Plan International Ghana provides artisans with livelihood skills, tools

Plan International Ghana provides artisans with livelihood skills, tools. Plan International Ghana has equipped artisans in four communities in the Akuapim North Municipality of the Eastern Region with start-up kits as part of the “Be Smart, Learn, and Stay Protected” initiative.

Artisans in the communities of Kwamoso, Aboabo, Okorase, and Timber-Nkwanta have been provided with equipment to improve their craft and boost their quality of life.

With funding from Nivea, the initiative has already sparked great enthusiasm as it would offer artisans the opportunity to attain self-sufficiency, create a better future, support their families, and contribute to socio-economic development.

During the presentation at Tinkong, Mr Mahmoud E. K. Nantomah, the Coordinator of the Be Smart, Learn, and Stay Protected Project, said the artisans were grouped into two; young adults who had already acquired skilled trade, and those yet to undergo apprenticeship in bakery.

Those already trained and working as plumbers, dressmakers, and hairdressers received a range of tools and equipment, including drilling machine, shovel, pickaxe, industrial sewing machine, knitting machine, hairdryer, hair basin, rollers and gallons of hair conditioner and shampoo.

Mr Nantomah said experts from the Business Resource Centre (BRC) at the Municipal Assembly were invited to provide beneficiaries with a comprehensive two-day training on entrepreneurship and business management.

The artisans received training in marketing, financial management, and bookkeeping to enhance productivity and guarantee sound financial practices in their businesses.

The second group of young adults, who took part in the training session, would soon begin a three-to-six-month apprenticeship in baking and receive support to launch their businesses after completing the programme.

He said a community-level structure, called Champions of Change, and the child protection committee working with the project in the communities would help to monitor the judicious use of the machines presented to the first cohort of the livelihood beneficiaries.

Mr Bless Kofi Vieku, the Project Manager of the Be Smart, Learn, and Stay Protected Project, said it aimed to empower young adults, particularly adolescents, with skills and tools for income-generating activities to reduce their vulnerability to sexual and gender-based violence.

The project, which commenced in 2021, currently operates in 20 communities in the Eastern and Oti regions and now in its second phase of implementation, which would end in March 2025, he noted.

Mr Samuel Adjinbaruk, the Deputy Director, Akuapim North Municipal Assembly, on behalf of the Municipal Chief Executive, commended Plan International Ghana for the economic empowerment of young adults in the area.

Ms Gifty Sabla, a seamstress, who received an industrial sewing machine, assured the organisation of her commitment to putting it to good use.

Source: GNA