POTENTIAL project kick-off meeting held

The POTENTIAL (Promoting Opportunities through Training, Education, Transition Investment and Livelihoods) program kick-off meeting was held at Eglantyne Jebb Guest House on May 15th, 2015. Save the Children in Ethiopia senior management team, department heads and representatives of implementing partners attended the meeting. The objective was to acquaint the Save the Children staff and partners about the program’s goals, the implementation plan, and compliance requirements. The kick-off meeting also familiarized the implementing partners with the POTENTIAL program team and with the Save the Children’s child safeguarding, partnership, finance, and awards policies and procedures.

POTENTIAL is a USAID funded program designed to reduce unemployed and underemployed youth (15-29) in rural areas and towns, attain skills, knowledge, and social capital that leads to increased income and long-term economic self-sufficiency for youth and their households. The program will directly benefit 34,537 youth in Amhara, Tigray, SNNPR, Afar, Somali, and Oromia Regional States with a total budget of US $17.5 million over five years. “‘Youth engagement, leveraging partnership, learning, gender integration and market orientation are the key guiding principles for the program,”’ said Olaf Erz, POTENTIAL Chief of Party.

In his closing statement, the Ethiopia Country Office Director, John Graham, said, “The POTENTIAL project has brought an opportunity and responsibility for us to work and impact youth and livelihood work in Ethiopia. Helping youth to understand employment possibilities is important for Ethiopia’s economic development”.