The We Will Be able to Change Our Lives project is considered one of the best projects that relied on the idea of training for employment to address many of the problems facing some villages of the Saqulta Center in Sohag, investing in community resources. These problems include the following:
- The huge amount of waste resulting from banana tree cultivation, which causes great environmental and health damage
- Poverty in Sohag in general and marginalized villages and hamlets in particular
- Wrong customs and traditions that prevent a girl from going out to work
- The high unemployment rate among girls in the targeted areas
The project relied on two main axes:
The first axis : Recycling the waste of banana trees into handmade products by Sohag girls in marginalized areas, as Sohag is one of the largest governorates in Upper Egypt for cultivation of banana trees, with more than 3,000 acres being cultivated, with waste produced from these areas amounting to about 60,000 tons together, and the farmer has no way to get rid of the waste. This waste can only be done in two ways: the first is throwing it into the Nile River, canals and drains, and the second is burning it. We were able to transform this waste into products of high quality and low price.
Second axis : Establishing a permanent workshop and small projects for trainees to produce bags for school, trips, and outdoors. Upper Egypt in general and Sohag in particular are considered fertile soil for this, knowing that Sohag comes in first place in the republic in terms of poverty, with 64 villages out of a total of 100 villages. The poorest, through this project, we worked on the economic and social empowerment of women in the Saqalta center, as customs and traditions deprived them of many of their rights legislated by religion and law.
The direct target group of the project
Women aged 19-35 years in marginalized areas in Saqalta center
The indirect target group of the project
Farm - Family - Community - Governorate General Office - Sohag Agriculture Directorate - Sohag Environmental Affairs Agency - Project Development Agency - Industries Modernization Center - Shop Owners - Customers
