We have an urgent need for skills that will support this programme that aims to give vulnerable women practical and business skills. But when we say business skills we are not talking about the ability to run a multinational – we are not just talking professional qualifications – we are looking for volunteers who can help prepare young vulnerable women for work – either in employment or running their own micro enterprise. Young women who will be so much less vulnerable if they are able to support themselves financially.

Maybe

• you are treasurer for your local charity, church, youth group or school
• you have retail or restaurant experience
• you have worked in customer service
• you have marketing skills
• you run your local food club
• you have taught basic numeracy to adults
• you have taught business at BTEC level 2 or NVQ entry level
• you run or have run a small business
• you have worked or volunteered in some capacity to build vulnerable people’s self-confidence

We have just started working with an education programme in The Gambia called No Woman Left Behind – a training programme that is aimed at building the capacity of vulnerable women through responsible tourism for migrant returnees, domestic workers and young women at risk of exploitation.

Students learn skills in cooking, pastry, food processing and small business skills together with an understanding of their human rights.

The first year has been an outstanding success – the students have learnt cooking,hygiene and patiserie skills and benefitted from the mentoring of many Gambian women involved in the hospitality industry – next year the course will develop a greater understanding of the skills needed to start a business – survive and then thrive.

The goal is to ensure that they will learn skills and resilience techniques so that they and their children will not be exploited in the future.

The course is an experiential learning – learning by doing – course – so we need lots of practical exercises and in the future ITTOG, the college running this programme, plan to support the students starting their own micro enterprises by enabling them to use college facilities and resources – there is already an equipped kitchen provided for the first phase of the project.

We are looking for volunteers to help contribute to course content and deliver some of that course content – rest assured if you feel you do not have presentation or classroom skills your help in creating course content – be it in country or through or e-volunteer programme – will be invaluable.

Whilst volunteers will not be hosted in country until late January, we desperately need people to start working with us now on the course content – and this we can and are doing through our e-volunteer programme – so you could contribute from your own home – and then maybe follow this up with a visit when you feel ready to travel!

If you’d like to learn more about this programme and how you can help, email sallie@travel-peopleandplaces.co.uk