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International

06.06.2024 | Costa Rica

Successful project completion: Help for women affected by sexualised violence

In mid-May, our cooperation partner in San José, Fundación Rahab, celebrated the successful completion of vocational training courses as part of its ‘Rehabilitation and social reintegration for women affected by sexual exploitation and violence’ programme. In a festive graduation ceremony, the successful participants in one of the cookery, tailoring, cosmetics or digital skills courses on offer received their certificates. In combination with psycho-social services, the courses are designed to help the women build a new life after their traumatising experiences. Since July 2023, the Hedwig and Robert Samuel Foundation has supported this project to improve the infrastructure, in particular the modernisation of training rooms, workshops and computer systems at Fundación Rahab, and to run the above-mentioned vocational training courses. The graduation ceremony also marked the end of the time-limited cooperation project for our foundation. We are very pleased and grateful to have supported the important work of Fundación Rahab and to have contributed to giving affected women and their children better prospects for their lives. Fundación Rahab has been actively campaigning against human trafficking and all forms of violence and exploitation of women and girls for 25 years. The project was co-financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development's (BMZ) Small Projects Fund.

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29.05.2024 | Costa Rica

A year as a volunteer in Costa Rica

For ten months Anna, a German volunteer, has been supporting the staff at our Centre for Technical Education in San José | Costa Rica. She helps with administrative tasks and also assists the teacher in English lessons, helping the students to improve their vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation. Anna describes her experiences as a volunteer at our Centre for Technical Education in Costa Rica very pleasantly: "When I make my way to classroom no. 4 for English lessons in the morning, I look into 30 familiar faces of the students who are trained in Administrative Assistance. They spend 21 hours a week in English lessons, which means I know them best of all the students. I immediately hear a cheerful "Hi Anna!" 30 times. I wave briefly and smile as I sit down in the chair next to the English teacher. Today, the students have to write and perform a role play. They push the tables together and start exchanging ideas. I sit down with one group and give them tips on how to formulate the sentences better. Behind me, I hear my name and go to another group who ask me how to pronounce "comprehensive". When the group has finished, I am asked what Germany is like and whether I like Costa Rica. In return, I learn about the students' hobbies and favourite places. The hospitality and warmth of the people were the biggest "culture shocks" - in a positive sense - when I arrived here. Both colleagues and students welcomed me immediately, wanted to find out more about my life and overlooked my Spanish language skills (which were really in need of improvement at the time). Volunteering gives me the opportunity to meet young people my age and learn more about their culture, their lives, and their language. This gives me a very special insight into the country from different perspectives. Outside of my work at the foundation, I love traveling around the country with friends and discovering the cultural differences and way of life in the different regions. With all the memories and encounters over the months of my stay, I can feel Costa Rica slowly but surely becoming a second home for me." We wish Anna many more wonderful experiences during her remaining time in Costa Rica and thank her warmly for her support!

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15.04.2024 | Nicaragua

German Embassy funds new workshop equipment

The German Embassy in Managua has made a generous donation of over 23,000 euros to our local Centre for Technical Education as part of the Federal Foreign Office's small projects fund. Thanks to this donation, we were able to purchase urgently needed technical equipment and materials to ensure the high standard of our education. Now the newly acquired refrigerators, an ice machine, a vehicle front as well as an engine and other materials offer our students specialising in Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Technology and Car Mechanics further opportunities to put their theoretical knowledge into practice. Our sincere thanks go to the German Embassy for their generosity and repeated support of our work! The Foundation's Centre for Technical Education in Nicaragua trains 125 young people every year. We offer 50 scholarships for Car Mechanics, 25 for Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Technology and 25 scholarships each for accounting and Administration with Emphasis on English.

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29.02.2024 | India

Partnership for Education

The Samuel Foundation India has shown further proof of the high-quality standards it sets for its educational programmes. As of December 2023, the Foundation is an accredited member of the renowned National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) of India which was set up by the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship in cooperation with the private sector. The initiative was founded to launch a high-quality skill development programme to fulfil the growing need for skilled manpower across all sectors also providing funding, e.g., for vocational training initiatives. NSDC collaborates with different industries to understand skill gaps and develop relevant training programs. In order to become a member, all organisations have to meet a set of high standards regarding the pedagogical aspects of their educational programmes and undergo a complex application procedure. The Foundation is now able to take advantage of the rich resources including a wide range of networking and funding opportunities, training material and expert guidance.

