Solwezi in northwestern Zambia, is a fast-growing city due to the development of the mining industry. The largest copper mine in Africa, the Kansanshi mine, is located about 10 km north of the city. Persons with disabilities do not benefit from the growing economy and increasing business opportunities. The Zambian Employment Act defines persons with disability as persons who have a long-term physical, mental, sensory, psychiatric or learning impairment who consider themselves to be disadvantaged in employment by the reasons of impairment.  People with disabilities face stigma, which is further compounded by economic dependency, leading to social exclusion. Persons with disabilities and vulnerabilities have little access to special education and hence lack the knowledge and skills necessary to enter the labour market. Therefore, the Solwezi Disabled Care Organisation enables youths with disabilities and vulnerabilities to access knowledge, skills and capabilities to enhance their employability and become self-reliant.

Solwezi resembles a large, bustling slum that is making economic progress in a flurry of chaotic, almost undisciplined growth. The economic impact of the Kansanshi mine is multiplied several times over as new businesses, new jobs and new disposable income are created in sectors that may not even be directly related to the mines’ operations. However, in order for the local population to benefit from the current economic development, there is an urgent need for young people to acquire skills for jobs that are in high demand. The project is designed to improve and expand the vocational training services for youths with disabilities and vulnerabilities and increase enrolment levels, mainly by procurement of training equipment and tools. Currently, the student-machine ratio is much too high. For instance, the tailoring class, the student-machine ratio is 5:1. The project will address this problem.

The Disabled Care Organisation was established in 2001 with as main objective to promote self-reliance for persons with disabilities and vulnerabilities through empowering them with the necessary knowledge, skills, equipment, school supplements and seed necessities. Activities include social services such as vocational training and medical rehabilitation and surgical intervention for persons living with disabilities and for the most vulnerable citizens in our communities to improve their socio-economic living standard.

The Disabled Care Organisation offers currently only training in tailoring, knitting and carpentry, the training kits of which need to be renewed to improve the standard of the training offered. In addition, the Disabled Care Organisation helps disabled and vulnerable people to make requests for tailoring, carpentry and agricultural tools from Betuwe Worldwide to improve their livelihoods.

The project will deliver training programs suitable to prepare persons with disabilities and vulnerabilities to become invaluable persons with learned capabilities as a way to reduce poverty levels of households and the community at large. Moreover, the project will promote social change to the targeted participants in the sense that they will become self-reliant and respected people in their families and the community as a whole. More specifically the project will provide vocational training in tailoring, carpentry and joinery, and welding and metal fabrication to 45 trainees per period of six months, thus 90 per year (more or less in an equal number of males and females).

Objective of the implementing organisation in this project is to fundamentally promote training programs, made suitable for a person with disability and vulnerability that allows them to become invaluable persons with learned capabilities, responsible for application of practical action for sustainable livelihood and development and to reduce poverty levels in households and the community at large. The higher- level overall objective of the project is to reduce poverty. The approach practically aims to teach disabled and vulnerable youths to fish and feed themselves for life long. The approach is therefore to prepare young people with disabilities and vulnerabilities for sustainable self-reliance.

The local government provided the land for the training centre, provided advice on the construction of the training centre’s infrastructure and the Lilian Foundation of Netherlands made twice a grant of €700 for the construction of a skills training Centre for people with disabilities and vulnerable. The community made some of the training equipment available and provides transport for the training material (e.g. timber). Betuwe Wereldwijd may donate part of the equipment and tools needed. Additional equipment and tools required to make this project happen are estimated to cost € 3,500.