Mama Lorenza's Vocational Centre

Where Young Women’s Futures Take Shape

The Mama Lorenza Vocational Centre is a residential vocational school for young women aged 16 to 24. Every year, we welcome 64 students who have been unable to complete their education and are at risk of being left behind.

We offer two highly employable, two-year training programmes:

  • Tailoring & Leathercraft
  • Hairdressing & Beauty Therapy

Education is where the journey begins. The real goal is the freedom to choose.

Alongside technical training, every student follows a comprehensive personal development programme designed to build confidence, self-awareness, and the ability to make informed decisions about her own future.

At the end of the two-year programme, students sit nationally recognised examinations before beginning paid internships with salons, hotels, and resorts along the Kenyan coast.

94.7% of our graduates secure employment within just a few weeks of completing the programme.

Young women arrive at Mama Lorenza with limited opportunities. They leave as confident professionals, ready to shape their own future.

 

Why This School Matters

Education creates opportunities but opportunities only matter when they are truly within reach.

At Mama Lorenza, we have chosen to train young women in professions where there is genuine demand. In Kenya, tailoring and leathercraft remain thriving trades, with workshops and local businesses constantly looking for skilled professionals. At the same time, tourism continues to expand along the coast. Diani Beach is one of the country’s leading tourist destinations, where hotels, spas, and resorts regularly seek qualified beauty therapists and hairdressers.

The jobs exist.

The problem is that not every young woman has access to them.

Many girls are excluded before they even have a chance to begin. Some cannot afford education. Others must care for their families. Some face early marriage, while others grow up without ever having the opportunity to choose a different path.

Mama Lorenza exists to bridge this gap.

Because providing a young woman with professional skills means offering much more than employment — it means giving her the freedom to choose her own future and the confidence to make her own voice heard.

 

What Makes Mama Lorenza Unique

We are more than a vocational school.

We are a place where lives begin again.

The young women who arrive at Mama Lorenza are often those society has overlooked. Many come from situations of extreme poverty, have lost one or both parents, have experienced domestic violence, or were forced to leave school early. Some arrive unable to speak confidently, avoiding eye contact, feeling that even dreaming of a different future is beyond their reach.

Everything starts here.

Before building careers, we help rebuild confidence.

Alongside vocational education, every student is supported through a personal journey of listening, mentoring, and self-discovery. Individual guidance, group activities, peer support from senior students, shared experiences, and daily life together gradually help each young woman rediscover her strengths, define her aspirations, and make choices with confidence.

Cosa rende unico il Mama Lorenza

Life at Mama Lorenza is full and purposeful.

Students study, practise their profession, and grow together. They develop technical skills while also learning communication, teamwork, leadership, and personal responsibility. Sports, community activities, and opportunities to explore the world beyond campus broaden their perspectives and encourage personal growth.

Even the campus itself reflects this journey. The spaces are simple but intentionally designed to provide safety, reflection, and a sense of belonging—a place where young women can slowly learn to look at themselves with confidence rather than fear.

They arrive as strangers.

They become sisters.

They leave with professional skills, meaningful employment, and the confidence to choose their own future.




Financial Sustainability

The Mama Lorenza Vocational Centre is supported by a network of donors, businesses, foundations, and institutions that choose to invest in the future of these young women.

Students contribute a small tuition fee and actively participate in the daily life of the centre. Their contribution is symbolic but meaningful, helping them develop responsibility, ownership, and pride in their community.

Over the years, the centre has also developed several income-generating activities that strengthen both its financial sustainability and its connection with the local community. From growing fruit and vegetables to baking bread, every initiative serves a dual purpose: supporting the school while creating value for the surrounding community.

The campus continues to serve the community even when regular classes are not in session. During school breaks, its facilities host vocational courses open to local participants, providing additional training opportunities and access to nationally recognised certifications.

For us, sustainability is not simply about financial stability.

It is about shared responsibility, long-term growth, and investing in futures that will continue to transform families and communities for generations to come.

 

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Our impact in numbers

Our impact in numbers