Community Development Unit under the Social Welfare Department of the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) has marked International Women Day Celebration with a one day skills training in bead making, powdered soap production, and batik making for women, especially women with disability in the Tema area.
The training was aimed at increasing and empowering women entrepreneurs in the area to enable them to make meaningful and dignifying means to enhance their living standards.
The training on the theme: “Economic Empowerment for Women for National Development” will ensure more women in Tema benefit from their skill training project.
Unit Head of Community Development Unit, Theresa Anafi, in an interview with the B&FT, noted that women contribute immensely to economic development hence the need to upgrade their skills.
“We have intensified skills training for women entrepreneurs with additional soft skills training in financial management, book keeping, how to open an account, and save money in the bank among others.
Measures are already in place for the women to have access to soft loans or startup capital, and assistance in getting ready market for their products,” she noted.
Theresa Anafi, indicated that beneficiaries will be monitored from time to time to ensure progress in their trade.
She therefore encouraged participants to train other women with the skills, and keep empowering themselves and also educate their children, particularly female children.
“An empowered woman can do anything, she is capable of taking care of herself and family and home”.
Alexander Tetteh, Deputy Unit Head of Unit of Community Development encouraged women to create their own means of generating income, by doing what they are able to do, adding “once a woman has means of generating her own income, she will be able to have other rights”.
He said women with disability especially should take advantage of the training so they don’t encounter discrimination, entreating Ghanaian to patronize their products so they can have sustainable income.
Angel Osabutey, batik trainer and a textile designer appealed to our leadership to create the enabling environment for young entrepreneurs to thrive.
She said government should invest in industrialization to increase local productivity, create employment, and ready market both local and international.
“Youth who offered Visual Art course in our senior high schools are talented, but have kept their talents due to lack of support,” she said.
