Meet Rashida: How Your Support Provided Cosmetology Training and a Career Path
Because of you, orphan girl Rashida graduated from vocational cosmetology training and is now working as an apprentice salon stylist.
Meet Rashida, a graduate of Global Village Connect’s new cosmetology vocational training program.
Rashida lost her parents when she was only eight years old. At the time, she was in primary three. Luckily, the headmaster of her school generously stepped in to help her financially so she could finish her time at primary school.
But after primary school, the challenges mounted. Rashida now lives with her grandmother, who was simply not able to pay the substantial fees required to send her to secondary school. Without options, Rashida faced a future out of school, vulnerable to the systemic cycle of early marriage and poverty.
Instead of being left behind, Rashida enrolled in Global Village Connect’s newly established cosmetology vocational program.
A new lucrative trade for young women
The vocational training program in cosmetology is an exciting new initiative for Global Village Connect. Like most places in the world, women in Uganda who have the means, even in rural villages, spend money on their hair and nails once their family’s basics, such as school fees, food, and clothing, are paid.
This makes cosmetology an exceptionally lucrative, high demand technical trade for young women, offering them a direct pathway to financial self sufficiency.
Cosmetology training gives young women a concrete chance to break free from the cycle of poverty and helps prevent early marriage by offering them independent economic agency. Global Village Connect’s first cohort of ten cosmetology students completed their intensive six month vocational training program in July 2023.
On the job and earning an income
Rashida was among those proud graduates in the inaugural cohort.
Today, she is already putting her skills to work as an apprentice at Mama Mutesi Beauty Salon in Busesa. She is earning an average of $1.67 a day as she continues to learn and master her craft on the job.
The vocational training Rashida received has done far more than equip her with technical skills; it has instilled in her a deep sense of purpose, a belief in her own potential, connection to a supportive community of women, and, most importantly, hope, something that had been sorely missing from her life since childhood.
“The training Rashida received has not only equipped her with valuable skills, but has instilled in her a sense of purpose, a belief in herself, and, most importantly, hope.”
For context, the median household income for rural Ugandans is about $54 a month. An apprentice salary of $1.67 a day (averaging over $40 a month) represents a significant economic foundation that allows young women like Rashida to stand on their own feet and plan for their futures.
