| dc.description.abstract | In the fall of 2013, a group of students at the Bush School of Government and Public
Service at Texas A&M University were approached to design and implement a survey to gauge
the effectiveness of a youth employment program in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. At
the fundamental level, it was necessary to know if the program was helping the children find
employment and if that employment was increasing the incomes earned by participants.
Vocational programs such as the one described in this paper, are not uncommon and have been
shown to be quite effective in setting around the world. For the first time though, an analysis of
this type of program was implemented in the unique setting of Butembo, DR Congo. Butembo,
as will be described later, is a unique hub of peace within an area that has been ravaged by civil
conflict in recent decades.
In this particular context, the conflict affects youth in the area through displacement, loss
of education, as well as through recruitment into the conflict or other activities that support rebel
groups. The research within this paper uses survey instruments in an effort to determine the
level of effectiveness of the vocational program in the region that focuses on at risk and
vulnerable youth. In this paper, our research team will describe the setting of both conflict in
DRC and its effects on institutions and programs as well as the setting of this analysis. In
addition, information on the program, CEFADES, will be given along research design and the
analysis of our findings. | en |
