Accra, March 11, GNA – Under the auspice of The Rebecca Foundation, First Lady Mrs. Rebecca Akufo-Addo, has presented start-up working kits to some 180 women drawn from across the country, as part of activities to mark International Women’s Day.
Among them were 130 beneficiaries, made up of fishmongers, traders, and artisans from Western, Western North, Central and Greater Accra Regions, who received various start-up tools such as fridges, deep freezers, sewing machines and kitchen stoves among others, to enhance their businesses.
The other 50 women who had been trained in soap making by the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI), at Assin Fosu in the Central Region were also given kits to start their soap making business.
The presentation is in line with the Rebecca Foundation’s Terema Initiative; an initiative that seeks to empower women economically by providing equipment, training and other benefits to enable them to make a good living.
Presenting the start-up kits to the women at the Chapel Square in Cape Coast, Mrs. Akufo-Addo, who is also founder of The Rebecca Foundation, congratulated all women for their immense contribution to national development.
“I know how hard we work as women and mothers. We are the primary caregivers in most families and without our devotion, families will simply disintegrate”, she stated.
She said the best way to empower a nation and accelerate her socio-economic development was by empowering women to acquire working skills and the requisite working tools to empower them economically.
The First Lady said as part of activities marking International Women’s Month, her Foundation, under its Terema initiative would engage in an intensive training programme nation-wide to provide women and mothers with skills as well as start-up kits to empower them economically.
Mrs Akufo-Addo also used the occasion to remind and encourage women to take good care of their health and that of their children, stating, “Please check for cervical and breast cancer, and know your HIV status.
“Also make sure you and your family sleep under treated mosquito nets every night and cook nutritious local foods for your family”.
GNA