YDP students gain skills, purpose, hope, and confidence

We are now in the second year of our Youth Development Programme (YDP), and it’s been amazing to see how far our students have already come.

The YDP is open to all students from our sponsorship programmes and to students from Hope Secondary after they have finished school. The programme’s aim is simple but powerful: to equip young people with practical skills, confidence, and values that will help them build a sustainable future and positively impact their communities.

Throughout the year, students take part in a wide range of learning areas, including farming and conservation, healthy living, relationships, Christian discipleship, computing, and business skills.

Alongside classroom learning, students also gain hands-on experience through work placements. These have included tailoring, farming, and working in schools, as well as short “taster” streams in welding, IT, and animal husbandry.

This variety helps students discover their strengths and explore potential career paths.

Practical skills like tailoring are opening up exciting opportunities

One of the real highlights of the YDP has been the tailoring stream, a huge success, led by Isabel from South Africa, who worked with us two days a week. Her dedication and skill have made a lasting impact.

After last year’s YDP, three students — Sauda, Juliana, and Lonjezo — were taken on as tailoring interns. Since then, they have been making school uniforms for Hope Secondary and for local primary school children.

Since Hope Secondary opened in 2021, we have provided uniforms for all Form 1 students. Initially, these uniforms were made by a tailor in Blantyre. Today, they are being made by students from Hope — students who once received those same uniforms in 2021 as Form 1 learners.

Seeing this full-circle moment has been incredibly encouraging and serves as a powerful example of empowerment in action.

Looking forward to a brighter future

This year, we want to take the next step by supporting Sauda and Juliana to establish their own tailoring business within the community. We hope they will begin finding their own local clients, while students from this year’s YDP can work alongside them as interns.

At the same time, Isabel is training Lonjezo to become the YDP tailoring trainer, helping to ensure the programme continues to grow sustainably. This year, we have eight students enrolled in the tailoring stream.

Looking ahead, we plan to expand opportunities even further by partnering with other vocational colleges. These partnerships will allow students to train in additional vocational skills and then use what they’ve learned to serve and strengthen their communities.

We are incredibly proud of our YDP students and grateful to everyone who supports this journey. What we are witnessing is more than skills training — it is young people gaining purpose, confidence, and hope for the future.

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Can you help a child in Malawi?

Thanks to the support of our partners, sponsors, fundraisers and volunteers, Hope4Malawi's Youth Development programmes, building projects, resourcing initiatives, and student sponsorships continue to provide life-changing opportunities for children in rural Blantyre.

Contact us for further information on how to get involved.