Rationale from LCDI proposal documentation

The combination of a lack of role models and a perceived lack of employment opportunities tends to devalue education in the eyes of many poor families. This is particularly the case with regard to daughters, who may be seen to have even fewer employment options than sons do, and to be likely to marry early thereby “wasting” resources devoted to their education. Low levels of self-esteem and self-confidence, which detract from the benefits of education through reducing the ability to participate in learning activities, concentrate on schoolwork, and remember lessons. Where parents do send children to school, the costs of keeping them enrolled (not only fees, and books but also the loss of the student’s earning potential) can be a major challenge. Children from poor families who do finish school often find it difficult to find jobs because their lack of self-esteem and confidence mean that they do not perform well in interviews. The low levels of self-discipline, sound ethical values, and inter-personal skills often mean that poor youth are not able to keep jobs, or to gain promotions. Students from poor families, and particularly school dropouts, lack appropriate networks that could assist them in finding work or in moving on to better jobs. Even where youths from poor backgrounds are able to gain technical skills (e.g. through NGOs offering training in fields such as motor mechanics, hairdressing, computing) they generally lack the confidence, self-discipline and business skills to run their own businesses. To fill the gap for these problems, L-CDI offers the following education program with the combination of soft skills, hard skills, and social consciousness.