All programming offered at Set Her Free focuses on developing vocational skills and instilling valuable capabilities for women and young girls, preparing them to be independently successful in Uganda. Each program runs for six months and involves skilled trainers who have been certified by the Ugandan Government to teach the students. Additionally, the programs are centered around hands-on learning and are purely practical, requiring no formal previous education. Students have a primary focus such as hairdressing, makeup, tailoring, or baking but are also able to explore the various programs offered. While participating at Set Her Free, they will also evolve important life skills such as business development, marketing, administration, and customer service. The programs include learning about occupational health and safety, planning work, establishing businesses, and maintaining equipment/tools.
After six months of learning, the students must take a Directorate of Industrial Training (DIT) exam to request a certification of their newly developed skills. Students are then sent out into the community equipped with recommendation letters to find an internship that reflects their program of focus. While they are working, Set Her Free will follow up and comment on how the girls can improve their practical skills while motivating them to continue. They work for about two months before returning to Set Her Free to graduate and receive their certificate.
Read more about each individual program below.
Hairdressing: Most girls at Set Her Free take part in daily hairdressing courses to be trained in different hairstyles and hair settings. They learn a variety of styles and skills including but not limited to:
- Three-strand braids
- Kiswahili (cornrows)
- Dreadlocks
- Box braids
- Knotless braids
- Weaves
- Extensions
- Hair dye
- Retouch
- Hair treatment (shampoo/condition, oiling, steaming, etc)
Makeup: Once a week, the girls have the opportunity to join the beautician course offered at Set Her Free and learn how to do different types of makeup. They learn more about the following:
- Different skin types
- Skincare (cleanser, toner, moisturizer, etc)
- Best-suited products for different skin types
- Shaping eyebrows
- Color-matching for concealer and foundation
- Eye makeup (eyeliner, eyeshadow, mascara)
- Application of lipstick
- Waxing and tweezing
- Manicure and pedicure
Tailoring: If the girls are interested in fashion and design, they are able to join the tailoring course that takes place a few times per week. They learn basic tailoring involving the following:
- Operating a tailoring machine
- Hand stitches
- Making seams and hems
- Attaching fasteners (buttons, zippers, etc.)
- Making garments
- Body measurements
- Color themes
- Trending fashion styles and designs
Baking: Set Her Free offers bakery courses through their community partnerships, allowing girls to learn baking skills at a different organization (such as Second Chance Women’s Group). Set Her Free aims to provide this course at their site and is working on building capacity for it. Students learn the following skills during their attendance in this program:
- Cake baking
- Bread baking
- Cookie baking
- Half-cake baking
- Donut baking
- Making popular pastries
- Measuring ingredients
- Using an oven
- Following and remembering recipes
- Incorporating different flavors
Business: Once a week, the girls will participate in a business course to develop the necessary skills in order to become self-sufficient leaders. This program and its curriculum is incorporated in all of the other programs, but is also an individual focus during the week to instill the following skills:
- Planning work
- Pitching a business
- Marketing their brand
- Establishing a business
- Maintaining records
- Handling customer requests
- Maintaining customers (through customer service)
- Managing and labeling materials
- Administrative tasks
- Employing, training, and managing staff
- Sales
- Handling rejection
- Occupational health and safety
As part of their business skills development, the girls must pitch their practical business plan to the staff at SHF. After this pitch, they will receive a certificate from SHF to confirm that they have the needed skill set to face the real world.
Bag-making and soap-making are also offered at Set Her Free, but it is still in development. This initiative was created in order to give back to the community and is in partnership with other organizations in the community. It is a short-term program (about 3 days) and involves a consultant who trains students in the skills necessary to make bags and soap bars. In order to receive a proper curriculum from the government and build upon this program, SHF is working to recruit quality trainers and obtain the necessary equipment.