Economic empowerment of deaf girls and women

Deaf girls and women need life skills as well as employable skills for survival. There are plans to intensify skills training for women and girls including functional literacy and entrepreneurship. This is important as many projects started to improve household incomes have borne little fruit because beneficiaries lack the essential skills like saving, and calculating income and expenditure. This affects the saving culture leading to the collapse of the micro enterprise. Without an improved household income, deaf women are prey to all sorts of abuse.

 Vocational skills training which is market oriented is being carried out to facilitate members to acquire skills as a livelihood strategy. Whilst tailoring has been the focus, RNADW is exploring mushroom growing, bakery, craft making, vegetable growing, pig keeping, goat farming, bee keeping, tie and dye cloth making, shoe making, electronic repair and maintenance as viable strategies to empower our members economically. There will also be attempt to incorporate computer use in most trainings. A strategy to ensure targeted girls remain committed to their acquired trade will be to make them apprentices. The skilled artisans will mentor the beneficiaries until they stand on their own. The relevant government department responsible for vocational education and training will be contacted to have a quota for deaf girls.