Vocational Skills Training
VOCATIONAL SKILLS TRAINING PROGRAMS PROVIDE HOPE AND PURPOSE
There’s no age limit for dreaming about the future. We work with adults to help them to develop the skills to achieve their dreams. We offer vocational training to help people earn income to provide for their families.
Golden Hands teaches advanced sewing skills, business acumen and values formation to women from informal settlements in Metro Manila. The goal is to foster self-esteem, long-term sustainability, and stronger families.
Program director Anne Benavidez developed the community-based curriculum for the trainees. They meet weekly and work hard for eight months, while also learning relationship- and team-building skills.
During the graduation ceremony, each woman wears a garment they made and is publicly celebrated. Each graduate also receives a new sewing machine and a starter kit so they can begin earning income. Nearly 100 women have graduated the training so far, and several women now serve as Golden Hands leaders.
Read stories about Golden Hands.
In 1997, ER founders began working with 300-plus people who gleaned their living by collecting recyclables from the trash in the Quito Dump. They survived on what they found to use, eat and sell. The site is now a transfer station where garbage is sorted by workers who are part of the Quito Recycling Community.
Though the dump has changed over the years, the people and their needs have not. Our Quito Women’s Program serves 60+ women through two weekly gatherings that provide exercise, nutrition, skills training and business support.
Pastor Jose and Teresa Jimenez have ministered to these women for 20+ years, providing counseling, home visits, care packages and spiritual instruction. The women have grown tremendously in their faith and now help lead their families out of poverty.
Read stories about the Quito Women’s Program.
ER and Grace Church of Glendora (Calif.) operate a community development program that helps women and families extricate themselves from economic hardship, low education and a lack of opportunity. Pathway For Hope transforms lives by providing holistic empowerment opportunities for the Taytay community in Metro Manila.
Hundreds of women have been trained in advanced sewing, massage and business basics. We also work closely with TESDA – a Filipino agency that provides technical education and certification. A TESDA certificate is a huge plus in gaining employment.
In addition, Pathway organized Unity Savings Group, a savings and credit cooperative with more than 100 participants. This cooperative helps women buy products in bulk, take out loans, get interest on their savings, and even start their own small businesses.
Read stories about Pathway For Hope.