4.Skilling and Empowerment 4 Self Sufficiency
Sapphire Africa Foundation began Vocational Skilling in 2018 with skills such as Kitting, sewing,
Tailoring, hairdressing, and cosmology along the way we added computer skills to enhance the
learners’ knowledge since our modern society is transforming and many things require at least
a knowledge of computer.
We also have short-term courses that take 1 to 2 weeks but the results are impactful to help an
individual get a skill to sustain them for a lifetime these include Bar making, liquid soap making,
Bakery, and making paper bags. All these have proved to work in many pieces of training,
demonstrations, and even at our skill centers. And after training a number of people have
become self-employed and can earn a living for their families.
Sapphire Africa Foundation realized that a huge unemployment gap can be closed if people can
be employed by the informal sector to us this is one of the ways how we would connect
necessity and entrepreneurs by giving people an opportunity to make money on their own and
become self-sufficient. This would soon help many families to provide for themselves without
small donations and handouts to sustain them.
Since many of the people under our programs are vulnerable and disabled it is hard for parents
and care takes to take care of themselves but even more hard to fend for their families because
of their disabilities and vulnerability that limit them.
When we started this program in 2018, later in 2019 we collaborated with The Everett and
Austin Project and the founder Tim Gillen, this would later help to reach more people and also
help them better since we had more support financially.
The beautiful part of Vocational Skilling and self Sufficiency is every individual is given a chance
and trained to do what they think they can do better to earn money to sustain themselves and
their families.
