By Mathew Yawe, Executive Director, Mityana Open Troop Foundation
Summer 2021 Newsletter

On behalf of the Mityana Open Troop Foundation, I have compiled a progress report which I wish to present to you.

Mityana Open Troop Foundation (MOTF) is a registered Community Based Organization, with a Vocational Skills Training Centre, which Recruits and trains disadvantaged youths, young girls formerly selling sex for survival, girls expelled from school due to teenage pregnancies, and youths who dropped out of school due to Covid-19. All these youths are trained in sustainable vocational skills. Before the Covid-19 pandemic forced us to close, the vocational project had a population of over 100 trainees. Unfortunately, by the end of March 2021, the vocational project had an enrollment of 50 trainees!

Since the inception of the Vocational Skills Training project in 2007, a total of over 800 have graduated. Some got employed while others have managed to set up their own shops. Every graduate of our program is given a sewing machine from Sewing Peace, USA. Without equipment, the graduation certificate is no help, as 90% of graduates can’t afford tools.

Students are trained for 2 years in Sewing & Fashion Design, Hair Dressing & Weaving, or Motor Vehicle Mechanics. Every year, there are 3 training terms of 3 months each; for each term the centre recruits whoever wishes to join.

Achievements

• The organization with the help from Mr. Chris James Eldridge of the UK, managed to fund another shipment of 71 sewing machines from Sewing Peace. The machines arrived at the project and have been put to use by trainees.
• To help prevent Covid-19, our sewing shop has been producing face masks and selling them at a price lower than our competitors’.
• In April 2021, the vocational project registered new trainees into non-formal skills training program. These are the youths who have dropped out of formal education as a result of socio-economic effects of Covid-19. Other youths have given birth during the 14-month school closure and can’t go back to their former schools.

Challenges and Limitations!

• The Covid-19 lockdown of learning institutions has caused a number of students to drop out. Most parents lost jobs, and businesses no longer worked well, so parents could not pay school fees.
• The prolonged lockdown caused many students to lose hope of returning to school. Many children were idle and moving up and down, which resulted in teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections. Some students got petty jobs where they earned a little money and lost interest in going back to formal education.
• Because all training institutions have been under lockdown since March 2020, we have lost an entire year of income from school fees.
• The Organization still encounters challenges in raising funds for shipping sewing Machines from Sewing Peace.
• The sewing training workshop requires a new floor with tiles; the machines needs a strong floor. Currently the floor is dusty, which damages sewing machines.
• The vocational project needs be supplied with 80% manual sewing machines, as they are easier to repair than electric machines, which are expensive to repair when their gears and rollers fail. Even electricity is a challenge in some of our remote Ugandan communities.
• The Organization lacks a computer, printer, and photocopier, which we need to print end-of-term exams and other office documents. Currently all computer work is taken to town.
• The project requires a computer lab with internet access to enable our trainees to access zoom communication with other international students and exchange developmental ideas, and to access health-related issues, including Covid-19 information.
• The project requires a new embroidery machine that can use a USB drive and that can run faster. The current machine is slow and often needs routine maintenance and servicing.
• The Organization requires office furniture and a staff room, as instructors don’t have a place to sit and keep their kits.
• The Training Centre lacks clean water. There is a very small (2000-liter) water tank, which lasts 2 days. Then students have to go on foot 1 km in search of water from unprotected water sources. This has resulted in many cases of Typhoid.
• We have many cases of malaria among project trainees, as they lack mosquito nets. In every term we get over 85% malaria cases among trainees. Malaria is the disease with the highest death toll in Uganda.
• There is a great need of renovating training hall roofs, as all are broken due to leaking iron sheets.

Way Forward & Recommendations

• On the 13th of November 2021, we will hold our 8th Vocational Project Graduation Ceremony, where over 100 youths will be commissioned and awarded start-up kits in Hairdressing & Weaving, Sewing & Fashion, or Motor Vehicle Mechanics. You are invited please.
• We are fundraising for a new 2-classroom block, to enable us to create a conducive training environment and have room for more students.
• We need a new roof for the Tyne Hall workshop, where we teach Hair Dressing and Weaving.
• We need a new toilet for boys, who currently share facilities with girls, which is not recommended!
• We need embroidery machines with USB input, as the one we have is very slow and requires mechanical servicing all time!
• We welcome volunteers who can teach sustainable skills to our youths. We would like to partner with similar vocational training institutions elsewhere in the world. This will help us learn how they operate. Plus it will help our Ugandan youths create friendships with fellow youths and learn about their cultures.

Conclusion and Appreciations

In conclusion, I thank Mr. Chris Eldridge, Mr. David Schweidenback of Sewing Peace, Mr. Colin Dippie and Mrs. Jane Louise Dippie, Mr. Nino Ardizz and Ms. Madison Ardizz, who have been so supportive to our organization. This has been and still is a very challenging season.
I extend our thanks to the generous communities of the USA who have been donating their used Sewing machines to our needy Ugandan communities. Please, the used sewing machines which seem unimportant in the USA have uplifted our communities, changing peoples’ lives by creating a daily source of income.

Furthermore, we extend our sincere appreciations to our new Rotarian & Scouts friends: Ms. Sarah Kim from South Korea, Ms. Ivonne Sencebe Reilley and Pat Curley of the USA, who are trying to raise funds for a computer lab and construction of a classroom block.

Please thank you so much.

I pray that every one is safe from the Covid-19 Pandemic.