By Sasel E.A Ekumah
Accra, Sept. 6, GNA -Sassy Croche, a Ghanaian fashion and textile brand, has graduated 30 adolescent girls after training them in livelihood skills and comprehensive sexuality education to help prevent teenage pregnancy.
The programme combined crochet and entrepreneurship training with education on sexual and reproductive health and rights, mental health, and the valuation and pricing of products.
The initiative was founded by Sarah Serwaa Appiah, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of FAPEM TIMA Textiles, and supported by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), with technical and programme support from the Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana (PPAG) and support from the Government of Canada.
The graduation ceremony, which included a product showcase, was held under the theme: “Empowering Adolescent Girls through Economic Skills and Comprehensive Sexuality Education for Teenage Pregnancy Prevention.”
In her welcome address, Ms. Appiah said the programme was created on the belief that giving a young person a skill could provide an opportunity to create a different future.
“When you give a young person a skill, you give them an opportunity to create a different future,” she said.
Ms. Appiah said the programme deliberately went beyond crochet by creating a safe space where the girls could learn a practical skill, understand their sexual and reproductive health, ask questions, build confidence and make informed decisions.
She expressed appreciation to UNFPA Ghana for supporting her vision through the AI for the Future Innovation Hackathon, which she said provided her with an opportunity to turn her idea into a tangible initiative.
“Today, that idea is no longer just an idea. Today, we are standing here with 30 girls whose lives have been touched by this initiative,” she said.
Speaking on behalf of Dr Wilfred Ochan, UNFPA Ghana Representative, Theresah Yeboah, Innovations Specialist at UNFPA, said the initiative sought to use innovation to address teenage pregnancy and economic vulnerability among adolescent girls.
She said limited economic opportunities, access to information and support could increase girls’ vulnerability, making it necessary to address the challenges together.
“Instead of addressing these challenges separately, this project brings them together, combining livelihood skills, entrepreneurship and comprehensive sexuality education in one intervention,” she said.
Ms. Yeboah said the 30 girls, drawn from Kasoa, Iron City and surrounding communities, were trained to develop crochet as a practical income-generating skill.
She said crochet was selected because it required relatively little start-up capital, could be done from home and could become a business with creativity, good product development and access to markets.
Ms. Yeboah said investment in girls should extend beyond preventing teenage pregnancy to creating opportunities for them to access education, skills, information and safe spaces.
“When we invest in girls, we are not simply preventing teenage pregnancy, we are expanding possibilities,” she said.
Dr Delia Gillis, Professor Emerita of History and Africana Studies, the guest of honour for the occasion, said the programme went beyond teaching the girls how to crochet by giving them knowledge about their bodies, reproductive health and mental health.
“It’s not just the ability to crochet, but learning about their bodies, about reproductive health, building confidence and determination,” she said.
One of the graduates, Shelter Grace Ganu, said she enrolled after seeing a Sassy Crochet flyer online because she had always wanted to learn the skill.
She said mastering the basic stitches took about two weeks, but she eventually progressed to creating a dress.
“I believe in my hands, I believe in my mind, I believe in the future I can create, and I will make informed choices,” she said.
Another graduate, Zubaid Ahmed, said the programme had exposed her to reproductive health and rights, mental health, and how to value and price her work.
She said the training had made her “more confident, patient and willing to try new things.”
The ceremony marked the completion of the first Sassy Crochet Class, with the 30 graduates showcasing products developed during their training.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Sackey