Working Sistas

It’s nice to catch up with our Sistas Savve graduates, so last week, Hannah met up with three women from the Mbkonavera class to hear about what they’ve been doing since they graduated in June. Christally (22), Andrea (25), and Veronica (29) have all received internships at the Solomon Islands Kitano Mendana hotel, through a program called “Youth at Work”, which is run by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC). 

Christally has a full-time house-keeping position, which involves doing all the cleaning and laundry for guests. She says she would love to use her time at the Mendana to learn about starting a small business, which would build on what she has already learnt at Sistas Savve. Andrea works at one of the in-house restaurant as a waitress, and she has decided to pursue a career in hospitality and tourism after discovering her new skill for working with guests.  Veronica works in the store room, issuing food to the chefs and placing orders with suppliers. All three women would love to be offered a permanent position at the end of the internship program, to ensure the steady income that they need to realise their goals and better support their families.

The jobs are the first formal employment for Christally and Andrea, who stayed at home raising their children before joining Sistas Savve. They are all very proud of their achievements, and report that they’ve learned lots of new things since starting their respective jobs. They credit Sistas Savve with teaching them how to write CVs and for offering assistance with the application process. 

We are looking forward to catching up with these three girls next year to hear about how they are reaching their goals! 

From left: Veronica, Christally and Andrea at their new jobs