The Ministry Sport, Youth and National Service (MSYNS), through the USAID ‘Reach Namibia’ programme, on Thursday handed over start-up business toolkits to 55 adolescent girls at Oshakati, as part of empowering out of school girls.
Speaking at the handover ceremony, Minister Agnes Tjongarero said the aim is to empower out-of-school girls to address the challenges faced by youth in Namibia in general.
Tjongarero indicated that more than 40 per cent of Namibia’s youth are unemployed, thus the need to boost the young girls.
“As a country, it is critical for Namibia to have young women who are able to acquire skills to improve their socio-economic position and become more resilient and excel in business enterprise in their respective communities,” she said.
She then urged the beneficiaries to be focused at all times, in whatever they do to achieve greater outcomes.
USAID Country Representative, Dr McDonald Homer, said the program only benefits adolescent girls from Oshana, Kavango West, Kavango East, Khomas, Oshikoto and Zambezi regions.
“We will continue to support the MSYNS to roll out this funding in all 14 regions,” he said.
Homer said, through the program, USAID intends to reach children and youth who have to be served including adolescent boys and young men made vulnerable due to HIV, to receive various interventions including DREAMS interventions.
Those that benefited include five girls from Zambezi, Kavango East 13, Kavango West 7, Khomas 9, Oshana 11 and Oshikoto 8.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency