Delta Corporation Invests in Skills to Stitch Sustainable Livelihoods
DELTA Corporation has handed over a US$10 000 tailoring project to a Child Care Centre in Harare South, targeting the training of 60 beneficiaries this year as the beverages giant pushes skills development and sustainable livelihoods.
The initiative is designed to move beneficiaries beyond classroom-based vocational training into industrial attachment, formal employment and entrepreneurship.
The programme currently has an intake of 15 students, with two graduates already securing employment, while another trainee is on attachment and one is continuing with classroom instruction.
Delta Corporation general manager for corporate affairs Patricia Murambinda said the investment was aimed at giving beneficiaries practical skills that could eventually allow them to become economically independent.
“Today, we are not simply handing over a tailoring project. We are handing over possibility the possibility to learn, to work, to earn, to create and, ultimately, to stand independently,” Murambinda said.
She said corporate social investment should increasingly focus on equipping communities with skills that enable beneficiaries to generate their own income rather than remaining dependent on assistance.
“A tailoring project sits at the meeting point of education, employment, entrepreneurship and social inclusion,” Murambinda said.
“It transforms beneficiaries from recipients of assistance into skilled creators of value.”
Participants will receive training in garment design, measurement, cutting, sewing, finishing, quality control and customer service.
The skills are expected to enable beneficiaries to produce school uniforms, clothing, protective garments and household textile products, opening opportunities for both employment and small-scale businesses.
Murambinda said the long-term success of the project would depend on its ability to translate the training and equipment into tangible economic benefits.
“The success of this project will not ultimately be measured by the handover ceremony, but by what we see six months, one year and three years from now,” she said.
“We should see more people trained, stronger technical competence, consistent product quality, growing market access and improved economic outcomes for participants.”
Delta has challenged the project administrators to build relationships with schools, companies, institutions, community groups and individual customers to create a viable market for products made by the trainees.
The company also wants the centre to maintain records of training, production, orders, revenue, operating costs, equipment maintenance and the progress of beneficiaries to ensure the project remains accountable and commercially sustainable.
Murambinda said the two beneficiaries who had already secured employment were early signs of what the initiative could achieve.
She challenged them to become ambassadors for the programme through professionalism and quality workmanship.
“The greatest return on this investment will be realised when today’s beneficiaries become tomorrow’s trainers, employers, mentors and partners,” Murambinda said.
“We encourage every beneficiary to receive this opportunity with gratitude, but not to allow it to end with them.”
Delta said the tailoring initiative forms part of its broader community investment strategy focused on developing human capabilities and creating sustainable economic opportunities.
Murambinda said the ultimate measure of the US$10 000 investment would be the livelihoods created rather than the value of equipment handed over.
“Let this project be measured not only by what has been placed in the room, but by what will come out of it: skilled hands, excellent products, confident people, sustainable livelihoods and new opportunities for others,” she said.
