Preview · sample figures & placeholder photos
Registered charity 12345 6789 RR0001 · Kamloops, British Columbia · Bweyale, Uganda
[email protected]Many participants have lived through war, displacement and loss. Counselling runs alongside every trade, so people feel steady enough to learn, work and plan again. Our volunteer experts train the teachers who teach it.
Trauma makes it hard to concentrate, to trust and to plan. Without support, many people drop out of a course even when they badly want the skill.
Counselling is the part of the programme donors most often overlook, yet it is why completion rates are high and why graduates get and keep work.
Ongoing · Weekly group sessions, with one-to-one sessions as needed
Weekly sessions with a trained counsellor on coping, stress and building community.
Private sessions for participants who need more help, and a safe place to talk.
Goal-setting, confidence, communication and managing money and conflict.
Connection to specialist health and protection services when a participant needs more than we can offer.
Pathways to income: Higher course completion, stronger family and community ties, and the confidence to start working.
Every counselling & guidance class is taught by a qualified counselling & guidance professional who is in the workshop every day, accountable for results, and committed long enough to build the course. Volunteer experts from Canada then train these instructors in new methods, so students get both.
Qualification, years of experience and a short bio, added when the instructor is confirmed
Qualification, years of experience and a short bio, added when the instructor is confirmed
Bweyale Vocational Education's instructors already know the trade. What they ask for is the chance to learn the latest methods and how to teach them well. Volunteer experts from Canada spend two weeks working beside them, in person or remotely, and follow up afterwards. The instructors then teach their students, so one visit keeps paying off for years.
Counselling & guidance is free for every student. It runs alongside every trade course and is funded by donors, so no one has to choose between support and a place in class.
Cost to studentsFree
“The first week I did not speak. By the end I was the one who made the others laugh.”
Yes. Sessions are private and voluntary, run by trained counsellors, and never shared with anyone outside the team without the participant's consent, except where someone's safety is at risk.
Because it makes every trade course work. It is the lowest-cost part of the programme and has the biggest effect on whether people finish and find work.
You can, but we usually advise against it. Shipping tools overseas often costs more than the tools themselves, and freight is slow and uncertain. Buying the same tools in Uganda costs less, supports local suppliers and arrives in days. Choose “Buy locally for me” and give the value, or contact us before you ship anything. Kamloops drop-offs are accepted for lightweight, high-value items such as laptops.
For cash gifts, yes — eligible gifts of $20 or more receive an official donation receipt. For gifts in kind, the Canada Revenue Agency requires the fair market value to be established, and some items need an independent appraisal, so we confirm eligibility before you send anything. Where we buy tools for you with your cash gift, it is simply a cash donation.
Cohort funders receive photos, handover lists and a short report after each graduation. Tools are counted at handover, with a record of who received what.
Equip the workshop, send a volunteer expert to train the teachers, or sponsor a student. Whatever you can give — money, supplies or your own skills — we put to work in the next stage.
Counselling & guidance is free for every student · 170 students have taken part since 2024 · 47 supplies still needed (about $978)
Trainees practise on real community builds. Here are the projects this program connects to.
Bricklaying and building skills for a fast-growing settlement.
Learn moreLevel 1 carpentry: woodworking skills that can start with a handful of tools.
Learn moreLevel 1 welding: metalwork skills for gates, doors, frames and repairs.
Learn moreComputer literacy for office work, administration and small business.
Learn moreGarment-making that can start with one sewing machine.
Learn moreFarming skills that turn allocated plots into food and income.
Learn more
Give money, tools or your own skills to the program that matters most to you, and follow what it achieves in our field reports.
Give money, tools or your skills. Every gift goes toward tools, teacher training and places for the people who need them most.
