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Partner Story
Generosa's own workshop
Generosa da Conceição | Mozambique
Generosa da Conceição needed to earn enough to look after her family. She had no trade, no steady job and no money behind her, so there wasn't much she could do.
She started buying onions and garlic and reselling them on the street. It was honest work, but the street market was unpredictable and full of people doing the same thing. Without money to grow or anyone to guide her, she couldn't make it add up.
“It doesn't matter your age, and it doesn't matter how much time has passed. I am the example of this. Have courage, because forward is the path.”Generosa da Conceição
Learning a new skill
Generosa received a SERVE scholarship to study Cutting and Sewing at Young Africa.
It gave her a way in, but the course was hard. Drafting patterns and working the machines threw her at first. There were points where she wasn't sure she'd finish. She stuck with it.
She graduated in 2024. By 2025 she was turning what she'd learned into a business of her own.
Building a livelihood
From training to a business of her own
Generosa now works from a sewing workshop at home, making school uniforms and made-to-order clothes for people around her.
The room is full of fabric, machines and orders waiting to be finished, all from a skill she once thought she might never get the hang of.
Challenging expectations
Her business has also changed a few minds about what women can do. Making clothes for a living is often seen as men's work where she lives. Generosa has shown that a woman can build a tailoring business and run it well.
What she earns covers the everyday costs at home and her children's school registration fees. With prices rising, the business gives her family more stability, and gives Generosa a living she gets to shape herself.
Confidence beyond the workshop
Her training covered more than sewing. It included life skills, gender equality, self-care and sexual and reproductive health. She says this has made her more confident and helped her make good decisions about her health, including protecting herself from HIV.
Looking ahead
Generosa wants to grow the workshop and, in time, take on other women who are struggling to find steady work. She started out selling whatever she could to get by. Now she's building something that's hers.
Building Futures Through Opportunity
Generosa's story is part of the bigger picture of the Skills for Youth Resilience Programme. People do far more with a skill when they also have the confidence and the knowledge to use it.
SERVE and Young Africa Mozambique work together so people can learn skills that earn a living, support their families and build steadier futures.
It's development that works, because it's practical, local and led by the people it's for.
How You Can Help
Learn more about SERVE's Skills for Youth Resilience Programme.
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