Making the Grade
Lukome Center Students Maintain a 99% DIT Exam Success Rate
Recently, our Class 15 graduates of the Lukome Center took their Uganda Directorate of Industrial Technology (DIT) certification exams. We are pleased to announce that all of them passed with high scores! This will be a great help to them as they seek to obtain good jobs or establish strong small businesses in their chosen areas of expertise, such as salon (hairdressing),tailoring, and bakery. (See photo above.)
No one could be happier than Richard Kyitarinyeba, ChildVoice’sHead of Office in Uganda, who exclaimed: “80 percent of them did really well!”
The Lukome Center was accredited for vocational training byUgandan government starting with Class 10 several years ago.Since that time, members of all graduating classes have had the opportunity to take the DIT exam. Moreover, ChildVoice has reached out to students from earlier classes of the center as well, making the opportunity available to all who have graduated. To date, 100 out of the 101 Lukome Center graduates who have taken their DIT exams have passed. Of those, 15 are pre-Class 10 graduates who came back for the exam.
For our students who have passed the DIT exam, there are benefits that go well beyond demonstrating proficiency in the chosen vocations in order to improve their ability to obtain good jobs. They also enjoy the psychological boost of validation in their own self-worth. It’s one more way of restoring their hope as they progress through their journey toward a better future.
We look forward to following these proud students through our aftercare programs as they work to put their well-earned credentials to use!
Strengthening Social Bonds and Building Hope through Community Service
An important aspect of all our therapeutic programs in Uganda and Nigeria is community service. These activities bring our students into closer contact with other people in their communities, helping to strengthen social bonds while raising the awareness of giving back to those in need. They also help to give students a sense of duty and purpose, bolstering their self-esteem and sense of self-worth as well as building a strong work ethic.
In preparation for community service in Gulu, Uganda, ChildVoice staff at the Lukome Center identified vulnerable people within the community, such as the elderly and disabled. A total of 28 students, accompanied by 17 staff members, visited 13 local homes, providing services such as fetching water, household cleaning, collecting rubbish, delivering food, providing counseling, and praying with residents.
Meanwhile in Nigeria, our students’ community service in both the Malkohi internally displaced persons camp and in Mubi was focused primarily on compound cleaning (sweeping, collecting rubbish) and classroom painting. Boys in Malkohi performed a total of 73 hours of community service. Girls in Malkohi performed 323 hours, while girls in Mubi performed 78 hours.
INTERN SPOTLIGHT: AKIRA
The COVID-19 pandemic put a two-year pause on our ability to send interns to the Lukome Center in Uganda. With travel restrictions recently lifted, we’re happy to announce that our internship program is once again open, providing students and career professionals the opportunity to step out of their comfort zones and apply their skills and passion for the benefit of others.
Our most recent intern, Akira Imanari, recently completed his ten-week-long internship program. We sat down with Akira to discuss his hopes, his experiences, what he brought to our students at the center – and what he gained from his experience. To read our interview with Akira, go to: childvoice.org/akira
RAGBRAI 2023: Riding for Power!
Our 2023 RAGBRAI team was on the road in Iowa this past week, pedaling mile after mile to reach their destination: the Mississippi River! But more importantly, they are riding to bring solar power to our Youth Empowerment Center in Nigeria.
To find out more and support our team, visit childvoice.org/ragbrai.