The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service 2015

Empowering young people in Africa through vocational training

We are a charity based in Chesham, Buckinghamshire empowering young people in Africa (and the UK) to help themselves by developing the skills and knowledge needed to find gainful employment or start their own business.

We refurbish donated tools to a high standard and ship them to training centres and self-help organisations.

In Africa
In the UK
Donate Money

Urgent Appeal

Our partner in Zambia is in need of a new premises and we need your help.

Our partner in Zambia has been given notice to vacate their current office premises in Lusaka, Zambia. We need your help to get the new site operational before March when Container Peter 1996 is due to arrive. To find out more click here…

Container Peter 1996 leaving for Zambia

Donate Money

By donating money, you help empower young people in Africa to gain skills through vocational training. It is easy to make a financial donation by paying online or via the post.

Online Donation

Donate Tools

Donating your unwanted tools and equipment can change lives as well as having a positive impact on the environment. Every year over 80 tonnes of tools are saved from landfill and refurbished.

Donate Tools

Volunteer

We always welcome new volunteers to join our friendly team at our workshop in Chesham. There are lots of opportunities available and full training is provided for all. 

Learn more

Since Our Foundation In 1986, Over 190,000 Lives Have Been CHANGED

Our Achievements So Far

Our Impact

We work with like-minded organisations and place great value on ensuring these partnerships achieve maximum impact for young people in Africa. We are currently developing new comprehensive monitoring and evaluation systems with all our overseas partners.

These will place emphasis on measuring how young people use the vocational skills they learn to escape poverty and drive positive and sustainable development in the communities in which they live.

Stories from Africa

Since Our Foundation

Toolkits Supplied
5000
Lives Changed
10000
Vocational Training Projects Supported
0
Sewing & Knitting Machines Supplied
10000

Stories

Meet Deborah and Roy

Deborah with sewing machine
Deborah outside her shop
Deborah with her work experience students

Deborah, 'Mama Workaid'

Deborah’s father passed away when she was a baby, as did her mother a few years later. She was raised by her aunty who she refers to as her mother. Deborah was only able to complete her formal education at primary level, which is common in Zambia.

Keep reading Deborah’s story here.

Roy teaching sewing machine maintenance
Making sewing machine tables
Sewing machine maintenance workshop for Secondary school tailoring instructors
Roy teaching sewing machine maintenance

Roy, Sewing Machine Maintenance Instructor

Roy is a Zimbabwean national who operates a small sewing machine repair shop in Lusaka, Zambia with two other technicians. He completed a diploma in sewing machine repair and maintenance in Harare, Zimbabwe, where the course is highly regarded.

Keep reading Roy’s story here.

Jesca, Albert Valley

Meet Jesca, aged 20 from Murambi Village in Ntoroko District. Despite facing challenges and dropping out of school during Senior 4, Jesca joined a tailoring class at Albert Valley Vocational Training Institute. She found it to be a practical choice and an effective way to earn an income.

Keep reading Jesca’s Story here.

Moris, Empathy Foundation

As a subsistence farmer, Moris only made ends meet before joining and graduating from the Empathy Foundation in March 2023. Moris, now a skilled carpenter, is part of a 5-person business. Even though he dropped out of school early, he’s determined to make a better life for his family – a wife and three children.

Keep reading Moris’s Story here.

Recent News

News From Africa

All News

Urgent Appeal – Zambia

January 31, 2025

Urgent Appeal – Zambia What is happening? Unfortunately, our partner in Zambia – the Vwila Foundation – has been given notice to vacate their office premises in Lusaka.

Keep Reading

We're looking for

Retail Volunteers

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Contact Us

Phone Number: 01494 775220

Email Address: admin@workaid.org

Address:
The Old Boot Factory
71 Townsend Road
Chesham
Buckinghamshire
HP5 2AA

 

Registered Charity: 1041574

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Open Hours

The Office

Monday – Friday
9:30am – 12:30pm 
1:30pm – 4:30pm

Tool Donations

Monday, Wednesday & Friday
9:30am – 12:30pm 
1:30pm – 4:00pm

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Thursday, Friday & Saturday
10am – 4pm

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Monday & Tuesday
10am – 3pm

The Office

Monday – Friday
9:30am – 12:30pm
1:30pm – 4:30pm

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Thursday, Friday & Saturday
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Tool Donations

Monday, Wednesday & Friday
9:30am – 12:30pm
1:30pm – 4:00pm

The Hub

Monday – Tuesday
10am – 3pm

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