MasterCard, DOT Rwanda partner to empower youth

Digital Opportunity Trust (DOT) Rwanda, a local NGO partnered with MasterCard in a three-year programme aimed at equipping youths with life skills. As part of the programme, 40 young people from various parts of the country, yesterday, completed a three-week training course in ICT, leadership, management and entrepreneurship skills. Trainees are graduates from various universities who will thereafter be placed in communities to impart the acquired skills to different age groups. “The training helps us gain experience. In my case, leadership skills will guide me in applying professionalism at work,” said Marine Umukunzi, a law graduate from the National University of Rwanda (NUR). Umukunzi noted that the training addresses challenges that fresh graduates face when they get to the work field. DOT Rwanda Programme Manager, Violette Uwamutara, said the move will enable graduates build their capacity and also benefit both their communities and the country. “On May 14, we shall dispatch these trainees to the field so that they train others, as we also plan the next training of 50 more youth in September,” Uwamutara said. Another beneficiary, Kavuna Muhire, a Web Developer, said the training helped in introducing participants to new developments in ICT. “I have taken note of new techniques that I can use to improve the quality of my services,” Muhire said. Ends