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Working in the world’s poorest communities in partnership with the global network of YMCAs, Y Care International provides young men and women aged 15-24 with the support, skills and training they need to work their way out of poverty.  

Established in 1984 Y Care International is the international relief and development agency of the YMCA in the UK & Ireland. We are part of the global YMCA – the world’s oldest and largest youth network. 

In 2017 we created training opportunities for over 5,600 young people. By supporting Y Care International you can help young people like Marie in our appeal to set up their own business or get sustainable employment to help them escape poverty.

In Sierra Leone, the slums on the outskirts of the capital Freetown are overcrowded and filthy, with thousands crammed into iron-roofed huts next to piles of waste and swamp land.

Photo credit: Nile Sprague

Currently 60% of young people in Sierra Leone have no qualifications or vocational training. Y Care International is working to change that, in partnership with the global network of YMCAs, by providing young men and women with the skills and training they need to work their way out of poverty.

Photo credit: Ophaniel Gooding

Many of the young people that Y Care International supports are parents themselves. Helping them into stable employment enables them to afford the fees for their children’s education, keeping more children in school.

Photo courtesy of Y Care International.