Skills Training
One of the reasons for the strong cycle of poverty in Africa is the lack of knowledge and skills necessary for success and income generation. ELI has created a number of training programs that seek to meet those needs. ELI currently has two Skills for Life training centers in Kenya, one in Tanzania, one in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and one in Sudan. At ELI’s five training centers, more than 2,000 people received training in between 2006 and 2007.The SACDP (Sustainable Agriculture and Community Development Program) targets youth who have not completed high school and were not able to attend university or vocational school. They are taught valuable agricultural skills that will enable them to successfully operate both the agricultural and entrepreneurial aspects of their own farm. This nine month bio-intensive training program has been a great success and has graduated over 200 students.
The DBSP (Dynamic Business Startup Program) targets entrepreneurial-minded people with hands-on training for how to use a small amount of capital to generate a profit. General computer, reading, and writing courses are also taught. This program teaches wide-ranging business practices relevant to the environment and culture that the students interact in daily.General Agricultural training programs are given to groups who travel to an ELI training center from across Africa for an accelerated course (1-5 days) to learn very specific agricultural skills. After each individual returns home, they have the opportunity to affect their communities by sharing what they have learned at ELI. This way, they too are empowering lives!