Homeless Girls Vocational Training July 1995 - March 1996 Sibate, Colombia Funded by: MOFA Implemented by: ICA Associate Nencatacoa, ICA Japan and local people
PROJECT OVERVIEW Sibate village is an hour's drive from Bogota. A growing inflow to the metropolitan area of young people seeking jobs is now emerging as a serious problem. That the female labour force represents only 36% is another problem to be tackled. In this village, 128 girls between the ages of 6 and 14 who were street children due to child abuse, have lived in a community facility with 11 nuns. Government aid was cut-off three years ago, and they are forced to leave the facility when they complete primary school education due to the lack of funds. It is extremely difficult for these girls with few skills to make a living by themselves. This project has given the girls wide-ranging vocational skills, from ceramics to weaving and dressmaking, so that they can be self-supportive. They are now making efforts to become independant by utilizing their newly acquired skills.
?P. The young girls live in an orphanage. Previously, some of them lived in the street and some were abused by parents. Nevertheless, now they are very cheerful.
	2. The front of the house in Sibate. Until five years before, it was used to care for people who had leprosy.
	3. They dry wet clothes in the sun in the courtyard.
	4. The school has an attached church.
	5, 6. The dining room and kitchen. Places are laid for about 140 persons.
	7. 11 sisters live here and look after the girls. Now there are 128 girls from 5 to 14 years old.
	8. A typical bedroom. Now all of them are full.
	9. The vocational training courses were done in this courtyard in the weekday afternoons. They teach weaving, knitting, wool carding and spinning, sewing, and ceramics. Each session lasts 1.5 hours.
	10. Before, the girls only cleaned their rooms and washed their clothes in the afternoon, but now they have training courses, so they are spending valuable time every afternoon.
	11. Some hairdressers come from the village to cut the children's hair once each month. It's offered for gratis.
	12. They attend school grades in the mornings.
	13. The elementary education is for 5 years in Colombia.
	14. They were sorted into four groups; in each group there are 32 girls for the vocational training.
	15. Locks of wool. The girls learn the process starting from these locks of wool, to spinning yarn from the wool, and finally to weaving and knitting.
	16. These are carding machines.
	17. These are the spinning wheels. They can be used manually or run by an electric motor.
	18. These hand carding machines are used by the younger girls.
	19. This type of carding machine is used like this.
	20, 21, 22. A instructor is explaining how to use the spinning wheel. They are so young that they practice using the manual type, not the electric type.
	23, 24, 25. The girls of apple group are learning to knit a scarf out of wool.
	26, 27, 28. She is learning to knit a carpet with various colors of wool yarn. First, it is designed by the student, and written by pencil on the backing.
	29. For the training, the girls were organized into four groups. The girls of pear group are learning to crochet using yarn and needles. They are making vase mats.
	30. Sewing machines.
	31. A School Uniform. The girls cut cloth using a dress pattern and sewed it with the machine.
	32. Red clay for ceramics. The red clay is easier than the white clay.
	33. The ceramic instructor is teaching the children how to make things.
	34. It is important for children to be used to clay as through playing with clay.
	35. The girls made cups one week before and let them dry slowly.
	36. They belong to the 5th grade. They will have to leave here next year, because there is no more room or staff.
	37. The two girls standing, hope that they will use their skills which they learned here.

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