water, compared to much longer distances previously.

This well has transformed the health, education, and daily lives of the Anyangareng community, supporting sustainable development and wellbeing.

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OMODING CHARLES, 54 YEARS aturai village okoboi parish

54 Years Cattle Trader/ Farmer

I have benefited from increasing income and food security for the 250 vulnerable households in Okoboi parish, in Teso north east Uganda, specifically benefitting through the trainings on agronomic and post-harvest handling practices that the VAD staff had trained on from time of inception of the project

He is able to at least make rightful decisions on what to cultivate that brings about more income to the family, on the side of feeding he is able to even have evening tea which he attributes to greater change and the home is flooded with Karamojong casual labourers. He is even planning to save more in the group so as he starts constructing on his plot at the trading centre of “freedom” in Okoboi parish.