RACOBAO provides vocational training to orphans and other vulnerable children who cannot afford secondary education due to lack of school fees, looking after sick parents, elderly relatives, siblings, family or extended family.
Lyantonde Vocational Skills Training Centre was founded in 1999 by the Rakai Community Based Aids Project as a simple demonstration farm. Gradually, more land was acquired from the Catholic Church for further expansion and more activities were set up for training over 100 orphans. These included, crop husbandry, water harvesting, piggery, rabbit, bee keeping, agro-forestry, carpentry, tailoring, and life handling skills. Meanwhile, the rate of orphans was escalating and more marginalized youth were dropping out of school as a result of loss of their parents to HIV/AIDS
The thrust of all the above led the project into signing additional agreements with the Catholic Church to acquire more sites to train the youth in motor mechanics, tailoring, sweater knitting, carpentry and joinery, brick laying and concrete practice, basic skills in agriculture, home economics, salon (hair cutting and dressing), arts and crafts, and welding.
780 trainees have been graduated from programs since 1999.
In 2010, we have 102 trainees, 40 females and 62 males.
Goal
Our goal is to equip marginalized youth with appropriate knowledge and skills necessary to generate income, ensure meaningful survival and reconcile them with their environment.
Objectives
Target group
The centre targets orphans, especially those whose parents have died of HIV/AIDS in Kabula and Kooki counties and the Rakai District. The centre admits orphans ranging from 14 to 20 years that have completed primary school.
Courses Offered
Training Centre Capacity
The centre has acquired qualified trainers from recognized institution in Uganda.
The centre is capable of training 200 trainees per year. However, this number depends very much on the availability of resources; Admission is done once a year.
Identification of potential candidates is carried out by the Organization Volunteer Aids Counselors, field staff and local councils to ensure fair representation of the project area.
Funding
The centre is funded by Rakai Community Based Aids Organization (RACOBAO) in conjunction with Kijjukizo Catholic Church.
Course costs.
The total cost requirement per trainee is 400 US Dollars per year, and covers:
Management
The centre is managed by a team comprising of the Director, HIV/AIDS counselors and trainers. The team reports to RACOBAO management team and Parents Teachers Association (PTA)
Sustainability
The Centre is primarily dependent on the commitment of donors. We are presently exploring possibilities of mechanizing the workshops to raise revenue for continued operations as well as other avenues to raise revenue from productivity within the Centre.
