VOCATIONAL SCHOOL

It is the aim of Vocational Schools to provide further education for young people so that they can qualify themselves to take an active part in the development of their country and secure a good life for themselves. We offer young people vocational training within trades like:

· Construction
· Agriculture
· Business Administration
· Carpentry

Additionally, the students are offered general education where they can qualify themselves within subjects that will broaden their general knowledge and develop their personal and social skills. An important aspect of this is the training in community development that is an integrated part of the whole programme of the school. By participation in a one year program, the students acquire a high level of working morals, they develop a deep sense of responsibilities to duties, and they increase their understanding of other cultures and of the other gender -all in all learn to practice modern ways of thinking.

Vocational School

Landana

(Mozambique)

ABOUT LANDANA

Landana is a village located about 46 km outside from the provincial Capital Cabinda. Landana has 12000 inhabitants. The major part of the population are farmers or fishermen. The School is situated a view over the Atlantic surrounding by 5 ha fertile land.

In Landana Humana has 3 projects:
· The Teacher Training Colleges, with 120 Students. 
· Child Aid, with 2300 families in the program.
· Vocational School, a boarding school for 60 students.

BACKGROUND

There is a big need for educating young people who are ready and able to take an active part in the development. Young people who are prepared for a modern world and it's rapid development. Young people who can:

· Take a 100% responsibility.
· Take charge of their own life. 
· Lead and organize other people.
· Think and act fast.
· Work in a team and at the same time, take individual responsibility.

THE OBJECTIVES OF THE SCHOOL

The objectives of The Vocational School in Landana are to train, teach and educate young people in skills which qualify them for work within construction, business and production. The students will pass grade 7 and 8 with a professional basic training in one of the following courses:
· Agriculture
· Entrepreneurship and Administration
· Construction
· Electronics
During the course the students learn a professional skill which qualify them for employment in commercial business, construction or electronics companies or make them able to establish and operate their own business or agricultural production. During the course the students acquire vital general abilities such as: to take responsible, to be productive, to have a broader view of the modern world. They also learn how to improve their life, how to keep healthy habits and how to make it better for others. The Vocational School is a boarding school. The program lasts for one year. The employees at the school are:
· 1 headmaster 
· 1 sub director 
· 4 teachers in the vocational program 
· 4 teachers in the academic programme & collaborators 
· 2 cooks 
· 6 guards

Vocational School

Mikolongwe

(Malawi)

WELCOME TO MIKOLONGWE VOCATIONAL SCHOOL

It is my turn now to inform you about the conditions in the school and the surrounding area. But first let me introduce myself. My name is Jonas Jacobsen and I was a Development Instructor at D.A.P.P/ M.V.S. I was working with several things here in the school but my first priority was to assist the project manager and to work with partnership and administration. I choose to work with things that interested me and that had to be done. You will find a lot of things to do here at the school and I mean a lot, the only thing that actually can stop you from doing development work is your mind and creativity.

There is right now four classes at the school and we have smaller course for the community which is sponsored by TEVET "technical vocational and entrepreneur training” and they are running a program here called SDI (skills development initiative) for the community to gain knowledge and certificates in their profession that they have learned from their fathers or mothers. So the school is highly involved with the community as DAPP has a preschool inside the school boundary and that the school is situated in the rural area of chiradzulu district in a village called Mataka its about 20 minutes walk to the main road and from there you have to take minibus or pickup truck to Blantyre which is 25 km away.

You will find the Mikolongwe Vocational School at brand new condition as we just finished 4 new class rooms and maintenance is in progress, so if you like constructing there is always a place for interested persons to join in, in the further development of the project. There is about 70 students and 20 staff here at the school who are counting in the help from future DI's to continue the development work that has been initiated by DAPP in Malawi. And to help empowering the community and to help the needy people to sustain the good education they receive in our school.

One of the biggest problems we are facing now is economic as this is a long-term project that should sustain itself with it’s own money and not rely on donor money from DAPP or other donors. So now we are looking into the future to see how we can generate this money from the school by either selling furniture or making bread and maybe other dairy products to secure the economy. by telling you this doesn’t mean that there is no money but only that we are trying to secure more money for our future expansion of the school to become a polytechnic school. As we expire to become a bigger institution with a broader selection of courses because the demand in Malawi is high for both traditional crafts aswell as new technical education as motor mechanics.
You are most welcome to help us reach this goal, as a DI in Mikolongwe you can expect to reach your own goal and to develop the school and its community around it.

Jonas Jacobsen