Three weeks into her training, Esther, 18, is already pretty handy with a screwdriver.
“Since I was young, I’ve been interested in technical things,” she says. “And I thought that it would help me look after myself and my family.”
Esther is one of five adolescent girls in a class of almost 30 studying building electrics at the Institut National de Préparation Professionnelle, a vocational training centre in Bunia, north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
With support from UNICEF, funding from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency and in partnership with the Division of Social Affairs, around 400 adolescents from vulnerable backgrounds are receiving vocational training in areas of their choice from baking to hairdressing, car repair and tailoring. Lessons are divided between the central training centre and four outposted sites at different displacement camps around the city.
After an initial month of literacy training, they receive three months of training followed by a three-month apprenticeship to refine their skills and then a month-long start-up phase to get their businesses going.
The trauma of conflict
The recent upsurge in violence in the eastern DRC, centred on Ituri and North Kivu provinces has displaced 1.5 million people since October 2022, including more than 800,000 children. The humanitarian community is scaling up the response particularly to those affected by the protection crisis, and the cholera outbreak.
Another of the trainee electricians, Kamango, 14, was just six months old when her father was killed by a non-state armed group. Her uncle then looked after her, but he in turn was also then killed.
“No one was there to look after me,” she says. “That’s when the Division of Social Affairs stepped in to help.”
Following counselling, she was then given the chance to enrol in the UNICEF-supported training.
“The training is really good. I chose this course because I think it will help me. In five years’ time, I dream of being independent and being able to look after others.’’
For Esther, it was a similar story. Her uncle was killed by an armed group, and she fled to Bunia with her mum. The experience left her heavily traumatised. Through counselling provided through the Division of Social Affairs she has been able to recover and has adapted well to the vocational college.
“It’s good in the class,” she says. “I just have a few other things to learn but I’ve only had three weeks of training so far. Truly, I am happy. And at the end I think I will be able to make my contribution to the society.”
DRC’s youth have been through a lot, but there is determination to succeed and contribute to building a better future for their families and country.
