On this 10th anniversary of World Youth Skills Day, help us celebrate Nadia, an incredibly talented and exceptionally enthusiastic Grade 12 student living in Villeta, Paraguay.
At just 17, Nadia is skipping lunch and racing straight from her high school classes to a sewing machine to ensure a future of her own design. Like so many of the young students across our sites, she is learning the essential skills for employment and entrepreneurship that will help her become an independent, successful adult — something that is only made possible through our generous sponsors.
Since losing their parents, Nadia and her twin sister have lived with their 81-year-old grandmother, Elpidia. Turns out, sewing runs in the family! Elpidia worked as a seamstress for many years and has been a massive source of motivation for Nadia, passing down skills that actually go back to Nadia’s great-grandmother.
On the cusp of graduating high school, where she was an all star in basic sciences, Nadia is beyond excited to have the opportunity to be part of the one-year Sewing and Dressmaking program, where her instructor, Elizabeth, says she’s an absolute stand out.
Nadia hopes to eventually open her own dressmaking business and follow in her grandmother and great-grandmother’s footsteps. For her, sewing is an art that allows her to express her creativity and honour her family roots, turning a wonderful tradition into a lifelong career.
“My grandmother is my source of inspiration, since in her youth she worked and practiced, just like her great-grandmother, the same craft I wish to continue. For me, this is like a family tradition.”
World Youth Skills Day is a reminder that skills are not just the keys to employment for youth across our many sites, but they lead to self-confidence, independence, and the power for young people like Nadia to completely rewrite their own futures.
Sadly, around 116-million young women in developing countries miss out on even finishing primary school, slamming the door on future career opportunities before they even get started. But stories like Nadia’s show what happens when we open those doors back up.
With the continued support of our amazing sponsors, we can keep helping the next generation stitch together their own success stories.