Forty-four young men and women from slum and dumpsite communities in Freetown have completed six months of vocational and professional training designed to improve their livelihoods and create pathways to employment and entrepreneurship.
The beneficiaries were trained and certified by Make Impact Sierra Leone, in partnership with We Yone Child Foundation, at the foundation’s Skills Training Centre in the Kroo Bay community.
The programme offered practical instruction in catering, cosmetology and hairdressing, as well as professional driving. It targeted vulnerable young people seeking opportunities to acquire income-generating skills and build more secure futures.
The first group of graduates received certificates during a ceremony held on Saturday, marking the successful completion of the six-month programme.
Participants enrolled in professional driving were trained through an accredited driving school. Make Impact Sierra Leone and We Yone Child Foundation covered the full cost of their tuition and driving licences.
Speaking during the ceremony, Director of We Yone Child Foundation, Santigie Bayo Dumbuya, encouraged the graduates to put their knowledge into practice and use their skills to support themselves and their communities.
“Do not hold hostage the ideas and skills that you have acquired during these six months. Go out there and implement them. If possible, teach others what you have learned, because that is how knowledge becomes beneficial to you, your community and the country,” Santigie Bayo Dumbuya said.
He described the graduation as the beginning of a broader initiative intended to reach more young Sierra Leoneans with practical training and economic opportunities.
Santigie Bayo Dumbuya thanked community leaders and other stakeholders for supporting the programme. He also commended Make Impact Sierra Leone for partnering with his organisation to deliver the training.
“We want to do more. This is just the first batch and we are looking forward to expanding this initiative and reaching more young people in the coming years,” he stated.
Make Impact Sierra Leone was established by a team associated with Mercy Ships after its members observed some of the social and economic difficulties confronting young people in the country.
The organisation later partnered with We Yone Child Foundation to provide vocational training at the foundation’s facility in Kroo Bay.
The initiative comes amid continuing concerns over youth unemployment, poverty and substance abuse in deprived communities across Freetown. Organisers believe vocational education can provide vulnerable young people with alternatives to drugs, crime and other harmful activities.
A representative of the Chief of Kroo Bay conveyed the chief’s appreciation to the two organisations for bringing the programme to the community.
The representative said the chief was pleased that local young people had been given an opportunity to acquire useful skills and expressed hope that similar interventions would continue and expand.
The ceremony also featured inspiring testimonies from graduates whose lives had been affected by the programme.
Among them was catering trainee Jalikatu Tharm, who was recognized as one of the best-performing students. Before joining the programme, Jalikatu Tharm had struggled with substance abuse, including the use of kush.
She became emotional while recounting her journey and the doubts expressed by people who did not believe she could remain committed throughout the six months.
“A lot of people did not believe that I would be able to do this. They did not believe that I would finish the training, but today I am here,” Jalikatu Tharm told the gathering.
She thanked Make Impact Sierra Leone and We Yone Child Foundation for giving her an opportunity to learn a trade. She also expressed appreciation to Santigie Bayo Dumbuya and her facilitator, popularly called “Boss Lady” by the students, for supporting and encouraging her.
Her testimony emerged as one of the ceremony’s most memorable moments, demonstrating how access to education and practical training can help vulnerable young people redirect their lives.
Another outstanding graduate, Isatu Dumbuya, thanked the organisations for providing the training. She explained that her husband had encouraged her to register for the programme; a decision that enabled her to acquire a practical skill.
Isatu said she was ready to apply what she had learned and use her training to improve her family’s livelihood.
The organizers stressed that the initiative goes beyond awarding certificates. Graduates are expected to use their skills to secure employment, establish small businesses and pass their knowledge on to others.
For the 44 graduates, the ceremony marked both the completion of six months of intensive training and the beginning of a new phase of personal and professional development.
Make Impact Sierra Leone and We Yone Child Foundation have pledged to build on the programme’s first batch and extend similar opportunities to more young people across Sierra Leone.
