Some of the head porters during the graduation ceremony
Opportunity
International Savings and Loans organized a graduation ceremony for head
porters (kayayei) after successful completion of a livelihood and skills training
programme at WAG-SEVICO Skills Training Institute in Accra.
The occasion was
graced by Naa Alhaji Chackson Osman, the Mamprusi Community Chief of Accra,
including other high-profile dignitaries.
Twenty-four (24) young
girls who were working as head porters in Accra were taken through three-week
intensive residential training on vocational skills such as bead making, soap
making and bakery.
They were allowed
to choose a trade out of the various vocations to enable them earn some income
to fend for themselves and their families. Upon successful graduation, they
were provided with their business start-up kits for the chosen trade. As part
of the project, some of the girls would also receive start-up capital for their
businesses.
Fifteen (15) of
the girls who currently reside at Maamobi in Accra have
indicated their readiness to relocate to the north (their home) and ply
their chosen trade in and around the Gambaga Market near Tamale, whilst the
remaining nine want to stay in Accra due to family and other commitments.
In his opening
address, Kwame Owusu-Boateng, Chief Executive Officer of Opportunity
International Savings and Loans, encouraged the participants to make good use
of the skills they had acquired.
Naa Alhaji Chackson
Osman thanked Opportunity International for such an intervention, saying “I’ve
seen several interventions for Kayayei but this one is exceptional.”
The project was
funded by Car Val Investors Foundation in the UK. Car Val Investors Foundation supports organisations
that help highly vulnerable people in the world. The focus of the foundation is
primarily on education and leadership, poverty relief, and health and research.
They work with Opportunity International in the UK, and they are represented in
Ghana by Opportunity International Savings and Loans Limited.
The next cohort
will be funded by the Allan & Nesta Ferguson Charitable Trust. The Allan & Nesta Ferguson
Charitable Trust promotes and supports international friendship and
understanding, world peace, development and education.
