Women Empowerment & Livelihoods
The formation and springing up of women groups especially in developing world has become a tool of accelerating development of communities in urban and rural areas. Self-help groups (SHGs) have been instrumental in empowering women especially at the grassroots level. SHGs are small informal associations created for the purpose of enabling members to reap economic benefits out of mutual help, solidarity, and joint responsibility. Some of the basic characteristics of SHGs include small membership size and homogeneity of composition which bring about cohesiveness and effective participation of members in the functioning of the group.
The group-based approach not only enables the poor to accumulate capital by way of small savings but also helps them gain access to formal credit facilities. Through women participation in SHGs improvements are realized in terms of most of the group members acquiring skills, improving their living conditions, and enhancing their participation in decision making, among others. The overall development of the social groups depends upon the level of their capacities. Empowered women in the communities will enhance the realization of the expected development. Members of the SHGs work collaboratively to create alternative forms of socioeconomic and improve their access to capital, productivity skills market access among other social benefits.
Studies strongly suggest the importance of self-help groups in development and welfare work. Household and community assets worth millions of dollars have been created through the activities of SHGs. As a result, communities have built or improved schools, health facilities, cattle dips, water sources and other infrastructures such as feeder roads, footpaths, and bridges. In farming, the groups have been involved in production of crops and livestock and jointly work towards identifying markets for their produce. The groups also do table banking, revolving loan schemes and in small scale business activities. In welfare matters, the groups have brought together persons such as persons with disabilities (PWDs) and those infected and affected with HIV and AIDs and enabled them to work together to meet their needs as well as access sources of help.
The SHGs serve as a basis of trust, enlarge interaction between members of communities and permit social action relating to betterment and welfare. This is best exemplified by the Kangeta groups who have over the years pooled their efforts to raise funds and needy children pay school fees. The institutional development of these grassroot organizations therefore are vital. The SHGs offer social platform on which other development initiatives can be successfully implemented. It has been observed that groups that have embraced formalization with stronger institutional characteristics perform better in achieving their social development objectives.
Studies strongly suggest the importance of self-help groups in development and welfare work. Household and community assets worth millions of dollars have been created through the activities of SHGs. As a result, communities have built or improved schools, health facilities, cattle dips, water sources and other infrastructures such as feeder roads, footpaths, and bridges. In farming, the groups have been involved in production of crops and livestock and jointly work towards identifying markets for their produce. The groups also do table banking, revolving loan schemes and in small scale business activities. In welfare matters, the groups have brought together persons such as persons with disabilities (PWDs) and those infected and affected with HIV and AIDs and enabled them to work together to meet their needs as well as access sources of help. The SHGs serve as a basis of trust, enlarge interaction between members of communities and permit social action relating to betterment and welfare. This is best exemplified by the Kangeta groups who have over the years pooled their efforts to raise funds and needy children pay school fees. The institutional development of these grassroot organizations therefore are vital. The SHGs offer social platform on which other development initiatives can be successfully implemented. It has been observed that groups that have embraced formalization with stronger institutional characteristics perform better in achieving their social development objectives.
Kenya’s general election crisis of December 2007 highlighted the problems of a large population of unskilled, unemployed youth amidst growing poverty. To address some of the underlying causes of the restlessness among youth, the Government of Kenya made initiatives for skills development. In January 15 2013, Kenya enacted a TVET Act 2013 which established Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET). The Act also established a Technical and Vocational Education and Training Authority (TVETA), the sector regulator. TVETA regulates and coordinates training in the country through licensing, registration and accreditation of programs, institutions, and trainers. In 2019 the Uganda Government put in place a TVET policy with aim to promote skills for productivity in formal, non-formal and informal settings by ensuring life-long skills training opportunities.
ECAP has one Technical and Vocational Education and Training training centre established and target the youth for skills development through its technical training centre at Euphrasia Women Centre (EWC), Ngong. The EWC training centre in Ngong is a registered and accredited TVET institution. The registration status means that the training centre fully meets the regulatory requirements of the Technical and Vocational Education and Training Authority (TVETA). There has been other informal skills training centers under different Programmes to offer skills training such as tailoring among others. Some have not picked up well such as the Vocational Training Centre which was started in Kitagobwa by the mission in Kampala. The centre did not pick and has been defunct.
Skills training of students contributes towards creating the critical human resource needed for technological transformation of the communities and the country and increases youth employability.