Bilingual Apprenticeship
with Perspectives
for Young People in Togo
Thanks to sponsorship from help alliance
from dream to reality
Our new big project is a lot
started successfully. Since September 2018
55 apprentices are now active in their training centers. In the meantime two have unfortunately dropped out, three failed their degrees, but 14 trainees successfully completed their training!
They are spread across the country from south to north. They started their training in Anehó, Lomé, Kpalimé, Atakpamé, Kara and Dapaong.
During our visits after the first few weeks and months, we met highly motivated trainees, regardless of whether they were in private schools in the hotel industry, in public technical training centers or private small companies such as hairdressing or tailoring shops.
"We want to be the best here", two trainees we visited in Aného assured us with beaming eyes in German.
In the meantime, the solidarity between them has grown and they support each other. The project also includes regular meetings to enable mutual exchange, which the trainees organize themselves with the help of their supervisors in their respective cities. Playing dodgeball together, giving small presentations, exchanging ideas about the current status of training, developing initial start-up ideas and, last but not least, talking to each other and club members are all on the program. In 2020 some things had to be dormant due to Covid-19, but some things can now be reactivated in 2021.
For the trainees in Lomé and Aného, there are two hours of free German lessons every Saturday in the club office, another part of our project.
That's how we did it
We supported some of our trainees with school fees when they were still at school because they came from poor backgrounds. When they found out that their journey did not end after graduating from high school, but that they would get their chance through an apprenticeship, we saw smiling faces!
The trainees were asked to express their training requirements, to look for suitable training centers and to apply. They received support from their former German teachers or from other coordinators of our association.
Together with them, our chairman Blaise-Pascal d'Almeida concluded the contracts and agreements with our association on site from autumn 2018.
During the entire training period and beyond, all trainees have close support from our association.
In particular, our chairman is regularly on site and otherwise maintains close contact with all supervisors and trainees via messengers.
And after their training, our association supports their start-up ideas.