Nat’l Tymes News Desk
SOME 195 young people in the Ayawaso East Constituency have received practical skills training to enable them to become self-reliant and earn decent livelihoods.
The initiative, led by the NDC Women’s Organiser, Hajia Rukaya Adams, popularly known as Mama Ruki, focused mainly on young women and equipped them with skills in hairdressing and soap making.
The beneficiaries were trained to produce brown sugar, detergent, after-wash, liquid soap, hand sanitiser and other marketable products.
Speaking to Nationaltymes.com after the graduation, one of the beneficiaries expressed appreciation to Mama Ruki for giving her the opportunity to acquire a skill. She said she had been at home after completing school because her parents could not afford to pay for her training.
“Now I can start small with my hairdressing equipment and the chemicals I have. I will no longer depend entirely on my parents. I am grateful to Mama Ruki for this opportunity,” she said.
She encouraged other young people in the constituency to take advantage of similar skills-training opportunities whenever they become available.
Mama Ruki on her part, said investing in young people had been a long-standing dream of hers and that she was committed to supporting those who were ready to work but lacked the opportunity to acquire employable skills.
“Investing in young people has been my dream since I came of age, and by the grace of God, I started and have continued to do so,” she said. She explained that not everyone had the opportunity to pursue further education immediately after completing JHS, making skills training an important alternative for young people seeking to become economically independent.
The latest graduation forms part of Mama Ruki’s skills-training initiative in the constituency. An earlier batch of 141 beneficiaries, including males, graduated earlier this year.
The training was facilitated by Madam Fauzia, proprietor of Black Beauty, a skills-training institution located at Nima Roundabout, where the programme was held.
The initiative is aimed at complementing efforts to equip young Ghanaians with practical and employable skills to enable them to establish businesses, improve their livelihoods and contribute to the economy.
Unlike programmes that end with certificates, the initiative seeks to provide beneficiaries with practical skills they can immediately use to start small businesses.
In a related development, the Municipal Chief Executive for the Ayawaso East Municipal Assembly, Hon. Ganiyu Ibrahim, popularly known as Mallam Fari, has pledged support for selected beneficiaries from the earlier batch of 141 who have already started using their skills.
The support, he said, would help strengthen their businesses and enable them to expand their operations.
Source: Nationaltymes.com
