Preview · sample figures & placeholder photos
Registered charity 12345 6789 RR0001 · Kamloops, British Columbia · Bweyale, Uganda
info@cariboogate.caWelders are needed wherever people build and repair: gates and window grilles, doors, farm tools and roof frames. This one-year Level 1 course teaches safe arc welding and basic metalwork, from the first clean bead to a finished gate. Our volunteer experts train the teachers who teach it.
Around Bweyale, metal gates, doors, window grilles and repairs are often sent to the nearest large town, or done unsafely without proper protection.
A trained welder can open a small workshop with a modest set of equipment, and the work is steady in a settlement that is still being built.
1 year · 3 days of theory and 2 days of practice each week
Workshop and fire safety, protective gear, reading simple drawings, measuring, marking and cutting metal.
Setting up the machine, striking an arc, running beads and making strong joints in flat and corner positions.
Building window grilles, gates, door frames and simple furniture to a drawing, and finishing and painting the work.
Repairs, pricing a job, buying steel well, dealing with customers and a final project.
Every trade is built as a three-level path. Level 1 runs today; Levels 2 and 3 are coming soon, and Level 1 graduates will be the first to move on.
1 year
The entry course: safe working, core skills and a BVE certificate, ready to earn.
$550 funds one student, free for them
2 years
Deeper skills and larger projects, for graduates who want to work independently.
3 years
Advanced techniques, supervision and teaching skills, preparing the next master instructors.
Pathways to income: Making gates, grilles and doors for local customers, repair work for farms and builders, and a small workshop of their own.
Every welding class is taught by a qualified welding professional who is in the workshop every day, accountable for results, and committed long enough to build the course. Volunteer experts from Canada then train these instructors in new methods, so students get both.
Qualification, years of experience and a short bio, added when the instructor is confirmed
Qualification, years of experience and a short bio, added when the instructor is confirmed
Classroom. Fire and eye safety, drawings, metals and measuring, plus English, mathematics, citizenship and social skills.
Workshop. Cutting, welding and building gates, door frames and grilles.
Local master welders teach the students every day. From time to time, expert welders come from Canada to train those teachers in new skills, so they are fully equipped to train the students. The teachers then pass it on, so one visit keeps paying off for years.
Funds one student for a year
Free for the student, paid for by donors$550
“I used to wait for someone to bring a gate from town. Now people come to my workshop.”
Yes. Level 2 is a two-year program and Level 3, the advanced level, runs for three years. Both are coming soon. Level 1 graduates will be the first to move on as places open.
Safety comes first. Every trainee gets a helmet, gloves and protective clothing, and learns fire and eye safety before touching a machine.
That is the main challenge. Plans cover a generator or solar supply, and part of the funding ask is for dependable power and equipment.
You can, but we usually advise against it. Shipping tools overseas often costs more than the tools themselves, and freight is slow and uncertain. Buying the same tools in Uganda costs less, supports local suppliers and arrives in days. Choose “Buy locally for me” and give the value, or contact us before you ship anything. Kamloops drop-offs are accepted for lightweight, high-value items such as laptops.
For cash gifts, yes — eligible gifts of $20 or more receive an official donation receipt. For gifts in kind, the Canada Revenue Agency requires the fair market value to be established, and some items need an independent appraisal, so we confirm eligibility before you send anything. Where we buy tools for you with your cash gift, it is simply a cash donation.
Cohort funders receive photos, handover lists and a short report after each graduation. Tools are counted at handover, with a record of who received what.
Equip the workshop, send a volunteer expert to train the teachers, or sponsor a student. Whatever you can give — money, tools or your own skills — we put to work in the next stage.
$550 trains one student for a year, free for the student · $8,250 funds a full cohort of 15 · 64 students have taken part since 2024 · 35 tools still needed (about $1,407)
Trainees practise on real community builds. Here are the projects this program connects to.
Bricklaying and building skills for a fast-growing settlement.
Learn moreLevel 1 carpentry: woodworking skills that can start with a handful of tools.
Learn moreComputer literacy for office work, administration and small business.
Learn moreGarment-making that can start with one sewing machine.
Learn moreFarming skills that turn allocated plots into food and income.
Learn moreCounselling and life-skills support for every participant.
Learn more
Give money, tools or your own skills to the program that matters most to you, and follow what it achieves in our field reports.
Give money, tools or your skills. Every gift goes toward tools, teacher training and places for the people who need them most.
