I am Rev. Kari Avuru from the United Church of Papa Congregation.
As the pastor to the church and member of the community, I am very grateful when the women of our community engage in programs that take them from their daily norms to learning skills that upgrade their lives for the better.
A recent program held in our village that saw 17 women and 3 young men participate in learning new skillsets has taken these individuals from being unskilled to skilled in a space of two weeks and their progress was evident in the things they created from the training.
Being a member of my community, it pleases me to see people be educated to use more than the resources they have had, to make an income or assist in church activities that require the skill they have acquired.
We do not always have volunteers or support groups come into our villages and teach our young and matured individuals on capabilities that will earn them financial opportunities and credibility to pass on what they have learnt to others.
As unskilled people using only the resources they had available to make ends meet, to being skilled enough to create more to get them by, is an empowering feeling, knowing that they have not missed out on being educated.
The women here only ever knew how to keep the responsibility of making meals, cleaning their homes and attending to their children and being obedient church members. With their new knowledge, they can go out into communities and teach others, offering their assistance where applicable.
This Life Skills Training program is something that will benefit not just our women but everyone as a whole in order for others to benefit as well.