By J. K. Nabary
Awutu Bawjiase (C/R), Jan 7, GNA – The I-Smile Fashion and Design Centre, a community help project at Awutu Bawjiase, has graduated 17 students who successfully completed a three-year programme of study in fashion and designing.
Six of the graduates received extraordinary wards, with Sekina Abdul Wahab from Tarkwa, receiving the overall best apprentice award for the 2024 class.
Madam Hanna Serwaa Tetteh, former Member of Parliament for Awutu-Senya-West Constituency, presented the certificates and testimonials to the leaners, and urged them to utilise the skills acquired to become self-sufficient in life.
At a ceremony held at Awutu Bawjiase to celebrate the graduates, Madam Tetteh applauded them for concentrating on their training to completion and donated electric sewing machines with accessories to each of them.
Madam Tetteh, who is a former Minister of Trade and Industry, and Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, further admonished the graduates to at least sponsor one person to also learn a vocation, as a means of giving back to the society.
Now the UN Special Envoy of the Horn of Africa Office, and Patron of the programme, Madam Tetteh commended Mr Ismailia Abdulai Andoh, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and other craftmasters at the centre of their commitment and dedication towards the training of the girls.
She used the occasion to thank the people of Awutu-Senya West Constituency for giving Madam Gizella Tetteh-Agbotui, her younger sister another chance to represent them in Parliament.
She assured that with the Almighty God on her side, she would honour promises she made to the citizenry during her campaign and called for a united front to help develop the area.
Mrs Tetteh-Agbotui, MP for Awutu Senya West Constituency, commended the graduates for adhering to the instructions given them by the craftmasters during their training.
She stated that while being celebrated, they must promote and make themselves marketable by ensuring that they excelled in the field for more people to patronise their handiworks.
An appeal for funds were made to complete a hostel under construction to house the trainees.
The graduates were taken through disciplines including fashion and design, customer service, bookkeeping, customer rights, environmental cleanliness and personal hygiene.
I-Smile fashion and design centre is a non-governmental programme established in 2012 to support, particularly the youth.
It has since trained and equipped more than 120 people free of charge with vocational and entrepreneurship skills to enable them to earn a living, rather than migrating to urban centres to seek for white colour jobs.
Later in an interview with Ghana News Agency, Mr. Andoh the CEO of the centre, expressed his appreciation to Madam Tetteh for her continuous support to the programme and prayed that Allah protected her and grant her more years.
According to him, the programme was designed to support vulnerable youth in the society with vocational skills to better their lots, adding, it commenced with six people in 2012 and had since graduated more than 120 people and currently had more than 100 trainees some of whom are from other regions of the country.
“We are appealing for more support to enable us to expand the centre to enrol more youth to benefit from the programme,” he added.
GNA