Leticia finds joy in wires and pliers

20-year-old Leticia Dambe wanted to become a soldier but swapped the battle dress for an electrician’s work suit.

During our visit to the SOS Vocational Training Centre in Malawi's capital, Lilongwe, she was familiarising herself with the basic wiring of a building.

“It’s exciting to design, install and maintain electrical systems. It is well-paying too,” she said, eyes fixed on wires, switches, and sockets.

This personifies a dramatic turnaround in Leticia’s life.

“My father died when I was three. I used to go to school hungry and slept on an empty stomach. My mom couldn’t afford basic needs,” she recalls.

The only girl in a family of four children says she dropped out of school twice due to lack of fees.

She felt relief when the woman-headed household was selected for the Social Cash Transfers Programme (SCTP). Her mother bought a goat, which not only produced kid goats for sale but also manure for improved crop harvests.

Leticia says her happiest day dawned in December 2023 when she was selected to learn electrical installation at SOS Vocational Skills Centre.

In January 2024, she was among the pioneer recipients of financial support from the Social Protection for Gender Empowerment and Resilience (SP-GEAR) Programme, funded by the European Union and the Government of Ireland through UNICEF in partnership with the Government of Malawi.

Leticia receives MK225 000 ($129) per term through the Ministry of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare for food, rentals and other basics, including tools, safety boots and a work suit.

“I couldn't hold my joy. I had made it to college and my mom felt relieved when I was selected for special financial support from UNICEF,” she narrates.  

The SP-GEAR programme also provides financial assistance to vulnerable youth from SCTP households to promote skills development for employability and entrepreneurship.

Through the cash-plus approach, SP-GEAR programme is building a generation of skilled Malawians equipped to break from the cycle of poverty helping the families to become self-sufficient and economically resilient.  

Nevertheless, girls in Malawi lag in the race for equal access to Technical, Entrepreneurial and Vocational Education and Training (TEVET).

Girls' representation remains low due to widespread poverty and cultural stereotypes that confine them to caregiving roles, misrepresenting vocational training as a men’s field.

To bridge the gaps, the SP-GEAR is targeting 1800 adolescents that will be supported to enroll in both formal and informal training programmes.

TEVET Authority Project Management Specialist Dereck Luwesha says the social support for vulnerable girls is necessary and needs to be scaled up in terms of package and target. The positive impact can only be felt in the absence of the support from SP-GEAR.

“The TEVET Authority provides scholarships for girls in male-dominated trades and welcomes bursaries from other interested partners to increase girls’ participation in vocational training. SP-GEAR is the most conspicuous support to be given to adolescents from ultra-poor households beside general support systems by the TEVET Authority and other development partners,” he states.

During recess, Leticia provides tips and application forms to her peers in the rural outskirts of Lilongwe.

Fiddling with a plier and screwdriver, Leticia says: “I thank UNICEF for coming to my rescue and I want others to benefit too. My mother couldn’t afford the demands of my trade, but now I have no reason to fail.

“I work hard to make my dream a reality. I’m assembling my toolbox to establish a company that will train and employ fellow young people while lifting me, my mother and brothers out of poverty.”