Suddenly the month of February is upon us. So I wanted to share with you another great giving back idea.
If you are reading this, you are most probably someone who has a decent, comfortable life, and that is because either you work, or your husband works or your parents work. Work, and the money that you receive from that work, is what keeps us all able to lead a comfortable life, put our children to school, feed our family and pay for medical expenses.
Unfortunately it's not always that easy. In Indonesia, 60% of youths aged 16 to 24 are unemployed, and this is greatly due to a lack of skills. Youths are competing against each other on the job market, and if you are not able to present a university degree or a skill of some sort, it is very difficult to obtain a job. In areas such as Cipanas where we find families struggling to get by, finishing High School or even Junior High School, is already a struggle. But how can they change their fate if they don't have anything to offer to the job market? That's where a Vocational Training Center is needed; a place where youths can obtain skills such as computer, English, sewing, hospitality skills that will give them an upper hand when looking for a job.
2 students role-playing during English class
Computer class, often taught by peers
A sewing class, where students learn to sew using recycled materials
Yayasan Usaha Mulia (YUM) opened a Vocational Training Center (VTC) in Cipanas around 3 years ago, and since then most of the graduates who have also graduated from High School, have found a job. Unfortunately, a VTC like this is not sustainable. It's almost impossible for YUM to ask a fee to those coming in for classes, since they come from very disadvantaged families. That's why constant support and funding is necessary. It's an amazing project and I can see just how great they're doing and how motivated they are. Go here to read their stories and see what the Sewing class have been creating.
If this is the sort of project you would like to help, this is another project where YUM is working together with GlobalGiving so you can donate via their website: Provide Skills For Indonesian Unemployed Youths (or you can go directly by clicking on the widget on my right sidebar)
