Their empowerment matters!
With UNICEF’s support, young people in Bol, western Chad, are charting their future
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The sound of sewing machines and scissors blends with the cheerful voices of young girls. Around them, ribbons, fabrics, and sewing tools cover the tables. Some hesitant gestures and focused eyes on the instructor captured the studious atmosphere in this classroom of the Technical and Vocational Training Center of Bol, in the Lake Province.
Sitting quietly in a corner, 20-year-old Fatime Moustapha Mahamat takes her place behind a sewing machine. She had never tried sewing before, yet her hands had already moved with enthusiasm.
I chose sewing because I love it. Soon, I’ll be able to make my own clothes, those of my relatives, and why not, for my future clients as well.
Fatime lives in Tanda 2, a neighborhood in Bol. She learned about this training opportunity through her friends and received encouragement and support from her neighborhood chief, which helped her secure a place in the program. Alongside this new experience, she helps her parents with a small family business. But what she truly hopes is that this training will pave the way toward sustainable livelihood and financial independence.
Thirty-eight young women including Fatime are learning sewing at the Technical and Vocational Training Center of Bol. Aged between 19 and 30, some are mothers, while others, like Fatime, left school early. Yet they all share the same determination, to build skills that will allow them to become self-reliant in the future.
The sewing training program lasts 90 days, after which each trainee will receive a starter kit to launch their own business. It aims to empower vulnerable young women in the community by providing them with practical vocational skills. The selection of participants was carried out through the Bol municipality, which tasked neighborhood chiefs with nominating candidates, making the process more inclusive and community driven.
“In the long run, it would be great to see them come together as groups, progress collectively, and form something more structured,”
says Allaramadji Monnet, workshop supervisor and sewing instructor.
Created in 2007 and operating under the Ministry of Higher Education, the Centre also offers training in carpentry and electricity. In these workshops, the same dynamic prevails. Both young women and men enrolled in these programs will receive start-up kits upon completion of their training.
In addition to directly supporting beneficiaries, UNICEF, with funding from the Spanish National Committee, has equipped the Centre with two training rooms, a borehole, and a secured fence significantly improving the learning conditions.
The atmosphere in the room is charged with the determination of a new generation of young women ready to shape their own future.
“If more opportunities for tailoring training arise, I’ll make sure to take them,”
says Fatime with confidence.
While she hones her sewing skills, Fatime is already dreaming of a future where she can build a sustainable livelihood and find fulfillment through her craft.
