YONECO’s Youth
Development Programme was designed to prepare young people to ably fit as
leaders and enable them to positively contribute towards the development of
Malawi. Thus, in thois programme area, YONECO also established a Youth
Internship Programme whereby young graduates from various tertiary institutions
are recruited to gain hands-on experience.
The story of
21-year old Vita Mithi is one of positive outcomes of the youth internship
programme. Vita joined YONECO after obtaining his Bachelor’s Degree in Public
Health from Livingstonia University. Vita’s internship was for six months, a
period which he calls “a transition stage from a young graduate to an
employable and responsible youth”.
During his
tenure as an intern, Vita was imparted with knowledge on various practical
aspects of work including; facilitation skills, community mobilization, as well
as case management.
“I was motivated
by the way YONECO operates and I knew that passing through the institution will
help me in terms of gaining more knowledge and skills”, said Vita.
“This prompted me to apply for internship at
YONECO with the hope to learn what really transpires on the ground, as well as
giving out the knowledge that I had acquired from school in my field of study.”
Explains Vita.
Apart from
having a hands on experience, Vita was also given an opportunity to support
other young people and he contributed positively to the development of other
young people as well.
Mithi was also
tasked to handle computer lessons that targeted young people at YONECO’s Drop
in Centre in the district so much that over 20 young people benefited from his
services.
Soon after his
internship, Vita got employed by World Vision and below were his parting words;
‘As an intern, you get exposed to various things within the work environment -
internship is a very important journey which young graduates should go through.
I am now very confident that I will be able to perform.’
