In the first week of December a delegation of BEZA went to Lalibela to give a “training for trainers”. A group of 12 people from the target group of the Lalibela Foundation and BEZA was trained in making candles from beeswax. In the North of Ethiopia beekeeping is very common, hence the raw materials are locally available. The candles will be sold to tourists in Lalibela.
The objective is for these people to train other people from the target group.
A small group will also be taught English and an basic bookkeeping course will be given to keep track of income and expenses. After all, the ultimate goal is that these people will generate a small income from this activity independently.
In recent times we have worked hard on the design of the production location.
Currently, a mini shop is being set up at a suitable tourist location to sell the candles. The first candles have already been sold last week and the group is now working hard to build up a small stock.
The photos show how the pupils, who are mainly suffering from HIV, are working hard to master the professional production of the candles. At the end of a week of training, a certificate was awarded to each student during a beautiful official ceremony for following and completing this training. We are extremely proud of what has been achieved here since our visit in December 2017, and mainly under the guidance of local people.
