Creating Felt Needs

So many times, it’s hard to convince a community that they need the help CDI has to offer. That was the case of the woodworking shop in the Roma community. People were hesitant to send their young sons to be apprentices in the program there. However, they were impressed by the wooden lids for the ubiquitous cooking pots that CDI staff made as a prototype for the apprentices. Many community members came to the workshop wanting to buy the lids. This gave CDI staff an idea. They told residents who wanted to buy a lid that they had to send a young person to learn to make the lid and be an apprentice in the program. If the apprentice stopped coming to the program, the family did not receive a lid. Now the woodworking program has a nice group of apprentices. These young boys will learn a useful, profitable skill with potential to break the cycle of poverty.