Tailoring Students Switch to Mask-making in Somalia
With generous support of the United Nations Population Fund and the Somalia Ministry of Youth, Mercy-USA for Aid and Development operate the Abdiaziz Youth Center in Mogadishu, Somalia.
Empowering Youth with Practical and Marketable Skills Training
The center offers free vocational training to young people so that they may become self-sufficient. We’re offering computer skills courses, tailoring, cosmetology classes and handicrafts that are in demand in the marketplace. Besides vocational training the Center also offers entrepreneurship classes to help students make the most of the skills they acquire during their training. These classes teach how to start and maintain a small business, identifying market trends in Somalia, record keeping and fiscal responsibility.
With the advent of COVID-19 in Somalia, 
Mercy-USA Community Health Workers shared and demonstrated the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Federal ministry of health guidelines with the youth and they have put the guidelines into practice. The youth center students took the initiative to support the community by raising awareness of how the virus is spread, proper hand washing practices, social distancing and proper usage of face masks.
The tailoring and garment making class together with their skill trainers have begun making masks for all the students in the center. The masks are free of charge for the students who will be coming to the center for classes, in order to prevent the spread of the virus and adapt to the rules of Covid-19 prevention.
The students are ramping up their skills to provide masks for sale in the marketplace to help support the center. The students are empowered by taking action to help their community stay safe by preventing the spread of the virus in their community.
