Zambia
Youth Empowerment for Development Initiative (YEDI)
Project Proposals
Who?
What?
When?
Where?
Why?
Project Proposals
Who?
- YEDI – Youth Empowerment for Development Initiative.
- Their mission is “to empower neglected and abandoned Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) from poverty-stricken families in an effort to secure social protection, food and nutrition support, educational support and vocational training, psychosocial support, shelter and care, child protection and health support”.
What?
- Construction of a community center with useful computer facilities where local young people will be trained in computer skills, practical skills such as knitting, tailoring & designing and conservation agriculture. This will help them find work and keep them from harmful unemployment which has negative social and economic effects. This center will also provide vital sexual health and reproduction training for young people to try and reduce the incidence of HIV/AIDS and child marriages.
- Teaching English and Sexual Education at local schools
When?
- Recommended to be an eight-week project, but may change due to volunteer availability, often remains in 7-8 week mark
Where?
- Kashima, Mufumbwe District. North-West Zambia.
- Living with a host family in the community.
Why?
- Orphans, victims of gender-based violence and young children forced into marriage are all highly vulnerable and at future risk of crime, unemployment and prostitution due to their lack of vocational skills and steady support.
- HIV/AIDS is prevalent and few young people from lower socio-economic backgrounds have good understanding of the risk thus are highly vulnerable to it’s devastating effects. School dropout rates amongst young women are high due to pregnancies, and child marriages are also high
- Lack of young peoples’ community vocational support as a whole.