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09.02.2024 | India

True works of art: Designer garments in all shades of colours

The colourful results presented by our graduates in „Fashion Design and Management“ of our New Delhi Centres for Technical Education, are a real treat for the eyes: a total of 108 festive traditional attires – richly decorated and with elaborate stitchings were presented during a professional photo shoot. In weeks of work, our students designed and sewed the lehengas themselves with a great deal of imagination and brilliant craftsmanship, applying the skills they had acquired during their technical education and before leaving for their apprenticeship. We are extremely proud as their final projects turned out to be a real success! Enjoy the impressive photos of our young professionals! Every year, the Samuel Foundation trains 108 young women and men from economically weak backgrounds in „Fashion Design and Management“ at our two Delhi centres.

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01.12.2023 | India

Celebrating graduation – celebrating earth

Under this motto, the Samuel graduates at our Delhi centres celebrated the successful completion of their 15-month technical education. A total of 105 students of the batch 2022-2023 proudly received their Diplomas in “Fashion Design and Management”. During the ceremony the graduates were beaming with their beautifully designed, colourful dresses, which were also their final project dresses. The celebration’s programme was accompanied by a variety of dances and cultural acts which had been rehearsed meticulously by the students in the weeks prior to the event. What is more, our team in Delhi organised the ceremony as an eco-friendly event considering a variety of environmental aspects such as the upcycling of materials for the costumes, the use eco-friendly materials for the decoration and the graduates’ Diplomas. The Samuel Foundation is very proud of the achievements of their graduates who come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds and now – Diploma in hand and many of them already in qualified jobs – have completely new prospects for their lives. 

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06.09.2023 | Nicaragua

Environmental Awareness Shapes Personalities

The Samuel Foundation's holistic and sustainable educational concept includes a personality development module that strengthens the students' socio-cultural skills, gives them self-confidence and motivation and prepares them for the demands of today's job markets. Dealing with important social issues is also part of this area. Here, our Centre for Technical Education in Managua/Nicaragua has become active and dedicated an entire week’s activities to environmental protection. In this context, students from both years have cleared a watercourse that runs through the center's grounds of litter. They planted plants, composted organic fertilizer, took care of the green areas of the site and created murals on the theme of environmental protection. Every year, the center of the Hedwig and Robert Samuel Foundation in Managua trains 125 young people in four different commercial and industrial professions and also cooperates with different organizations in the fields of climate and environmental protection within the scope of the professional training.

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02.08.2023 | Costa Rica

Vocational training as an opportunity for victims of sexual violence

The countries of Central America are a hotspot for human trafficking for sexual exploitation. In this context, Costa Rica plays an important role as a country of origin, transit and destination for human trafficking. In addition, the country records a high number of other cases of sexualized exploitation and violence caused by poverty and lack of prospects. This is where the work of the Hedwig and Robert Samuel Foundation's new project partner comes in. Fundación Rahab has been active in the fight against human trafficking for 25 years and is committed to combating all forms of violence and exploitation of women and girls. The San José-based foundation supports trafficked women and their children, as well as at-risk youth, in holistic prevention and rehabilitation programs. It helps them to come to terms with the trauma they have suffered, strengthens their social skills, and offers educational and professional qualification measures that open up ways out of the dependencies they have developed and show them new perspectives. Specifically, the project, which started in July 2023, includes the modernisation of classrooms, workshops and computer systems at Fundación Rahab in order to improve or create new infrastructural facilities for vocational training. In addition, the women participating in the project will be qualified in a range of new courses. As part of the project, cooking, sewing and cosmetics courses will be offered, which will help the participants to build a new livelihood. The project is financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Samuel Foundation and Fundación Rahab.

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01.08.2023 | Costa Rica

Together for a clean neighbourhood

In June and July, the Samuel students of our center in San José joined an initiative as part of a safety day launched by the Police and Municipality of the Costa Rican canton of Goicoechea by cleaning up lots and collecting waste. The day had the ambitious goal of leaving their community without an ounce of litter. The Samuel scholarship holders participated in the initiative as part of their social service that is included in the curriculum of the four careers offered by the Technical Education Centre in San José. The efforts of our students were also recognised by officials. "We are proud of the commitment of these volunteers, who set an example and motivate the community to make environmental awareness a way of life," commented Roy Diaz, head of the Municipal Police. And as the photos show, the Samuel students supported the initiative with commitment and good spirits. Many thanks to all participants in this activity.

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