MSR helping the unemployed

Men on the Side of the Road (MSR) is looking forward to a bigger, better and more settled 2015. Over the past year, they accepted 81 people for membership and over 760 members visited the resource centre for information, training, to make copies, use the computers, print business cards, make job related phone calls, send or receive faxes, search the newspapers for vacancies or attend community meetings.

MSR also connected 188 people to job opportunities with an estimated collective income of N$1.4 million over the course of the year. Calculated against the running cost of MSR, every dollar donated generated over three dollars in potential income for their members. One of MSR’s success stories is Toivo Lucas. In 2009 MSR funded Toivo at the KAYEC Trust to undertake a welding course, after which he was accepted to VTC and through hard work and determination, Toivo graduated in 2013. He has since opened his own welding workshop and is employing other people as the need arises. Toivo is a role model for other MSR members and has shared his story to encourage other MSR members in their journey from unemployed to employment or self employment. He had a dream and he did not let his circumstances deflect him from realizing his dream. MSR advised the public not to trust everyone at the ‘job sites’ because some are not genuine work seekers, as these are public open spaces where anyone can hang around.