With your help over the past five years, our boys have grown into young men before our eyes. As the oldest youth continue succeeding in secondary school, we have increasingly focused on preparing them for their futures beyond formal education. We recently partnered with Karisimbi Business Partners and Asili Natural Oils to take our eldest six youth on a professional field trip. To prepare for the day, the boys spent time learning about professionalism, practicing hand shakes, and learning to introduce themselves with confidence, eye contact, and clear voices. 19-year old Paul was so excited for the field trip that he couldn’t sleep the night before. When the day of their trip finally arrived, these young men took an hour and a half to get ready! They were bursting with anticipation and excitement.
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| From left to right: Jon Porter of Karisimbi Business Partners, David, D’Amour, Paul, Baby, Jack & Pacifique |
David, D’Amour, Paul, Baby, Jack, and Pacifique visited Asili Natural Oils and spent the day job shadowing and learning about business, professionalism, and future careers offered within the field. They were inspired by a current employee who was a former street child. This man was hired after completing school, and he shared that through hard work and integrity, he was promoted multiple times and is now a supervisor. It was an incredibly eye-opening experience for our youth to see that after they complete secondary school, a future career is indeed attainable. 19-year-old Baby said of the experience, “Seeing their company gave me hope. I saw that you can start at something small but through hard work, you can develop. I can make it in life. I’m so happy for this experience.”
After the visit, the manager of Asili Natural Oils commented on how impressed he was by our boys’ focus and attentiveness. Because of how professionally our boys behaved, we are now coordinating with Asili management possible internships this coming winter.
We are so proud of our young men! Five years ago, their only dream was to survive. Today, they are not only exploring potential careers, but have developed hope, self-confidence, and a strong work ethic. May the hope that is so tangibly displayed in these young men’s futures bring you great encouragement. They could not have gotten to where they are without the HFLM community at large standing beside them. Thank you!
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