The Skilling Programme
Our Skilling Programme offers free vocational training, courses and business skills to parents to help them generate income for their families. Our Skilling project is split into two main focuses, Women Initiatives and The Carpentry Project.
The context
Slums in Kampala are notorious for high levels of unemployment, violent crime, poor sanitation and severe poverty. Nearly two thirds of Kampala’s population is made up of unemployed or under-employed youth, who often resort to crime and other social issues for survival (Kamara, 2020). From years of experience working closely with the community in Katanga, we know that a lack of education and vocational skills are key factors that contribute to the cycle of poverty that young people find themselves in. We also know that alongside our projects supporting women and children, we also need to engage with men as a powerful force for change within this community.
Our Impact
Our Skilling Programme offers free vocational training, courses and business skills to parents, helping them generate income for their families. Our skilling projects take place in our new Hope Centre in Naguru and Carpentry building in Katanga.
When students graduate from either of our vocational courses they receive an official government recognised qualification that is accredited by Uganda's Directorate of Industrial Training and the required start-up equipment. This opens up a door of employment and offers graduates the opportunity to financially provide for their family and community and break the cycle of poverty.
We have provided vital skills training for over 1100 individuals. Each year we aim to provide at least 20 young men and boys carpentry training, and 200 women tailoring and knitting skills. With these vocational and entrepreneurial skills individuals are able to earn a regular income, support their families, and move out of poverty. To date we have helped over 1000 women gain these skills and qualifications.
Rodney's Story
Rodney joined the Kids Club Kampala carpentry project in November 2022. Prior to this, he had never made furniture. After just five months of training, he has created a range of useful products, including: stools, chairs, TV stands and bookshelves. Rodney said:
“I am extremely proud that I have started making some money with my carpentry skills. A friend of mine asked me to make a mini wardrobe for his daughter. This was a great experience because I put in effort to produce something and fortunately he liked it. I am super proud to have been a part of the project.”
You can help us provide vocational courses to more people like Rodney.
What next?
At Kids Club Kampala we’re committed to ensuring that our projects create empowering and sustainable transformations in the lives of those we support.
In 2022, to assess the effectiveness of our projects, we commissioned Vashi Impact Group (VIG) to undertake a comprehensive independent evaluation of our projects outcomes. The evaluation was designed to measure our impact against three specific OECD DAC Network on Development Evaluation (DAC) criteria: impact, coherence, and sustainability. We were particularly interested in gaining insights into the strengths and weaknesses of our project areas and individual initiatives. The aim for us is to learn where we could refine and enhance our strategies for the long-term betterment of the communities we support.
What did we find out about our Protecting programme?
That our programme is essential for providing parents, particularly single parents, the autonomy to become financially stable and provide for their families from the skills learnt as part of their courses. Students see our programme as the key to financial freedom, while learning a new passion. We also learnt that Kids Club Kampala plays a vital role for making these projects sustainable, and without our support communities would not be able to provide these opportunities.
The Kids Club Kampala Way
Why we’re different
Our Protecting Programme is part of the way we are uniquely supporting children in Kampala slums survive and thrive.
At Kids Club Kampala, we believe that every child is unique, special and deserves to have the opportunity to reach their full potential. Our work is based on a holistic approach, where we focus on meeting the immediate needs of children and families in the slums while empowering them to bring about long-term, sustainable changes in their lives. Our approach encompasses four core project areas: feeding, protecting, educating, and skilling.
These four areas are not siloed; they work together holistically to create a supportive environment for vulnerable children and their families. We firmly believe in a holistic approach, ensuring that children and families have their basic needs met (food, safety) so they can fully engage with and benefit from education and skills development. This approach helps them move from merely surviving to truly thriving, as stated in our theory of change.
