YOUTH AGENCY IN MUFINDI (YAM) VULNERABLE YOUTH FORESTRY TRAINING AT PFP MAFINGA

A total of 66 vulnerable youth from YAM operational area including 26 youth with various disabilities attending training at PFP Mafinga

These youth come from 3 WARDS which are Luhunga,  Mdabulo and Ihanu from 16 Villages of Mufindi  District of Iringa Region. Youth will be trained on the following courses.

1. Nursery which includes seedlings planting and management.

2. Charcoal and briquette making.

3. Plantation management.

Just to mention few. 

When conducting the training yesterday the trainer Mr Chamba Pamba said "youth will have to use this training as a benchmark for starting small projects relating to this training for their personal benefit". 

He added that "Mufindi District have plenty of land and favourable climate which is vital for planting trees for soft woods. 

Therefore this training will help these youth to have a distinctive understanding compared to others who haven't attended the training but they need to be trainers to others left at their villages many thanks to YAM project".

That this training will help youth to venture into new personal projects relating to forestry value chain addition. Will also help them to start thier personal forestry farms as well as proper management of their tree farms.

Also will help them on plantation management and fire control process. Because youth have been trained on various local and modern ways of controlling and combating fire on their tree farms. Not only that but also will train the others on their villages about those techniques.

Among those attending the training Vaileth Chatila from Iyegeya village and Pathnessy Miho from Ludilo village they said 

"Their villages are surrounded by huge natural and artificial forests, but the challenges in their villages is planting trees in a traditional way which results into low production instead of using modern ways which results into high production. 

Therefore the training will help them to be good ambassadors to their villages about modern ways of planting trees.

About fire disasters they said that the education they have received about fore outbreak protection, control and combustion will help to reduce loses occured due to fire outbreak issues. 

They will train their fellow villagers about fire outbreak issues on how to protect and control it.

YAM Project officer Danford said that this training is part of various training which is conducted by YAM to various youth in the project implementation area mentioned above. 

This training at PFP is among the proposed training which will help youth to improve the life status. This is the second batch of youth the first batch were 50 girls who attended the training last year at PFP. The training is normally conducted for 15 days.

Youth Agency in Mufindi project is implemented by FCWCT NGO which is local NGO collaborating with DEACONESS FOUNDATION from Finland. With the funding from Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland.

The project aims to reach more that 300 youth who are from vulnerable environment and more than 80 children with various disabilities together with more than 90 youth with various disabilities.

The project has been successful due to strong cooperation from various stake holders to mention few

1. Facilitation team from Mufindi D.C. D.E.D. office.

2. University of Iringa.

3. INUKA rehabilitation center.

4. TAPCAP

5. PFP

6. VCPCs

7. Ward leaders, Village leaders.