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| Mr Nicholas Kumah, Country Director Afrikids Ghana |
One hundred
and fifty one men and women in the Upper East Region have received resettlement
packages after undergoing a three-year skills development training by Afrikids,
a child rights NGO. Supported by Comic Relief, the beneficiaries who include
designers, beauticians and artisans, passed out and are about to be settled and
established their own businesses. At a passing out in Bolgatanga, the graduands
were assisted with electrical hair
driers, plastic bowls and chairs, mirrors, and carpentry tools . Under the Afrikids support, 193 young people were made
to pursue formal education. These determined individuals drawn from six Municipal
and District Assemblies, across the region have since completed senior high and
are currently pursuing higher education. So far, Afrikids have supported over 500
needy children, and have also supported their families after taking them
through a series of engagement to ascertain their financial strength and
capabilities. The Programmes Director
of Afrikids, David Pwalua, told Radio Ghana that though some of the graduants
have passed out, some of them will still be with their master trainers for a
while to polish them up before establishing their own businesses. He said
the four-year support programme, targets
Street working children, particularly in Bolgatanga, and seeks to work with
young people who are exposed to lots of
risk. He explained that they are identified for support by a team of
stakeholders including the Department of Social Welfare, Ghana Education
Service and the assemblies. Mr Pwalua was hopeful that tools they received will
serve as start-up capital to enable them to start a business. One of the
beneficiaries, Beatrice Atia, thanked Afrikids for the intervention and advised
her colleagues not to travel to urban areas in search of non-existing jobs but rather seek support from
Afrikids to make something meaningful for themselves. The Paramount Chief of the
Bongo Traditional Area, Naba Salifu Alemyaarum, who chaired the function,
commended Afrikids for complementing government’s effort in fighting poverty in
the region. Naba Alemyaarum called on other NGOs to emulate Afrikids to help
alleviate the plight of the poor and needy in the society.
GBC
END
AS/IA
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