Dzaleka Camp Graduation
Tailoring Training Graduation at Dzaleka Refugee Camp
In October 2025, Ancient Path proudly celebrated the graduation of 24 students from our Tailoring Training Program at Dzaleka Refugee Camp. This marked the sixth cohort to complete the intensive 10-month course, with the next class beginning on December 1, 2025.
Most students in the program come from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, and Rwanda—individuals who fled conflict and arrived at Dzaleka with few possessions and heavy burdens. For them, learning to sew offers more than the ability to create garments. It brings dignity, hope, a renewed sense of accomplishment, and real opportunities to earn a living.
But it’s not only a vocational training program. At the students' request, the program director, Shabani Kabonga, leads Bible Study discussions multiple times each week. These gatherings have become an important place of community, encouragement, and hope, offering spiritual nourishment alongside practical training.
Students meet several times each week, entirely free of charge, and must pass a rigorous exam covering:
Sewing machine basics
Machine care and maintenance
Pattern cutting and garment-making
To remain sustainable and practical in a camp environment with frequent power outages, students primarily train on treadle sewing machines, which are easier to maintain and not dependent on the unreliable power supply.
Recently, Ancient Path also purchased a generator and an embroidery machine, opening the door to an advanced training class that will allow graduates to expand their skills and increase their earning potential.
Graduation Day
Graduation day at Dzaleka is always a joyful, heartfelt celebration.
Wearing handmade caps and gowns, students walk proudly to receive their certificates. Families and friends rush forward to drape them with bright, colorful tinsel Christmas garlands, a beloved tradition symbolizing honor and delight.
The celebration includes:
Worship and thanksgiving
A speech by the class head
A creative drama presentation
Countless photos with family and friends
A shared hot meal for everyone present
It is a day overflowing with gratitude, perseverance, and community.
New Developments
Ancient Path is also renovating the fourth and final classroom in the block of rooms rented for our programs—spaces that currently house the tailoring program, an arts program, children’s tutoring, and the nutrition/feeding program.
This final room will become a Tailoring Center, designed to give past graduates a place to return and use sewing machines for commissioned work. Since many graduates cannot afford their own sewing machines, this center will become a vital resource—allowing them to complete paid projects, support their families, and grow their businesses.
The Tailoring Center will operate as a revenue-sharing initiative, helping create a path toward a self-sustaining tailoring program at Dzaleka.
Where Graduates Go Next
Many graduates have already gone on to:
Open their own small tailoring businesses
Find employment with other tailoring programs
Train new students, passing skills on to others
With each cohort, more lives are shaped, more families are supported, and more hope is restored. Your generosity and your faithful prayers are the reason this program not only exists but continues to flourish and transform lives. Thank you!