131 Young people receive work tools
Action-Aid Ghana, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), has presented start-up tools and equipment to 131 young people in five deprived communities in the Asutifi North District of the Ahafo Region.
The 131 beneficiaries, made up of 33 males and 98 females, including a 35-year old mother of six, were trained in five different business modules aimed at providing them with employable skills to improve their socio-economic well-being.
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The project, which is being implemented in the Ahafo, Northern and Upper East regions at the cost of nearly £500,000, has a target of 500 young unemployed youth across the three regions.
The modules, which are being implemented under the NGO’s Providing Employment Opportunities for Young People in Ghana (PEOY), are auto mechanics, tiling, beads, soap and pastries making.
The beneficiaries, who were trained according to their own preferred business plans, were drawn from farming communities such as Kenyasi No.3, Koforidua, Kojokrom, Obengkrom and Gambia No.1.
They were trained by officials of the Yamfo Training Institute and received certificates from the National Vocational Training Institute (NVTI) to certify their participation and successful completion of the programme.
Unemployment
A beneficiary of the programme, 23-year-old resident at Kenyasi No.3, Mr Emmanuel Boakye, told the Daily Graphic that unemployment was a major challenge facing the youth in the rural communities.
According to him, there were no jobs in the rural communities. He explained that “we have been farming with our parents for years, but our lives have not changed".
Mr Boakye said although some of them had acquired skills, they did not have money to purchase tools and equipment to start their businesses.
The 35-year old mother of six, Mrs Comfort Asamoah, who was trained in tiling told the Daily Graphic that it was her dream to do men dominated work, but never had the opportunity until ActionAid rolled out the programme in the community.
“My venturing into the tiling industry, which is a male dominated field, is in fulfilment of my childhood dream and nothing will stop me from the career,” she said.
Income generation
The Bono Regional Programme Manager of ActionAid Ghana, Mr Tontie Binado, who is also in-charge of the Bono East and Ahafo regions, told the media after the presentation that the programme was meant to equip the young people with skills needed to increase their income.
He expressed his excitement about the enthusiasm and high level of interest among the youth in the area to participate in the project in order to acquire employable skills.
“I am surprised about the level of participation because sometimes you hear that the youth do not like to acquire vocational skills," he said, adding that the project was designed after consulting the beneficiaries in order to tailor the programmes to their needs.
Mr Binado called on the government and other employment agencies to design employment programmes taking into consideration the interest of the beneficiaries.
He said ActionAid would constantly monitor operations of the beneficiaries to ensure the sustainability and profitability of their businesses.
Mr Binado explained that the organisation would work together with the National Youth Authority (NYA), and community leaders such as chiefs to ensure proper monitoring of their businesses.
He encouraged the beneficiaries to make good use of the tools presented to them and also train other people who did not have opportunity to be part of the programme.
Mr Binado appealed to the public, including the Newmont Goldcorp, to patronise the products and the services of the local producers.
For her part, the Queen mother of Koforidua, near Duayaw-Nkwanta, Nana Dufie Abraa, advised the beneficiaries to cultivate the habit of saving from what they would accrue from their businesses.