Last year in Eswatini we worked together to fund a vocational training center. That building is complete and serves the local community. Now we are designing a formal vocational training program that will launch in 2020. This program will train Swazi nationals with skills needed in the local job market.
I want to introduce you to Bongekile, a recent graduate of our Swaziland Leadership Academy. Her testimony gives a picture of the transformational experience provided in this training.
This year we want to invest in young adult leaders emerging from our Care Points. Our Swaziland Leadership Academy (SLA) spends three years equipping these leaders to pursue their dream through education or vocation. We have graduated six classes of students in the past several years, with many other students studying nursing, teaching, and starting their own businesses.
The first year of SLA is a residential experience focused on spiritual formation, servant leadership, and practical leadership skills. The cost for tuition, room, and board $3,300 per student per year.