Nasra*, 23, is a mother of three children, two of them are attending school. Nasra* married at a very young, and her husband provided for the family while running a small shop. Unfortunately, due to the poor economy inspired by the drought, their business closed, and Nasra and their children faced economic hardship. After a while, the mother separated from her husband, making her situation even more peculiar.  

One day, through a relative, she learnt that a local training institute was providing a skills training programme to help youth find skills that would help them find jobs. By then, she was running a small shop which sold clothes, but the shop was not generating enough income to provide for her children. 

When Nasra* went to the training institution, she was one of the lucky ones to enroll in the programme. As she was already selling clothes in her shop, she enrolled in a tailoring course, hoping that getting tailoring skills would help her grow her business and increase her income.

After nine months of tailoring training, Nasra* and 51 other women graduated from the course and were ready to use their newfound skills. The trainees learnt how to design and cut patterns, pick fabrics, sew clothing, and operate and repair sewing machines with the help of a dedicated instructor from the local Techincal and Vocational Education and Training(TVET) center in Puntland, Somalia. They also learned how to conduct business, communicate with clients, and time management for a months-long course in life skills for success.

 Nasra* began tailoring services to her customers, and she now makes about $4 from sewing clothes and repairing them.

How is Save the Children helping (or did we help) that child or family:

 Save the Children provided Nasra* with one month of life skills for success (LS4S) to make an educated decision to pursue TVET skills based on a gender labour market assessment, and a youth aspiration survey indicated marketable skills.

Besides that, Save the Children was granted a $50 monthly scholarship fee and a $22 monthly two-way transportation stipend from home to the training centre for eight months. Likewise, Save the Children equipped the training facility with the necessary equipment to enable instruction during practical sessions. 

Interviewee's story in their own words (Quotes):

"My name is Nasra*, I am 24 years old single mother with four children, and I live in Puntland. As a family, we had a lot of economic hardships. Three of my children go to school, and their father sometimes sends us money, but we usually have no support."

"I benefited from the Save the Children-supported skill training programme [which was funded by German Federal Government]. I learnt tailoring skills."

"I enrolled in the tailoring course because I used to sell clothes, and I wanted to increase my income, so I thought sewing clothes and repairing them is something that can expand my business and help me increase my income.

 " After the training, I started sewing and repairing clothes." 

"This has helped me grow my income. On average, I earn about $4 from my tailoring business a day, which is around $120 each month. That is not really a small amount of money. I hope to grow my business and build on this success."

" As part of the tailoring course, I have also received life skills training. The life skills training taught us how to run a business, respect our customers, and manage our time.

“Time management is one of the most important things I’ve learnt, and I believe it is important for growing your business and becoming a reliable business."

"I want to be a fashion designer. I love new designs because you create new something new and sell them. I want to learn more and be a designer for male and female clothes."

Project information

The Economic and Social Empowerment of Youth in Somalia Project (EASEY), is a multi-year youth project that Save the Children implements in Puntland, Banaadir region and Jubbaland state of Somalia. The  Germany Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) funded the programme, and it aims to provide 3,920 young people with technical and vocational skills to improve their income opportunities and social inclusion.