Date
31.05.2024

Vocational training for caregivers of street-connected girls

Topic: Human Rights & Civil Society
Human Rights & Civ. Soc.
Gender Equality
East Africa
Learn&Share: knowhow3000

problem & solution

Vocational training in Kenya has often been looked down upon as a career for people who failed in school. Those trained often fail to secure employment due to low employability skills. For long, Rescue Dada Centre has offered vocational training to caregivers of street-connected girls under rehabilitation. The caregivers all lived in slum/ informal settlements. Some lacked basic literacy, while the elderly struggled to concentrate and endure long hours of training.

However, weeks into the training, some caregivers were consistently absent as they struggled to balance between the training and their casual work/ small businesses which they depended on for survival. Attending training also contributed to some cases of domestic violence meted by spouses who were against the women’s empowerment. All red flags thus indicated the possibility of the caregivers dropping out of the training.

The solution was to provide tailored and in-demand vocational training to the caregivers that would increase their commitment, income, enhance their employability and business skills and strengthen their support network.

the experience

Rescue Dada Centre conducted a market research to establish in-demand market skills, to enhance employability of the caregivers after the training. The following steps ensued:

  1. Networking with prospective mentors, partners and clients enabled Rescue Dada Centre to stay updated on job-market trends, and to tailor a life skills and employability skills training manual to the caregivers’ needs.
  2. Pre-training phase involved assessment of the needs and strengths of the caregivers; empowering them to make informed choices of the training options; Do No Harm considerations and basic life skills training.
  3. Training phase entailed delivery of vocational training by external providers in a practical, creative and flexible way, per the needs and abilities of the participants.
  4. Post-Training phase included training on business and employability skills, supporting trainees to find employment or start businesses, monitoring their first steps and providing any further support to enhance their stability. 
01

Challenges

01

  • Absence, lateness and dropout from training due to lack of transportation and time resources
  • Requirements for some courses were too high for some attendees without formal education
  • Training duration of 3 months was short for the trainees to grasp specialized skills
02

Impact

02

  • Increased household income. 86.7% caregivers were able to meet basic family needs hence improved livelihoods
  • Through couple counseling, gender relations improved. Women feel valuable, can say NO to domestic violence and have a share in household decision-making
  • Strong alumni group was established for continued advocacy and social support
03

Lessons Learned

03

  • For sustainable outcomes, the infusion of behavior change and support aspects into vocational training is key.
  • A combination of life-skills, business and employability skills in training expands career options for participants
  • Flexible adult learning schedules that enable balance with family and other commitments are more effective
Realisation period 2018-2020
Location Nairobi, Kenya
Further reading

rescuedada.org

Partner organisation - Rescue Dada Centre (RDC)

Rescue Dada Centre (RDC) is a charitable children institution in Nairobi. The Centre was established in 1992, as an organisation doing street work to get to understand the circumstances of the girls living on the streets while operating a walk-in Centre, where street-connected children could come to share about their life experiences with social workers.

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