Impact Assessment of Ihushi Jitegemee Youth Training Center.

Maarugu, Elias Kajeli (2005) Impact Assessment of Ihushi Jitegemee Youth Training Center. Masters thesis, The Open University of Tanzania.

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Abstract

PANUA is a community Based Organization at grassroots level in Magu District, Mwanza Region. Its centre of operation is lliUSHI Village in Bujashi Ward, situated about 50 m and 18 km from Magu District Headquarters and Mwanza City respectively. It also enjoys good proximity with Kisesa Minor settlement (6 km away) on the Mwanza Musoma Road (5 km), the National Vocational Education Training centre (13 km) and it is hardly 15 km from the shores of Lake Victoria. The Mission, goal and objective of the CBO is well embodied in its name PANUA. PANUA is a Kiswahili acronym carrying the words "Panda Mbegu ya Maendeleo, Inua Hali ya Wananchi" The literal translation of these words is, "Plant Seeds of Development to raise the standard of living of the most Vulnerable". PANUA Memorandum of understanding defines the most vulnerable as those girls and boys who complete primary education and stay at home without opportunity to be engaged into any gainful and sustainable income generating activity. The rate of youths' vulnerability is exasperated by two factors: the age at which they finish primary education (13 - 16 years) and the equipment used in the major means of production, farming with hand hoes. These two factors prevent the youth from entering the production market. Once they complete their education, there is a necessary prolonged time-lag period, between primary school completion and acquiring the basic capability to work on farms using had hoes as major means for production. However, during this long period, the youths are faced with a number of temptations as they struggle to make a meaningful living. The result is early pregnancy leading to forced marriages for the girls, urban migration for both girls and boys in search of employment as bar and restaurant attendants, house-servants. On the other hand, the youths, who remain in the village, end up joining fishing villages scattered along the lake. Once in the fishing villages they are subjected to a number of antisocial practices, such as multiple sexual partners, drug-pushing behavior etc. It is against this background the PANUA CBO was founded in Bujashi ward with an ambitious mission of changing this status quo. After a broad consultation with various groups, the founder Emmanuel Buguba, a former Bujashi Ward Councillor now a private citizen) came up with idea of starting a grassroots Vocational Education and Training Centre under the name of Ihushi Jitegemee Youth Training Centre. The objective of the Centre is to impart vocational life skills to the youth who do not qualify for secondary education on completing Primary Education, each year. The Centre started in 2000 with 20 volunteer youth trainees in the home compound of the founder. Today, the Centre boasts of a full flagged Vocational Education and Training Centre with basic buildings, like workshops for tailoring and Carpentry, classrooms, for theory teachings, administrative block and a multi-purpose hall. It also has two classes for pre-school facility which enrolls children free of charge within the neighborhood. Subjects being taught at the centre include: Carpentry, tailoring, gardening masonry, cross cutting issues like HIV AIDS, Gender, Environment and academic subjects such as English language, Book-keeping and Arithmetic. So far 40 trainees have graduated from the Centre of whom 6 have been retained at the centre as instructors and the rest are living in the village running their own income generating activities. Currently it has 25 trainees (12 girls and 13 boys) who will graduate in December, 2005). On the other hand, the youths, who remain in the village, end up joining fishing villages scattered along the lake. Once in the fishing villages they are subjected to a number of antisocial practices, such as multiple sexual partners, drug-pushing behavior etc. It is against this background the PANUA CBO was founded in Bujashi ward with an ambitious mission of changing this status quo. After a broad consultation with various groups, the founder Emmanuel Buguba, a former Bujashi Ward Councillor now a private citizen) came up with idea of starting a grassroots Vocational Education and Training Centre under the name of Ihushi Jitegemee Youth Training Centre. The objective of the Centre is to impart vocational life skills to the youth who do not qualify for secondary education on completing Primary Education, each year. The Centre started in 2000 with 20 volunteer youth trainees in the home compound of the founder. Today, the Centre boasts of a full flagged Vocational Education and Training Centre with basic buildings, like workshops for tailoring and Carpentry, classrooms, for theory teachings, administrative block and a multi-purpose hall. It also has two classes for pre-school facility which enrolls children free of charge within the neighborhood. Subjects being taught at the centre include: Carpentry, tailoring, gardening masonry, cross cutting issues like HIV AIDS, Gender, Environment and academic subjects such as English language, Book-keeping and Arithmetic. So far 40 trainees have graduated from the Centre of whom 6 have been retained at the centre as instructors and the rest are living in the village running their own income generating activities. Currently it has 25 trainees (12 girls and 13 boys) who will graduate in December, 2005).

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