Wednesday, June 4, 2014
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GARISSA, Kenya, June 3 (Xinhua) -- About 1,086 refugees living in Kenya's Dadaab complex have completed studies under income- generating projects and livelihood initiatives.The Youth Education Pack (YEP) conducted by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is specially designed for out-of-school youth who may return to formal schooling, those who have dropped out of school many years ago and those who cannot access formal education.
"I was extremely happy to interact with two young ladies handling mechanical work at the vehicle engineering section. This is a very rare sight among our Somali communities," Abdiqafar Salat, Dadaab deputy district education officer said on Tuesday.
Salat said the two young ladies told him that they wish to continue with their vocation and plan to open a garage soon.
"I believe they will become successful in their trade because ladies are generally more trusted," he added.
The vocational training across the Horn of Africa and Yemen, under the Education Core Competency of the Norwegian Refugee Council, started from 2013.
NRC Dadaab area manager Victor Moses encouraged parents and the community to continue investing in young people in order to provide communities with a strong foundation that promotes sustainable livelihood.
"Youth vocational training is like a holy pilgrimage because it represents the three H, that is Head, Hands and Heart," Moses said.
"We journey with you to give you some knowledge at the head level; we journey with you to give you some skills at the hand level; we journey with you to give you that passion and values to love that which you learn."
YEP comes in to support the youth with vocational and life skills training equipping both refugee and host communities with the necessary skills and knowledge to enhance protection, improve livelihood and become productive members of their communities.
The Dadaab refugee complex shelters more than 460,000 refugees fleeing the conflict, drought, famine and human rights abuses from Somalia.