Do you know that acquiring multiple vocational skills can mean having multiple sources of income? Dorcas Machinjiri knows this very well. It is a lived experience.

Dorcas is a Tingathe Vocational Training alumna from Mtandire in Lilongwe. She is a trained carpenter, tailor and fashion designer. All these skills were acquired at Tingathe. Her journey shows what can happen when a young woman decides not to limit herself to one option in a difficult world.

Many people ask how one person can manage to be present in different fields or what pushed Dorcas to go for another vocational course after already graduating. She says

“Life these days is hard if you do not have multiple skills,” Dorcas says. “When you are a young woman without anything, many of us end up getting married early just because we are looking for support. Others get into risky behaviours that put their lives in danger, simply because they are looking for money.”

For years, some women were taught that marriage would solve everything, that a husband would provide food, shelter and security. But Dorcas believes this mindset costs women their dignity and independence.

“That thinking is not right,” she says. “Everyone should find a way to earn money on her own. When you have your own income, you reduce the chances of being abused.”

Her journey with Tingathe began with carpentry. She learned to work with wood, tools and measurements, gaining confidence, discipline and a sense of self-worth. But one skill alone might not have been enough to secure the life she wanted. Instead of waiting for opportunities, she chose to create them.

She enrolled in tailoring and fashion design to complement her carpentry skills. Even while running her tailoring business, she continues to take carpentry jobs fixing doors, making roofs and offering other essential services. These projects bring extra income but also keep her skills sharp. Her long-term vision is to open Shackdona Investment, where young people will manage the carpentry business while she focuses on guiding the strategic direction of her enterprises.

At the same time, Dorcas runs her tailoring and fashion design business at Kamono in Mtandire. Balancing both trades is not easy, but it is purposeful.

“What forced me to think this way was the life I was living,” she explains. “I wanted a decent life where I could afford food, clothes, soap and shelter.”

During her training, Dorcas learned to design modern clothes such as pencil dresses, fitted dresses, African print outfits, office wear, casual wear and custom designs inspired by trends from Malawi and beyond. Beyond technical skills, she learned entrepreneurship and financial literacy—skills that help her price her work, save, budget and plan for growth. Interacting with other young people succeeding in the fashion industry inspired her to believe in her own potential.

Today, Dorcas can afford food, pay rent, support relatives and make clothes for herself. A pencil dress she makes sells for around fifty thousand kwacha, while other designs sell for thirty-five thousand kwacha. What once seemed impossible is now her daily reality.

This journey began with a single decision. Dorcas chose to be the game changer in her own life, rather than waiting for someone else to rescue her.

You may be a young woman like Dorcas, facing many challenges. Maybe you did not go far with school, or maybe you did, but cannot find a job. Dorcas’s story invites you to explore vocational skills or entrepreneurship. Every journey starts with a single step. The road may look long and unclear, but determination and guidance from those who have walked it before can light the way.

It is about being strong today and standing for the future.