Two organisations collaborate to train female porters
The Opac Women Empowerment Centre (OWEC) has collaborated with Network of Women in Growth (NEWIG) to train 20 female porters (Kayayei) in entrepreneurship.
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The two non-profit organisations benefited from a grant of GH¢18, 000.00 from Empower Foundation in the United States to enable them to run the month-long entrepreneurship training for the Kayayei at Breman, a suburb of Kumasi in the Ashanti Region.
The training is a business setup support to cushion the trainees to set up their own businesses to become entrepreneurs.
At the end of the training, the beneficiaries are able to produce beaded jewellery, laundry soaps, dish washing gels, shower gels and other toiletries.
Call on women
Speaking at a ceremony to introduce the trainees at the end of the programme in Kumasi, the Executive Director of NEWIG, Madam Mawusi Nudekor Awity, called on women in the country to rise up in the area of self-employment.
She said Ghana was some time ago on the same level with Malaysia in terms of development, hence the need for females to rise up to join the men in working to close the gap between Ghana and Malaysia, which is undergoing rapid development over the past five years.
She decried the existence of Unemployed Graduate Association and challenged the Kayayei to take advantage of the training that they had received to turn their fortunes around instead of relying on government for job opportunities.
She said NEWIG had since its inception in 2002 trained over 7,000 women and added that after going through proper monitoring and evaluation exercise as a non-profit organisation, it would soon begin operating a soap factory in the country.
Appeal for support
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of OWEC, Mrs Comfort Anima Opoku, advised the trainees not to waste the opportunity they had had during the training.
She said they could also help enhance operation in entrepreneurship so as to help develop the private sector of the country.
She said OWEC had a three-year mission to be the best women empowerment centre in the Ashanti Region that organises self-development and skill-training programmes, as a means of eradicating poverty among women in the country.
She, commended NEWIG for the partnership and appealed to other organisations, and able-bodied individuals to support OWEC to successfully run its operations.
