Bureau of Obligate and Accompainer for Rural Development (BOARD)
Livelihood Skill Project for school drop out youths
Aim: To provide vocational training to 120 young men and women in livelihood skills.
Background: The project takes place in Daniawan block in Patna district, Bihar. This area presents diverse economic and educational problems - male literacy is 53.21% and female literacy is 35.30%. The main source of livelihood of the area is agriculture but it is not profitable due to small land holdings and poor agriculture facilities. People often migrate to cities in search of livelihood, where they often work as low paid temporary workers. Unemployment is the main problem of the area and among school dropout youths, it is particularly on the rise.
However, there is tremendous scope of finding employment/self-employment in skill-based occupations in the area because of the positive change in government’s policies and programmes towards youths, availability of markets and urbanization trends. This project will therefore provide skills towards employment/self-employment for young people and will also give them social recognition.
The programme: BOARD is providing vocational training for school drop out youths (14-19 yr olds, 40 girls, 80 boys) in embroidery, motor winding and diesel engine maintenance. The project will provide employment opportunities for these young people by helping them develop their skills. This will certainly have an impact on their livelihoods, their families and the community as well.
Outcome: 120 dropout youths will directly benefit from this project They will be trained in key local skills: embroidery, motor winding, and diesel engine maintenance.
Partners: BOARD was formed in 1995 by local social activists. Its mission is to promote people-centred development with focus on women, adolescents, children and other needy sections of society to enable them to be well-informed and active citizens participating fully for their socio-economic and political growth. They have experience in a wide range of activities including vocational training, strengthening of local self-governance, formation & nurturing of Self-Help Groups (SHGs), reproductive health & HIV/AIDS awareness program and dairy & vegetable cultivation.
Evaluation: Periodic evaluation reports have been submitted to Tzedek, including a Baseline study and two six month reports. The project was visited in 2010 by our intern team.
Progress: The project has been running for one year and so far 40 young men and 21 women have completed their training in two batches. 18 of the first batch of 30 trainees are already employed /self-employed. BOARD is starting now with a third batch of trainees and plans to support the trainees from first and second batch to obtain suitable jobs.
Required Funding: £ 5.446 granted over two years.
If you would like more information about BOARD or make a donation towards this project or another similar project please click here or call 020 7443 5121.
