People all around the world go to the salon to relieve stress and take care of their hands and feet. Next time you’re in Uganda, I know twenty newly-trained women ready to give you a manicure or pedicure! This year, Midwife-Led Community Transformation (MILCOT) used a SIA Grant to run a mani/pedi training workshop, providing desirable and marketable skills to young women who have dropped out of school.
MILCOT has a team of social workers, midwives, and nurses passionate about getting out of the clinics and into the community. They are working in the Wakiso District, near the capital city in Uganda, and they focus on pairing vocational skills with health information and support.
For this workshop, MILCOT hired a professional manicurist with two salons in the area to be the trainer. He shared a mix of theory and practical hands-on (no pun intended!) experience. Check out the curriculum:
Topics:
The strengths and opportunities of opening a manicure and pedicure business:
Requires little capital to start, and does not require a lot of space
Materials are cheap
It’s interesting to look at the beauty of the results of your work,
It brings daily income
The benefits of doing pedicure:
Reducing the risk of infection
Getting read of dead skin cells
Reducing stress through improving the beauty of your hands and feet
Promoting blood circulation
Description of manicure and introducing all the tools of the trade
Description of how to do a foot treatment: including foot soaking, foot scrubbing, nail clipping, foot massage, and nail polishing
Manicure class! Local leaders appreciate the training program from MILCOT which is helping to offset the negative impact of the COVID pandemic on all economic activity in Uganda, particularly in the areas that were already vulnerable.
Practical skills:
Nail cleaning
Filing/shaping
Polishing
Removing cuticles
Top Student Recognized
Namayega “Resty” Kwagala was the top student in the manicure/pedicure class, and she won a free nail treatment from the teacher. Resty is grateful for the MILCOT vocational program because it is a place where she feels seen for her potential, not just for her disability. (She doesn’t have the use of her legs.) Resty said that being recognized for her skill and good work was one of the most exciting experiences in her life!
MILCOT's program shows how SIA Grant Partners are providing encouragement and practical skills so that young women can forge a path towards financial independence and personal fulfillment.
Resty was the top student in the class!