Stories from our Imarika Kijana (Thriving Rural Youth) Program
One of four interlinked programs across the key problem areas of health, education, sexual violence, gender equality and economic stability, youth entreprenurship is delivered to rural students and girls, and targets the urgent need to support young people to develop new business ideas and improve livelihoods when they leave school.
This is specifically important in the rural areas where Lyra is active, as over 80% of the community members are subsistence farmers. To-date we have trained 175 young adolescents in 2019 and this will treble this number in 2020.
Checking back in with Sayuni
Now, 20 years old - Sayuni (pictured) was one of the first girls to stay in the hostel at Lundamatwe Secondary School, built by Lyra in 2013. She joined Lyra’s pilot school leavers program in 2018 and is now teaching other young people in her community how to start their own businesses.
Before joining the entrepreneurship training, Sayuni was running a small Genge (road side stall) which was earning her just 50,000/=Tsh a week (which equates to USD 17). Since joining the program, she’s used her newly-learned skills to double her income, and also put in place plans to diversify with a first ever fishpond in the village.
Funded by the Lyra Savings & Loans scheme, Sayuni has now taken out a loan to create a fish pond for the village, which will supply fresh fish and give her an additional source of income. She also dug a well in the village to create a local water supply, to save hours travelling to and from the nearest water supply, saving her time and effort.
As a result of Sayuni’s training and initiatives, she’s now seen as an educator in the village, and is able to share her skills and learnings to help the wider community.
“Before I didn’t see any importance in my life. Now I am self-motivated and valued as a knowledgeable person in my community. Now I see challenges around me as opportunities.” – Sayuni Msigala
We look forward to seeing Sayuni’s progress this year with her business initiatives and will check back in with her soon.