SIMAID

"The Workshed" is the initiative of Russell Ricketts of RKR Engineering, Emu Plains. It provides a vocational training facility to train young men in Southern Sudan in metal fabrication and business fundamentals. It is also a source of income for the local community who own the facility.

The Workshed represents an opportunity to create sustainable small businesses in an area ravaged by more than twenty years of civil war and subsequently lacking any infrastructure. For the young men it represents an opportunity to catch up on some of the education they have missed.

Thiangrial is remote. It is located in the Upper Nile province of Southern Sudan. There is no road access. It is serviced by a small dirt airstrip. Water access is possible via the Nile but there are no landings or wharves. There is itinerant phone coverage. The nearest healthcare facility is at Melut, an hour away by boat.

The project requires volunteers who are able to coach students in a wide range of skills, including business basics. The Workshed is at a setup stage where a local manager is being trained up but he and others need more and constant training.

The hope (and plan) is that The Workshed will become the centre of a number of small businesses which each of the graduates will establish as a result of the skills they have learned via the Workshed.

The first orders for products (rakes) have been received by the Workshed - placed by the UN. That has been a source of great encouragement to the young men of Thiangrial.

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