At least 40,097 youths from 25 districts have benefited from USAID-funded Huguka Dukore Akazi Kanoze (HDAK) project aimed at strengthening the skills and making them ready for work as well as start their own businesses.
The five-year project implemented in partnership with the Education Development Centre (EDC), together with CRS, Connexus, AKA, and 21 local partners, celebrated its accomplishments and legacy on October 28.
According to officials, the HDAK project reached the set goal of empowering the youth with 68.1 per cent of the beneficiaries having gotten new or better employment from the acquired training.
The USAID Rwanda Mission Director, Jonathan Kamin is upbeat over what has been achieved by the project.
"In close collaboration with different partners we’ve been supporting the youth to help them find ways to get skills and have appropriate ways of getting paid jobs or to become entrepreneurs,” he said during the event to wind up the project.
Kamin added that they chose to support this project because there are many youth in the country and there is high unemployment and the government has made it a priority to support the youth.
"In this country, much of the energy and the spirit of the future belong to the youth and we know they are the priority of the government and we wanted to support them to make sure they have the right skills,” he said.
Speaking at the event, the Minister of State in charge of ICT and TVET, Claudette Irere commended the legacy of this project for all the help they have given to the youth.
"This project has been able to empower the targeted youth with different skills such as work readiness, employability and at the same time allowing them to become entrepreneurs” she said.
Irere added that part of the legacy of this project was to help them develop and introduce a new curriculum in TVET institutions which she said will ensure its achievements are institutionalised.
Alejandra Bonifaz, Country Director of EDC in Rwanda said that this project has been generally successful despite the few challenges they met within the past five years.
According to her, some of the challenges met included the Covid-19 pandemic that restricted movement and face-to-face interactions.
"The project quickly developed a Work Ready Now Audio Program consisting of 42 episodes to help reinforce work readiness skills among participants. Youth received these episodes via WhatsApp and later, the program was aired through radio nationwide in partnership with Rwanda Broadcasting Agency.”
She added that this initiative had an impact beyond project participants.
"Results of a study showed that this audio program had positive spillover effects whereby youth’s families and wider community also listened to the episodes and benefited from this programme.”
Beneficiaries speak out
Different youth who benefitted from this project commended its achievements saying that it was "a life changer” for them.
Rachel Uwiragiye, a tailor, said that she would still be in poverty today without this project.
"I am thankful for this project for helping me become an entrepreneur. I was able to start my own business with the help and guidance I received through the training programme,” said Uwiragiye who runs a tailoring business.