GAAFAADE COLLECTIONS Tailoring Training & Screen Printing Necessary Generation Rwanda 25 September 2021
Why The Project In Rwanda and globally, the number of jobless people remains. The Government of Rwanda keeps encouraging its people to play a big role in poverty reduction by creating new jobs especially in youths. Rwanda also counts a big number of early pregnancy cases in youth. It resulted to school dropout, ignorance and hopeless generation. Only in Kicukiro district, one of 30 districts in Rwanda, the Local NGO Achieve/Dreams announced working with more than 14,455 young mothers. This project came to answer to all those questions and bring back hope in them, show them what relevant jobs to do and survive. While being together at the trainings, the young mothers talk about their past stories, share ideas, support each others and sexual reproduction advices are given to them by some youth centre partners. As every citizen is the player of positive change in the journey of building the world we want, Necessary Generation as one of the national youth organization working to improve the livelihood of youngsters, initiated a project to be a solution to the high rate of poverty and jobless people in young mothers and next generation.
Why The Project The ban of second hand clothes in Rwanda was like one the motivational source of Made in Rwanda products. We took our time and found out that training a big number of young mothers in tailoring and screen printing should be a sustainable and inspiring solution to the targeted group. We believed that once they are trained, skilled, they should work and make money to survive. This is where GAAFAADE COLLECTIONS and screen printing idea came from. In whatever we do, we keep in mind bringing projects that focus on Sustainable Development Goals.
Why The Project GAAFAADE project inspired a big number of youngsters, Rwandans that from what we have we can do something amazing. The clothes made by those young mothers can be dressed by them and their lovely children, can be bought by anyone who want to dress clothes with traditional Rwandan patterns. Also for foreigners people who visit Rwanda, it is of good memories for them and a sign that they were in Rwanda. The big dream we have is to gather all those hopeless young mothers, youth and train them with relevant skills that enable them them to survive an play their role in budling a better world we want. We want to expand from Rusizi district to the whole corners of Rwanda and bring such solutions to the other youth in need of support not only being based in one district district of 30.
How The Project Works GAAGAADE project was developed to help people especially young mothers to get trained and skilled in tailoring and screen printing so that they can survive, help themselves and build a generation of youth with hope of life. So far GAAFAADE trained more 34 Young mothers in tailoring at Yego Center Rusizi, the trainees got support of all necessary materials to enable them make clothes, and products can be sold globally. Now some trainees started their own businesses, train and inspired others and hope is restored, they believe in a bright future. We keep on training other groups.
Project Activities Our project consist of two main part which are 1.Tailoring Training 2.Screen Printing In tailoring, we partners with best tailors and Rusizi Yego Center which avail sewing machines to train new young mothers who want to become professional tailors. In Screen Printing, we train young mothers and other team of youngsters on how to make customized t shirts with Rwandan traditional patterns, Imigongo, writing on different self made products with imigongo and GAAFAADE brand logos. It depends on customer choice.
Impact By the support of One World Citizens, currently we record more than 35 young mothers trained in this program and many of them got to use the skills they got and now they are making revenues in their daily life. Some of our trainees, young mothers, make clothes for themselves, their children and families, something that was not possible before gaining skills. Some women are still waiting for any well wishers to sponsor them to start their common sewing cooperative. Country FM Radio based in Rusizi is their for the marketing of products of any young mother to help them make a great start. By the advocacy we did for them, the Rusizi district accepted to sensitize local people and its partners like schools, churches, government institutions to be the next clients of those young mothers. From what we did, we made a good example that everything is possible. So many youngsters are inspired by the steps we made! From the budget we got from One World Citizens, we facilitated our trainers to reach the training sites, we are still building GAAFAADE website that will be used to sell our products, bought sewing materials for the trainees, young mothers, bought a sewing machine to be used during the making of some clothes, bought like plane t shirts and bought some screen printing materials to set up a small screen printing factory that make customized bandana, t shirts, ….
Evaluation, challenges & solutions We proudly say that we are happy for what we achieved since we started this journey. The project has bring back hope among young mothers who were really feeling abandoned by the society. We started as an example project in one area of one district among the 30 districts of Rwanda but it seems that every one wishes this kind of initiative to be in every area of the country, every district. Challenges like COVID-19 pandemic disturbed our timeline, but now things are coming back to normal, people can meet, clothes can be bought, hope is coming back, we are really looking to keep investing our our time and effort in this as usual to reach the goals. Carrying out this kind of project requires enough budget to set up a good example of training centre, buying enough sewing kits, setting up a good screen printing and other buy other necessary materials. There is a big number of people who showed love to what we do and wished to join us. We struggled with the small budget we got and made happen great impact. We will never give up, dream is still alive. For this journey, we recognize the contribution of One World Citizens and its Partners to enable us make these steps but we really need more budget, partners to join us so that we can get enough budget to continue what we started, a project that answers to many problems that we face. We also keep on thinking on a sustainable solution of working independently from grants. #WeGrowTogetherWithNoOneLeftBehind
Next Steps & Supplies In partnership with the Government of Rwanda, Youth Centre and sponsorship of OWC (One World Citizens), we managed to carry out the project and we are excited by the results. So positive! As our our main goal, we are working our way forward to be independent from grants and sponsorship by setting up a great mother tailoring centre and screen printing factory in Rusizi and some sub branches in some districts for the future, but first we make sure we serve Rusizi. For the project success, we need support like: -More experts and partners in this field -Sewing machines, modern equipment -Office Rent and Furnitures -Sewing Materials -Screen Printing Materials - Others
Some Pictorial Steps
OUR CONTACT Necessary Generation E-mail: info.negrwanda.com www.necessarygeneration.org