By: G Bennie Bravo Johnson I
The Liberia National Tailor Union in partnership with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry with funding from the United Nation Development (UNDP) Livelihood Youth Training Project recently embarked on an intensive capacity building for over fifty youths in two counties.
The initiative is a six week capacity building training in tailoring for youth desiring to become tailors and seamstresses. The training is organized under the theme; Empowering youth, through sustainable livelihood activity’’.
The training which is currently taking place in Montserrado and Lofa County and mainly dominated by women is also a flagship program of the Ministry of Commence livelihood and empowerment creation project sponsored by the UNDP.
Also, the project is a US$ 30.000 program with the objective of the training is to develop the capacity of youthful Liberian to become self-reliance and productive citizens. The initiative also aims at providing the avenue for Liberian to provide employment and jobs creation outside of government.
The project is currently ongoing at the Lofa Multilateral Compound in Voinjama, and the Tailor Union Office in Montserrado County, Camp Johonson Road.
At the successful completion of the program, participants will be given a brand new scoring machine as startup.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with this paper in Monrovia at the training site over the weekend, the acting President of the Liberia National Tailor Union, Mr. Ezekiel Kamara extolled the Ministry of Commerce and UNDP for the partnership and sponsorship.
According to him, Liberia currently need skillful citizens to address the many challenges confronting the country, and the youths are the bedrock to addressing these problems with livelihood capacity training.
Narrating the recruitment and secured of the project, Mr. Kamara disclosed that after series of engagement with the Ministry of commerce on building the capacity of youths, he was successful in securing the UNDP US$30.000 project.
According to the Union President, the money is separated in two fifteen thousand for the materials and machine while the other fifteen thousand for the project. He pointed out that 30 participants were recruited from Montserrado County while the remaining came from Voinjame, Lofa County.
‘’The project is a six week program that is intented to strengthen and develop the skills of youthful Liberian in tailoring. The project is intended for only Montserrado and Lofa County. Currently, Lofa in her third week while Montserrado County in her second week. Lofa started September 4, while Montserrado commence 12. Participants were recruited from the communities in the implemented counties, ‘’ Mr. Kamara stated.
Furthermore, he noted that there are more efforts and programs underway to build and strengthen the capacity of Liberian youths as well as its members to become more productive.
Speaking on behalf of the participants, Musu Konneh extolled Tailor Union and its partners for the initiative.
‘’We are grateful for this program and want it extended to others counties. We are learning many things here. As we speak, I am able to sore. The only problem we have is the cutting and we will learn it before this project ends. But, we are appealing that the project be extended to other counties with longer time to help us we the single mothers’’ she concluded.
