The Africa Centre for Human Rights and Sustainable Development (AfCHuRSD) under its project entitled “Promoting Equal Rights for Women and Girls in Ghana” (PERD) empowered 50 women in Tamale on February 28, 2024.
The participants were mainly Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) and caregivers selected from Sagnarigu Municipality.
They were taken through from liquid and bar soap to equip them with livelihood skills that would enable them to cater for themselves and their dependents.
Liquid soap and shea butter produced by participants
The training was to equip them with livelihood skills that would enable them to cater for themselves and their dependents.
The PERD project seeks to promote the fundamental human rights of women and girls with disabilities, especially the right to employment and protection from sexual and gender-based violence.
It is being implemented by the AfCHuRSD, Planned Parenthood Association Ghana (PPAG) and Women in Need, and funded by the Embassy of the Netherlands in Ghana.
Speaking at the event, Madam Bernice Naah, Executive Director, AfCHuRSD, said the participants were selected by the Sagnarigu Municipal Assembly in collaboration with the Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations taking into consideration those who needed the skills most.
She said the participants opted for soap making, among other skills, adding the women’s choice was indicative of their interest in the venture.
She noted that the PERD project was in its final phase, saying livelihood training had been a core activity of the project since it began in 2021.
Early on, some of the participants were trained in financial literacy under the project.
Madam Fadilatu Abdullah, a beneficiary, said knowing financial record keeping coupled with skills in making different types of soap was a great benefit to her.
She expressed readiness to build up on the training to produce soap on a commercial basis.
Madam Amina Mohammed, also a beneficiary, said she benefited from earlier pieces of training and received support to expand her business.
She said the support from the PERD project had cushioned her to provide the basic needs of her children.
Madam Zeinab Alhassan, a first-time beneficiary of the project and a caregiver of a PwD, extended gratitude to the organisers for the gesture.
She said as a petty trader, adding soap-making to her trade would ease the burden of taking care of a child with a disability.