A total of 40 Adolescent Girls and Young Women (AGYWs) have graduated from the Malawi Institute of Tourism (MIT) with certificates after a three-months customized course in hotel operations.
The certificate course mainly focused on food and beverages services, front office operations, housekeeping, as well as communication and entrepreneurship. The AGYWs who have benefited from the initiative were identified from Machinga, Zomba and Blantyre district.
The Training Manager for MIT, Happy T. Kalongonda urged the girls to fully utilize the knowledge and skills they acquired during the training period.
“We have equipped you to effectively work either as entrepreneurs or get employed in hotel and tourisms industry. As such, go ye into the industry and show how good you are!” – said Kalongonda during the graduation ceremony.
Educational support is a component of Siyakha Girls model which is aimed at strengthening economic resilience of vulnerable AGYWs. The component is being implemented under Ana Patsogolo (children first) Project which is being funded by USAID through Bantuwana.
“For us, the training is just a first step and our interest is on how the training will positively impact on the lives of these girls who have benefitted from the initiative,” remarked Daniel Chikatentha, YONECO’s Research, Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning, Documentation Manager.
The function was attended by District Youth Officers from Zomba, Blantyre and Machinga as well as the Executive Director of GLOHOMO and other members of staff from YONECO.
In a similar vein, 69 girls also graduated from various vocational colleges on 4 August, 2021 under the project (Ana Patsogolo Activity) as well.
