Young entrepreneur tailor made for sewing business success
After leaving school without qualifications, Coumba was struggling to make ends meet. Following skills training from Plan International, she now has her own business and is providing a better future for her family.
Coumba using her sewing machine.
Mali’s population is one of the youngest in the world, which presents both enormous potential as well as many challenges. Fewer jobs are created in the economy than are needed to keep pace with the growing population, leading to high levels of youth unemployment. Young people are also unable to access relevant skills training needed to secure decent work.
Every year, thousands of Malian youth are prompted to leave their homeland and migrate to other countries in search of new opportunities, often putting themselves at risk of dangers including exploitation, homelessness and abuse.
Job opportunities for youth
To address this issue, Plan International is working in the regions of Bamako and Kayes to provide skills training to young people so they are able to earn an income without leaving their homes. The Bright Future (Avenir Brillant) project offers training courses in a range of areas including sewing, carpentry, auto mechanics and soap making.
After failing her school exams 3 times, 20-year-old Coumba dropped out of school without any qualifications. Living at home with her mother and 5 younger siblings, things were not easy so when the opportunity arose to join a sewing training programme through the project, she was keen to take part.
“We were the first group of trainees, there were 12 of us aged from 16 to 24. The training took a year and a half, and we learnt pattern cutting, sewing and embroidery,” Coumba explains. “After the training, we received a startup kit of a sewing machine, table, ribbons, needles and material.”
I want to become more competent in cutting skills and hope to fully master the sewing of women’s clothing.
Coumba
With these resources, Coumba was able to set up her own sewing and tailoring business and now sews items to order. “I use the WhatsApp network to share my work and my friends also do the same. That’s how I make myself known. When I invest 17,000 CFA (€25) to purchase material to make sheets, I can make a profit of 20,000 CFA (€30) after resale. I also do a lot of children’s sewing.”
Coumba’s mother Sitan says she has noticed a change in her daughter since she started sewing. “Joining the programme was a great way for her to learn a skill. I did not expect her to have all that support. She is now the one who takes care of almost everything today. She looks after me and her siblings. I don’t have to worry anymore.”
Income supports family
Sitan tells us that thanks to Coumba’s income, the family are no longer struggling to survive. “There is a big difference between our condition before and today. Having an activity that generates an income has been a huge help to us. When she sells the sheets she makes, the profits help take care of the needs of her brothers and sister. I really thank the project for its support.”
Coumba now wants to share her knowledge with other girls and young women living in vulnerable situations. She currently has a 16-year-old apprentice Batoma who she is passing her skills on to.
“I saw Coumba doing sewing and embroidery and I asked her if I could come and help and also learn. This means I don’t have to stay at home all day doing nothing. I love embroidery, it’s like a hobby for me. I enjoy making small things and giving them as gifts to my loved ones. Coumba teaches me many new things,” Batoma tells us.
“In the past, I watched my mother doing embroidery. When my father passed away I came here to Kayes to live with my aunt. I haven’t been in school for 2 years but my aunt has promised to re-enrol me next year. I want to go back to school because I would like to be a soldier or a firefighter,” shares Batoma.
Thanks to the Bright Future project, 12 girls from Kayes are currently in apprenticeships or have completed apprenticeships, including Coumba who says she is very determined and wants to continue honing her skills.
“I want to continue my apprenticeship with a master craftsman because during the training there were not enough sewing machines for everyone. I want to become more competent in cutting skills and hope to fully master the sewing of women’s clothing.”
Bright future project
Funded by the Italian Ministry of the Interior in collaboration with Plan International and Action Aid International, the Bright Future (Avenir Brillant) project was launched in October 2020 and is being implemented in the regions of Bamako and Kayes by ENDA (Environment and Development) Mali and AME (Malian Association of the Expelled).
The project offers young people with an alternative to irregular migration through social and economic opportunities, as well as strengthening protection mechanisms for child and youth migrants, those in transit or those who have recently returned home.
Skills and work, Livelihoods, Vocational training
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Young entrepreneur tailor made for sewing business success
27 March 2023Skills and work, Livelihoods, Vocational training
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