By Philip Tengzu
Saapare, (UW/R), March 25, GNA – Over a hundred women in Saapare and surrounding communities in the Daffiama-Bussie-Issa District have received livelihood empowerment training to earn a decent living while meeting the health and educational needs of their children.
The women were trained in soap making (liquid and cake soap) and pastries (meat pie) making, a strategic intervention aimed at alleviating the financial challenges among women in the area.
The Africa Centre for Human Rights and Sustainable Development (AfCHuRSD) Ghana organised the training through Pognaa Vida Ngmenmaalee, the Queen Mother of Saapare community.
It formed part of activities under the Girls and Women Economic Empowerment, Livelihood and Participation in Leadership (GWEEL) project implemented by AfCHuRSD in partnership with the Equity, Opportunity and Development Fund (EODF) in Action.
That was the first of a series of economic empowerment training earmarked for women in the Daffiama-Bussie-Issa District.
Addressing the women after the training, Madam Bernice Naah, the Executive Director of AfCHuRSD Ghana, commended the women for the enthusiasm they exhibited throughout the training.
She said that was an indication of their readiness for the training and expressed hope that they would maximise the skills to establish “small businesses” in soap and pastries making to support their families.
“I am excited and it has motivated me to even want to come back because it shows your commitment and also the interest in wanting to own this training and to benefit from it.
Start something small, and then we will try to see how we can get other sources of funding to help you expand”, Madam Naah told the women.
She said soap, for instance, was a basic household commodity, and their seriousness in that business could turn around their economic status.
Pognaa Ngmenemaalee, the Queen Mother of Saapare, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that the skills training would serve as an alternative source of livelihood for the women and empower them to better their lives.
Some women, who went through the training, commended Pognaa Ngmenemaalee and AfCHuRSD Ghana for the intervention and said it would enable them to cater for the needs of their families.
Ms Alice Dakubo, a Community Health Nurse at the Saapare Community-based Health and Planning Services (CHPS), who participated in the training, told the GNA that the skills they had acquired would help to reduce the economic hardship of the women.
However, she appealed to benevolent institutions and individuals to support them with capital or equipment to enable them to establish their businesses.
Funded by the Equal Opportunity Fund Netherlands, the GWEEL project is being implemented in 20 communities in the Daffiama-Bussie-Issa, Wa West, Jirapa and Nadowli-Kaleo Districts.
GNA
CAE/GRB