The future of the Yetebon region depends on extending our educational assistance to both adults and young people.  Lacking educational opportunities, most of the adult population is trapped in an agrarian world, relying on subsistence farming for survival. Without jobs or skills to generate income, many people have migrated from the rural farming communities to the cities in search.  Unfortunately, many of these people fail to find work and are forced to exist on the streets. 

We constructed the adult Skills Training Center to give individuals the opportunity to learn new trades in order to generate income.  The training programs help to prepare the young adults to become employable and self-reliant.  We believe this will result in better care for their families, as well as pass their skills on to enrich their families for generations to come. 

In addition to learning valuable trades, every individual enrolled in our Skills Enhancement Program must learn basic reading skills and arithmetic.  We hope that this knowledge will enable men and women to survive and thrive in the business world. 

Spinning Cotton

Women's Program 

Many of the women in Yetebon are the sole provider for their children.  Our training programs are teaching some of the women to have marketable skills that will enable them to generate an income.  Currently, we are training over 60 women at our Skills Training Center.  They are learning the following skills:

•  Basket weaving 
•  Cotton Spinning
•  Embroidery
•  Jewelry Making 

Rather than purchasing dyed thread for embroidery, the women spin and dye it themselves.  The thread is later used to embroider table linens.  If you are interested in purchasing the embroidery products, please contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  

Embroidering a table linen

Baskets made in the Skills Enhancement Program

Jewelry Making – The Hope Bracelet Project

With the help of bead makers from the United States, women and students in Yetebon have learned the beautiful art of bracelet-making.  Recently, they have also learned how to make their own glass beads! The bracelets they design are sold in the United States.  There is a limited supply of the Hope Bracelets,

Hope Bracelets

We thank our partners here in the United States for their continuous support.  Not only have many bead makers donated beads throughout the years, but also bead maker, Cindy Brown; jewelry designer Devon Billings; and friend, Tammy Cunningham, have traveled to Yetebon to instruct the women in jewelry design.  Their expertise provided phenomenal instruction with beautiful results!

Cindy Brown teaching bead making

To visit Cindy Brown’s website and find out how you can purchase the bracelets, please go to http://www.cindybeads.com/projectmercy.htm   

Men's Program

Learning Modular Furniture Making

Professionals in various construction trades have trained the men of the community in our Skills Enhancement Program.  These men have learned important skills such as masonry, construction material fabrication, carpentry, and metal working.  Rather than hiring outside professionals to construct many of the Yetebon Compound buildings, we have employed our newly trained men to do the construction.  In fact, nearly 80 percent of the construction in Yetebon has been done by community men who have learned these valuable skills!

Making Cinder Blocks