Literacy Training to Transform Lives

I cannot thank you enough for sponsoring literacy training for our business owners! By doing this you are not only encouraging them to expand their horizons you are also expanding the markets that they are working in and the lives they are improving. 

One prime example is Hamza whose business as a business owner can now communicate with their US high school business partners on a regular basis and in-turn learn new welding techniques that they will use to transform homes and businesses within his community. 

Below is the story of Hamza whose business you transformed. Once again thank you for making all of this possible! 

Hamza Welders

Business Type: Welding
Business Owner: Hamza
Location: Wunti market, Bauchi state
Business Production Capacity: Around twelve (12) projects in a month, including (but not limited to) production of kiosks, doors, windows and gates
Number of People Employed: 6
People Directly Benefitting from the Business: 22
Employees’ Children who are attending school: 16

The Hamza Welders Story

Hamza, the son of a local farmer, was born in 1985 at Kofar Fada, but then later settled at Yelwa Markaranta of Bauchi. His father could not afford to send him or his thirteen siblings to school. Therefore, he spent most of his time helping his father on the farm during the rainy season.

Hamza Welders was established in July of 2009 after Hamza become part of Leadership Initiatives’ Business Creation Program. During the course Hamza learned how to own and operate a business, and once he received funding for his business idea, Leadership Initiatives provided skills training for Hamza and his employees.

During their skills training sessions, Hamza and his team completed community welding projects to showcase what his business could do, creating demand before it even opened. By August of 2009 Hamza’s welding business was in high demand within the Yelwa Markaranta community. LI’s intervention greatly transformed his life, as well as that of his family. Due to his training in welding, he now earns about N300 – N400 daily, giving him the ability to financially support himself and his family.

This is especially important when a family member is ill or has a special need. He has even been able to help send four of his siblings to school. In addition, Hamza continues to further his own education by enrolling in adult classes that he did not have access to prior to his affiliation with Leadership Initiatives.

Hamza has realized that he has three key problems to creating a fully successful welding business; continually learn new welding techniques so he can stay a leader in his business, create new ways to advertise his business to his local community to continually gain new costumers and create a stronger financial management system so he can keep his inventory stocked and his prices as competitive as possible.

This is when the Hamza and his Welding shop turned to us, the Minot International Business Alliance Program to help them create a successful business.

This partnership has been made possible through you and owe much of their success to your support. 

Once again Leadership Initiatives and everyone within our family and community would like to thank you for your support and would love have you involved with Leadership Initiatives if you ever want to help grow our programs, learn of ways you can participate or have new ideas on how to develop our programs please contact me at mbailly@lichange.org. Your hard work and intelligence is the greatest gift we could receive as we try and create a better world. 

Wishing you a wonderful Spring,

Marshall and the entire Leadership Initiatives Family

_____________________________
Marshall Bailly II
Executive Director
Leadership Initiatives
4410 Massachusetts Ave., NW #236
Washington, DC  20016
(p) 202-465-4796  (f) 202-280-1221
www.LIchange.org