Seeing friends travel through the backway to Europe and becoming successful motivated me to also embark on the journey because I wanted to become a responsible person in the future.” These were the words of Musa L. Jammeh one of the first graduates in Fashion designing at Ida’s Ideas Training Institute from the EU-funded Tekki Fii Project managed by GIZ. The search for better opportunities intensifies as young people feel the need to shape their own lives and become meaningful contributors in society. He decided to come back home after realising he is freer in his homeland. Musa embarked on a training program at Ida’s Ideas as a result of his passion for fashion designing and intends on becoming a fashionista in the near future. “This training has changed my life to a level that I’ve inspired others. This is an indication that I’m on the right track to becoming successful and I can be relied upon in the production of quality work in fashion designing.”
Abubacarr S. Jallow, another returnee who has benefitted from the TVET training, explains what it means to embark on the dreadful journey: “Being inspired by friends, I took the decision that I must make it in life, so I journeyed on the backway to Europe …Upon reaching Bamako Mali, news started spreading that human trafficking and enslavement had started in Libya. As soon as I heard that, I called my people and told them the exact place I was in Mali for them to help me come back home. Once the money was sent, I did not waste any time in coming back home.”
The EU- funded Tekki Fii Project implemented by GIZ targets over 5000 youths not in employment education or training, including returnees, like Musa and Abubacarr, who want to upgrade themselves in skills training or engage in a marketable business. Abubacarr explains that upon returning back home, he chose to study Satellite Installation with the help of GIZ at Chamen Technical Training Centre. This he said, was an easy choice because he had a background in the technical field since high school days. Now he is ready to utilize his skills to earn a better living. “To be frank enough, undergoing this training was the best decision I’ve ever made in my entire life. Now at least I have two confirmed skills, that is in Electricity and Satellite Installation,” he explains.
The Tekki Fii Program was conceived to provide youths with training opportunities and supporting them to become employed in various technical fields or develop their own business, so that they find the conditions to stay and make it in their homeland. Now the beneficiaries are hoping to grow and become ardent professionals in their various fields. Musa L. Jammeh concludes by saying, “We are the future leaders and if we leave the country, who are those to develop the country? So, on that note, let’s chase success here, because here we are freer.”
