MUVA programme is supporting the economic empowerment of adolescent girls and young women in several urban centres across Mozambique. Its aim is to increase the capacity of disadvantaged young women to participate in the economy, facilitating opportunities for decent work and increasing its uptake.
On the occasion of the International Women’s Day, the MUVA programme is hosting a photo exhibition called ‘Quando eu quero, eu consigo’ (‘When I want it, I can do it’) – hoping to illustrate that personal motivation is important to achieve set goals. The exhibition will display photos from three different MUVA programmes, showing young women and men experiencing their first formal job placements.
The selection below presents some of the photo highlights and provides more information about the programmes themselves.
MUVA Assistentes: improving quality of education
Young people, especially young women, face challenges in finding decent work opportunities. One of the MUVA programmes is helping to create job opportunities for them in delivering public services. Quality of education in Mozambique, especially in state primary schools, is often impacted by high number of students. Classrooms are overcrowded, and teachers struggle to carry out lessons, while students can easily fall behind without additional help.
MUVA Assistentes tries to bridge this gap, by providing training for young women, who have completed secondary school, to become class assistants and gain first-hand experience working in the education sector.
The system works across the board to help teachers, who get support in leading the class and correcting homework, children, who benefit from more attention and help, and the assistants themselves, who receive training and first professional job experience with a monthly stipend.
MUVA Green: revitalising public spaces
This programme provides training to vulnerable young people in gardening and construction. Boys and girls, including those with special needs, gain access to the job market while helping to create or recover damaged green spaces in the Maputo bairros (slums). Once the spaces have been revitalised, they are opened to the communities to use, including parks, gardens, and playgrounds for children.
MUVA +: boosting financial literacy
Most young Mozambicans who are employed are working in the informal job market. At the bottom of this chain are fruit and vegetable market sellers, who often are not equipped with the necessary skills to successfully run a stall. Through the MUVA + programme, young people are receiving basic training in financial literacy, providing them with the information and tools for better money management, as well as tips to improve their business.
