Lindsay Cleary with young people in Mozambique.

Ardcroney woman brings it to africa

Ardcroney woman Lindsay Cleary is working with underprivileged youth empowerment group Young Africa in a rural part of Mozambique.
Just three years ago, the Macharote area of rural Dondo in Mozambique had no electricity lines and very little technology to speak of. Agriculture was mainly subsistence, with smallholder farmers working long hours just to grow enough rice to feed their own families.
Today, hundreds of young people from the area are not only learning about new farming technologies, but they are doing so in a modern facility with a computer lab complete with internet access and use of farming-related programmes. So what changed?
Young Africa Agri-Tech in Mozambique, part of the group of Young Africa youth training centres in southern Africa, was launched in 2012. In three short years it has changed from an overgrown 200-hectare plot to a dynamic agricultural training centre.
The centre has strong links with Ireland, and Tipperary in particular, through SERVE, a small Cork-based NGO which has worked with many volunteers and fundraisers from Tipp over the years. Agri-Tech has been hooked up with electricity, mobile phones and now a computer lab with 15 desktop computers used to train rural youth in technology for modern farming practices.
Lindsay Cleary (28) of Ardcroney is part of the project and is helping out with the support of people from the locality.
“Coming from a rural area myself, Ardcroney, I can really appreciate the difference that basic knowledge and technology can make in turning farming into a commercial enterprise to empower young people and improve their standard of living,” she said.
“I have been working in the heart of Agri-Tech through my role as Management Assistant for Young Africa International, the umbrella organisation under which the centres in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Namibia work.
“I fell in love with Mozambique back in 2010, when I first came into contact with Young Africa as a SERVE volunteer. I have been lucky enough to have been able to continue working with both organisations ever since. Working with youth is always challenging and fun, and working with young people from a rural area like Dondo even more so. I’ve had the privilege of seeing Agri-Tech grow from the ground up, and meeting countless young people as they pick up new agricultural skills and go on to improve their livelihoods.”
For the month of July, Lindsay was joined by a group of Irish volunteers, including two fellow Tipp women, Edith Carroll and Rachel Bourke (both from Bansha), whose fundraising and hard work allowed the setting up of the computer lab. Now every agriculture student at Agri-Tech will receive free basic IT training as part of their qualifications.
“This is such a huge deal for these young people, as it will allow them to combine their agricultural skills with computer skills in order to modernise their growing agri-businesses,” Lindsay said.
“Thanks to people like Edith and Rachel and their communities, new opportunities are opening up for rural Mozambicans. The training centre has been inundated with applications from young people from the surrounding area wanting to do courses since word has spread about the computer lab.
“Next year we will welcome another group of Irish volunteers. But in the meantime, the work continues and we are currently developing our IT for Agriculture curriculum to ensure we make the most of this brilliant opportunity.”
If you would like more information on the work of Young Africa, contact lindsay.cleary@youngafrica.org or visit our website www.youngafrica.org