Collaboration with women’s groups

In Ghana, our partner is Afrika Women Association of Obom, a local women’s group we help to establish in 2007. Thanks to the collaboration with this group we run a community centre in Obom where women can meet and where we opened a workshop for dress makers.

Vocation training in dressmaking is offered to the school leavers, both girls and boys, and other youth from the surrounding villages. The training takes three years and is conducted under the supervision of two experienced dressmakers from the community. Humanitas Afrika helped building the workshop, developing the training course, and currently continues financing the cost of running the workshop.

A number of local women take part in microfinancing programme which provides them with the opportunity to make savings and apply for a loan. The scheme is managed by AWAO and its executive board. Women can use the loans to support their small entrepreneurial activities and effectively to secure the livelihood for their families. Thanks to a small loan they are able to buy goods for sale in bulk, they buy things for processing agricultural products, and those who farm buy seeds etc.