At Turi Kumwe Development Foundation (TDF), we recognize young people as central to inclusive economic growth and long-term community resilience. However, many youths within the communities we serve face persistent barriers to employment, entrepreneurship, and meaningful participation in local economies. Limited access to market-relevant skills, financial literacy, and structured pathways into work continues to constrain opportunity and reinforce cycles of poverty.
TDF’s Youth Skills Development & Employability thematic area invests in strengthening human capital by equipping young women and men with demand-driven technical, entrepreneurial, and leadership competencies aligned with local market systems. Through practical vocational training, enterprise development support, mentorship, financial literacy, and work-readiness preparation, we support youth to access sustainable employment and build viable businesses. We also develop technical capacities that contribute to community-level service provision, including skills that reinforce the sustainability of WASH infrastructure and local economic initiatives.
This thematic area is intentionally designed to complement TDF’s WASH and Sustainable Livelihoods programming. Improved health outcomes enhance youth productivity and participation, while stronger local economies create opportunities for skilled young people to engage meaningfully. By investing in youth capabilities, TDF helps ensure that community infrastructure, economic gains, and resilience strategies are sustained by a new generation of locally rooted and technically competent leaders.
Through this integrated approach, TDF contributes to expanded decent work opportunities, strengthened local service systems, inclusive economic growth, and enhanced household and community resilience. We position youth not as passive beneficiaries, but as active drivers of sustainable development.
