Agago Youth Gain Tailoring Skills in Access Centre Empowerment Program
A group of 45 young people, including teenage mothers and school dropouts, have graduated from a three-month tailoring and fashion design training program organized by Access Centre Uganda.
The training covered garment construction, fabric cutting, sewing machine operation, and entrepreneurship. Graduates were awarded start-up kits that included sewing machines, thread, scissors, and fabric rolls to help them launch small businesses.
Ketty Akello Diana, the Vocational Skills Officer at Access Centre, said the program is designed to break the cycle of poverty and unemployment among rural youth. “We’re not just training them, we’re mentoring them to build sustainable livelihoods,” she said.
Akello Betty, an 18-year-old single mother and one of the beneficiaries, said the training has changed her life. “Before this, I had no income. Now, I can make school uniforms and dresses for women in my village,” she said proudly.
Community leaders have praised the program for giving youth a second chance. “When young people are equipped with skills, they stop being vulnerable to early marriage, crime, and drug use,” said LIII Chairperson Joseph Komakexh of Patongo Town Council.
Access Centre Uganda plans to expand the vocational program to include shoemaking, embroidery, and catering in the next cohort, calling on development partners to support youth entrepreneurship in underserved regions like Agago