Leadership Academy.

the Leadership Academy  program provides life skills training to 240 young women per year on average and finds opportunities for them to receive training from local technical and vocational schools. YWCA Haiti’s leadership training covers topics including sexual and reproductive health, economic empowerment, the environment, human rights, self-esteem, violence against women and workplace ethics. At the end of the training, the aim is to have young women ready to enter the labor market and lead positive change in their communities.

 

To date, over 2000 young women aged 18 to 35 years old have participated in the leadership/vocational training program. After graduating from the LA program, many of them stay in touch with the YH and continue benefiting from capacity building opportunities through YH’s partnership with other women empowerment focused organizations. One of these organizations, Haiti Goes Global, trains hundreds of young women every year in new communication technologies to reduce the gender gap in this field and allow women to be more competitive in the labor market. Others stay attached to the YH and become volunteers. Over the past 10 years, a dozen LA graduates have matured to become YH employees, working at the Youth Center as mentors and giving back to younger generations.