Monday, November 9, 2009

creating opportunities

women at One Mango Tree training at Bobi IDP camp in 2008, left

This past week, International Organization for Migration (IOM) released their Labor Market Analysis for four districts in Northern Uganda. The Analysis illustrates the many challenges facing the region as it tries to rebuild after more than twenty years of conflict. A primary impetus for the report was to address the poverty trap that so often occurs for ex-combatants upon return to civilian life.

One Mango Tree's work is at the very heart of this analysis. The report features a case study on One Mango Tree as an example for turning frustration into opportunity. Northern Uganda is rife with vocational training programs, but IOM's Analysis (and earlier reports) found that there was a serious disconnect between the training and actual employment. Many young men and women would receive months of training in a particular trade, but then no capital or opportunity to translate that skill into a steady and reliable income.

One Mango Tree stepped in to fill that gap, creating jobs and continuous on-the-job training for women in Northern Uganda, many of whom benefited from vocational trainings but were simply lacking work.

We recently received an in-kind grant from IOM as a part of their USAID funding, to take on ten referrals for training and employment. That training will begin later this month, and we plan to partner with IOM as we continue to grow.

IOM's Labor Market Analysis was funded by USAID and UNDP. To learn more, download the full report here.

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