Established: 2019
Number of students: 24
Number of teachers: 3
Area: Nagrakata
In May 2019, we finished building our new Grace Vocational Training Centre in Nagrakata. The school will provide services to some of the most vulnerable girls from poor areas. Here, 30 girls will be able to live and receive a one-year vocational education.
In July 2019, 24 girls moved into the school, and began their vocational training in sewing and hairdressing/beauty care. They also receive instruction in English, economics and business studies. 2-3 months of practice at relevant companies/salons is also included in the training. Education will help prevent girls ending up in trafficking, which is a major challenge here. Pimps pretend to be job consultants who want to give the girls a secure job in another city, and the families send several of their girls away in “good faith”. When they leave, all traces of them disappear, and the families never see their children again. In the vocational school project, the families are also followed up through a food programme.
On the top floor of the school building, we have furnished a production room. Here we want to employ some of the girls who have completed their education at the sewing line. The aim is to be able to offer jobs to some of the girls, and that we can produce our own school uniforms, which will save us large expenses. At the end of school, we want to help them get a job, or start their own business.
Grace Vocational Training Centre provides a comprehensive support system for its students by offering free accommodation and food facilities. This initiative is aimed at ensuring that students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds can focus on their vocational training without worrying about basic necessities.