July 8, 2015
Zambia
Caritas Czech Republic has helped refugees from Angola get better jobs as well as to people from Zambian through courses in professional skills in learning centres established in the Maukwayukwa and Meheba regions. It’s because most of the locals and the biggest number of Angolan refugees lives in this part of Zambia.
Chosen graduates from the courses can get one of two types of loans provided by Caritas Czech Republic. The first is material in the form of equipment and machinery needed to start their own business. The second is a financial loan intended to cover accommodation and food during three months of an unpaid internship in an existing company, which students try to find after they finish taking the basic courses. They can start to pay back the loan after a quarterly delay. Three students talk about how the activities of Caritas Czech Republic are changing the lives of young people.
Pasiya
Mukasa Pasiya, a 23-year-old originally from Angola, was born in a refugee camp in Meheba. When Pasiya came to the office of Caritas Czech Republic for an interview, he barely spoke English and it was difficult to communicate with him. Despite the language barrier, he was still chosen by workers of Caritas Czech Republic. He comes from a very humble agricultural family and entering the educational program of Caritas could be a chance to change his life.
Mukasa confided to representatives of Caritas that his first term at the specialized school in Solwezi, where he studied cooking, was very difficult for him because he did not understand as the courses were held in English. Because of this challenge, his results were very poor. Caritas Czech Republic organizes remedial classes for students who have problems understanding English, which Pasiya also attended. “Second term was already easy because my English got better thanks to these classes,” continues Pasiya, “I most enjoyed practical cooking lessons where I learned ratatouille, chicken consommé or macaroni with cheese.”
During this interview Pasiya enthusiastically described the whole ratatouille recipe and Zuzana Filipová from Charitas Czech Republic realized that now they can speak English without problems which was impossible seven months ago.
Since the beginning of June, Pasiya has been doing his three-month internship in a hotel in Mutanda city, which is about an hour away from his home, thanks to a loan from the CCR on accommodation and food during the placement period. He is learning cooking and he hopes that he can get a job in the hotel after the internship is complete. His life is now fundamentally different from his life "before the program", when he made his living by the cultivation of agricultural crops and earned an average of 700 CZK per month. If he manages to get a job after the internship is finished, he can earn almost 2400 CZK per month (or more depending on the type of hotel). The Caritas team wishes him the best of luck and believes that he will go on with his commitment and desire to learn. His dream of opening his own restaurant in the future is now closer then Pasiya could have ever expected.
Bwembya
Bwembya, 22, has six brothers and sisters and originally comes from Zambia. “After finishing compulsory primary school I have been helping to my mother in her shop from time to time” – the family could not educate Bwembya further, because they have already been paying scholarships for two of her older brothers. “Because of this I signed up in the programme of Caritas Czech Republic,” says Bwembya, “I have a friend who works in restaurant in a supermarket in Lusaca. It was her who encouraged me to sing in the programme of Caritas Czech Republic”.
Bwembya explained that her school results from first term were not very good, especially in a subject called nutrition. “Nutrition is the same as biology and I was never good in it. I started to study together with my classmates and took extra lessons with our teacher.” They confirmed in her school, that Bwembya improved significantly during the second term.
The interview with Bwembya took place in a prestigious Crossroads hotel, where she is currently doing her internship. After finishing the internship, she plans to find a job and after receiving her first salary, repay instalment to contribute to the activities of her congregation and also her parents. She plans to get a job in a restaurant or hotel of local copper mines, where the salary is relatively high in comparison with the others in the industry – around 11 000 CZK.
She dreams about becoming a teacher. “I plan to work for about a year and earn enough money to pay the scholarship. I would like to continue in studying cooking and then to specialize to become a teacher. Afterwards I could get the employment as a teacher on the State Technical College,” Bwembya describes her plans for future.
Erick
Erick Kausenge, 21, comes from Angola as well as Pasiya. She lives in Meheba with her aunt who runs a small restaurant. Erick joined the program to deepen his knowledge. “I can cook traditional food, but I would like to learn how to bake. After finishing the course, I would like to find a job in restaurant,” said Erick during initial interview. Erick last attended school in seventh grade because his family could not afford to pay a scholarship.
In the cooking course, Erick enjoyed the practical lessons, especially on baking cakes and meat pies. Caritas Czech Republic temporarily financially supports Erick as he is currently on an internship in a hotel in Solwezi city. During the three-month internship he will try to work in all hotel departments – kitchen, restaurant, bar, cleaning of rooms, laundry and also the hotel warehouse. On the day of the interview Erick was on duty in the kitchen, where he was surprised by Zuzana Filipová during preparations of meat ragout.
“I have now finally professional skills, which enable me to find permanent employment. I worked in a shop of my relatives over a year in the past, but they didn't pay me and moreover I was too young to find another job,” said Erick at the end the interview.
Caritas Czech Republic has been establishing thanks to support of UN Office and since May 2015 also Czech Development Agency for refugees and Zambians the access to apprenticeships via sponsorship programs in the Mayukwayukwa and Meheba regions. Caritas is also supporting students in the establishment of their own businesses or in their search for internships or jobs. Students also choose within the program of improvement of general and business skills among the courses of design and tailoring, cooking, carpentry, metal and masonry.
