The monastery workshop is located in Manyoni district – Singida region and offers vocational training to young people in the region. Singida is located in the centre of Tanzania between the capital Dodoma and Lake Victoria. The region is largely rural and 95% of the population are subsistence farmers who cultivate their own land. Employment in Singida generally consists of self-employment. Agriculture represents 60% of the region’s total income. Other important productive sectors are animal husbandry, mining, and trade.

The socio-economic situation in Singida is fairly positive, with most indicators better than the national average such as for infant mortality, maternal mortality and per capita health services. In terms of education, however, the region is lagging behind. It has a shortage of primary and secondary education facilities.

The economy of the Singida region is predominantly rural with more than 95% of the population engaged in subsistence farming and animal husbandry. At the same time, the region is poor in primary and secondary education, resulting in an illiteracy rate of 25.6 percent. Unemployment and illiteracy are the root causes of socio-economic problems affecting the community.

Education in any society is a fundamental prerequisite for socio-economic development. The government has launched an adult education program to reduce illiteracy, but because of limited resources, this had limited results.

There are very few vocational training institutions in the region, while there is high demand for skilled workers. Vocational skills provide access to employment and income. The project aims to ensure that young people have the opportunity to learn skills that will help them find work or become self-employed.

Precious Blood Fathers in Manyoni built a workshop in 1973, where furniture for the mission was made, and their vehicles were maintained. Gradually, trainees from the region learned the trade in this workshop and the workshop developed into a recognized training centre.

The centre’s objectives are to provide vocational training; to promote advanced technology such as solar power; enable a change of life among youth; and reduce unemployment and poverty.

In 2023 VAI (Vraag en Aanbod International) provided this training centre with the tools and machines for computer courses, tailoring, carpentry & joinery, and car mechanics. Since then, these training courses did improve substantially. The centre has 6 classrooms and 5 workshops, and 12 qualified instructors. The centre enrolled 1450 students in the past five years, more or less equally distributed over motor vehicle mechanics, electrical installations and solar energy, metalwork, tailoring, carpentry and joinery.

Vocational training is crucial in alleviating poverty as it enables young adults to find a job or start a business and become self-employed.

The monastery workshop is a recognized vocational training centre, offering a wide range of short and long courses in metalwork, car mechanics, electrical installation and solar energy, carpentry and furniture making, and tailoring.

The project aims to further improve the quality of vocational training through procurement of additional equipment and tools; to improve access to education for underprivileged students from surrounding villages by providing bicycles; and to promote self-employment and self-reliance through internship programmes and provision of starter toolkits.

Note that local transport in the surrounding villages is either unavailable or unaffordable for the poor. Provision of bicycles addresses this issue and enables daily training attendance, reducing absenteeism and dropout rates.

The 180 students from the training centre will benefit from the improved quality of the training, and the support to find work or become self-employed after the training. In addition, approximately 16 disadvantaged students from surrounding villages will have access to the training (by providing bicycles).

The training centre is subsidized by the RC Mission and the students are paying tuition fees to cover the expenses for training materials. The products made and services provided during the training courses are offered on the local market which generates revenues.

Students from very poor families have difficulties to pay their tuition fees, and the training centre is looking for ways to subsidise their training, for instance by providing bicycles for students who cannot afford transportation costs.

Total project costs are estimated at TZS 13 million. This includes procurement of equipment and tools required to improve the quality of training; procurement of bicycles to enable access to education for poor students from surrounding villages; offering internship programs to enhance readiness to enter the labour market; and provide graduates with starter toolkits so they can start their own businesses.  The training centre has funds available to finance the internship program (TZS 2 million) and requested the Van Doorn Foundation to contribute the remaining € 4500 (TZS 11 million).