A student learning tailoring at the Maisha Vocational Institute
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🏷 Skills & livelihoods

Maisha Vocational Institute

An entire generation in Kagadi missed out on formal schooling. The Vocational Institute gives them a second route to a livelihood — one that doesn't require a diploma they never got the chance to earn.

Years of poverty across the Bunyoro sub-region left many young people and adults without access to school, and today that shows up as youth unemployment with few obvious paths forward. The Vocational Institute is Maisha's answer: practical, employable skills taught in a supportive, student-centred environment with pastoral care and mentoring built in, not bolted on.

Students train in building and construction, carpentry, tailoring and fashion design, cosmetology and hairdressing, and hotel and catering — alongside basic ICT and small-business skills so graduates can run their own operations, not just look for a job. The goal isn't just employment; it's building job creators, not only job seekers.

Founded on Christian values, the Institute treats trauma counselling and mentoring as part of the curriculum, not an afterthought — because a skill is only useful to someone who's also been given room to heal and grow.

Fund a place at the Institute

Your donation covers tools, materials, and instructor time.

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