For a couple of months, MFURA Foundation Organization has been doing several pieces of training that are made to fast track set targets of building resilience of teen mothers who have undergone a tough life.
Among those training, MFURA Foundation discovered that entrepreneurship training does not only helps learners to discover what they can do but also impacts them to discover their hidden potentials and put them into practice.
The organization has been also working with professionals, who come and spend hours equipping teen mothers with the 21-century skills that would support them to recover the wounds of life they have passed into.
“Every Friday and Saturday from 8 am to 12 pm all the trainees come to the center for training. This time as mentioned, they were basically focusing on how to discover their potential in the lens being successful entrepreneurship as teenage mothers. They were all put into small groups to share their life experience, they would share what they like hate and what they would wish to have but maybe they haven’t got a better opportunity to do it.” Said Marie Clarisse MFURAYABO, Founder and Country Director of MFURA Foundation.
Basic training offered to the beneficiaries were conducted in Tailoring where 40 teen mothers were enabled to sew various cloth styles.
Through their social group, the teen mothers gain public speaking skills and confidence. Later, they went back to the groups and started to see how they can strategize the implementation of their life goals by avoiding any early pregnancy to happen.
Significant results after beneficiaries brainstormed the best ways of implementing their goals include positive mindset to break old stereotypes that limit them, challenging the old conventions, starting ventures and be entrepreneurs, helping their friends to avoid lures that can affect them the same way due to poor information, helping their kids to study in good schools as well as working hard to never be disguised.
They also decided to stop feeling guilty of themselves, to avoid Gossips, unwanted conversations, peer pressure, being disregarded by their families, feel discomfort and not being taken away from the pain they went through. They also decided to work hard, to dedicate in whatever they do, to say No to low self-esteem, to consider life the first capital, to believe in their capacity to achieve what they, to balance the negative and positive effects before taking any decision and to prioritize everything that would add value to their life mostly the skillsets.
“These teenage mothers are resilient and they have gained hope for life, they have identified opportunities that show them that life after the tragedy they faced, they can still achieve their personal and developmental projects. During this amazing session on identifying their potentials, they are altered one by one what they are able to do. The amazing aspect of this is the fact that some have started own income generating activities such as car driving, fashion and design, teachers, hair dressing, Agribusiness and SMEs.” MFURAYABO noted.
“After this session, the facilitator reminded them of a few things that would also supplement what they are doing to archive their goals, she mentioned that “You should understand the importance of Ideation as a source of creativity and innovation. You need to be bold and test everything you want to do for perfection purposes.” She added.
She encouraged beneficiaries to first understand what they want, to build the spirit of innovation, to advertise what they do, to get a small capital to start, to search the possible information of what they want to do, to enhance the spirit of professionalism, Integrity, and finally, to try identifying and optimizing all the opportunities around them.
It is expected that beneficiaries will be given support in terms of materials and start up capital after graduating.
