POTS and PANZ

 Our Pots and Panz project is aimed at the education and training of young women in hospitality and catering.  The sole aim is to provide life oriented education with job avenues, which in turn will generate an enlightened women force full of ambitions and aspirations, righty matched to the realities of life.

In order to meet the challenge of women entering into employment opportunities or having the chance of starting their own business within the tourism sector we have identified a local need for an education centre specifically tailored to hospitality and catering.  The total cost is in the region of £500,000.  The project will take place in phases and our aims can be seen under the heading POTS and PANZ.

Our focus is on both urban and outlying areas of Cape Verde which is a small group of 10 islands off the coast of West Africa.  Throughout Cape Verde there is widespread poverty, women face massive exclusion from education and training opportunities.  Women in urban and outlying areas of Cape Verde are one of the most disadvantaged social groups in the world today, and owing to their abject poverty, they are powerless to effect change.  Unable to challenge the status quo from their position of acute vulnerability.  Women’s circumstances can only improve if their communities are in a position to support them.  And in turn urban and outlying communities can only change if women’s circumstances improve.

Educating women helps the community as a whole.  It also unlocks energies which drive social and economic development.

Cape Verde against Poverty unlocks the resources that begin the process of change.  We empower communities to solve problems-to identify their own resources, knowledge and creativity-and supplement these with finance and training.  Together we build a supportive environment in which the young woman can learn the skills they need most to earn a living and become independent.

Women in particular are the main victims of poverty; in particular women are head of households, unemployed and women with low levels of education.  The 2000 census showed 41% of family heads are women and 30% of these live below the poverty line. 

When young girls leave school they enter an adult world of massive unemployment where women have the least job prospects.  Their pathways are either to marry young or in the light of the tourism boom in Cape Verde turn to prostitution to earn a living.

In most schools, the curriculum is not designed to help women find employment or create their own livelihoods.  Additionally young women have grown up in families where the men control the finances of the household.  As a result they have no experience whatsoever of owning or managing money.

Education and training are vital routes out of poverty.  In urban areas in developing countries, access to training and education is either geared towards the male or not available.  This restricts the women from finding her own identity and gaining independence.  Training improves employment opportunities by enabling them to learn new skills and put an end to their poverty stricken lives.