Forty-five women in Accra have received vocational training and start-up equipment to help them establish small businesses and improve their livelihoods under an empowerment initiative by the Rebecca Foundation.
The beneficiaries, drawn from the Accra Diocese of the Methodist Church Ghana and the Catholic Church, completed a five-day training programme under the Foundation’s Terema Initiative.
The training, held at the Robert Aryee Memorial Institute at Mamprobi, focused on pastry production, including cake, bread and pie making, as well as soap and detergent production.
At a graduation ceremony, the women received certificates and start-up kits to enable them to put their newly acquired skills into practice.
The baking trainees received items including ovens, gas cylinders, flour, margarine, cooking oil and baking powder, while those trained in soap production received raw materials, chemicals and tools.
Speaking on behalf of Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo, Founder of the Rebecca Foundation and former First Lady, Ms Sheela Sakyi Oppong, Lead Strategist of the Foundation, said the initiative was designed to promote economic empowerment through practical skills development.
She encouraged the beneficiaries to start small by marketing their products within their communities, churches and workplaces before expanding their businesses.
Ms Sakyi Oppong urged them to remain innovative and committed as they worked towards securing larger contracts and building sustainable enterprises.
The certificates and start-up kits were presented by Madam Korkor Bleboo of the Rebecca Foundation, former Okaikoi South Member of Parliament Ms Darkoa Newman and other dignitaries.
They encouraged the beneficiaries to share their newly acquired knowledge with other women and contribute to community development through skills transfer.
Ms Newman commended Mrs Akufo-Addo for continuing to support women and vulnerable groups despite no longer holding public office.
The Very Reverend Comfort Ruth Quartey-Papafio, Director of the Gender, Family and Social Intervention Directorate of the Methodist Church Ghana, praised the beneficiaries for their commitment to the training.
She also commended Mrs Akufo-Addo for sustaining initiatives focused on improving the welfare of women and children.
Madam Betty Eshun, Coordinator of the Osu Deanery of the Catholic Church Ghana, said skills acquisition remained an important pathway to economic independence and urged the beneficiaries to use their training profitably.
The beneficiaries expressed appreciation to the Foundation, saying the free training had enabled them to acquire skills they had previously been unable to pursue because of the cost involved.
Foundation Supports Children’s Nutrition Programmes
In a related development, the Rebecca Foundation donated food items to the Rebecca Akufo-Addo Ghana Parent Childhood Cancer Association House at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.
The donation, which included bags of rice, cooking oil and boxes of detergents, is expected to support children living with cancer and their caregivers accommodated at the facility.
The Foundation also made a similar donation to the Princess Marie Louise Hospital, popularly known as the Children’s Hospital, in Accra.
Receiving the items, Dr Margaret Neizer, Head of Clinical Services and Acting Medical Superintendent of the hospital, expressed gratitude to the Foundation.
She said the items would support feeding programmes for malnourished children receiving treatment at the hospital’s Nutritional Rehabilitation Centre.
Dr Neizer said severely malnourished children admitted to the hospital, as well as children receiving treatment from their homes, were provided with three meals daily, while their caregivers also received meals at no cost.
She said the hospital relied significantly on philanthropists, individuals and organisations to sustain its nutrition services for vulnerable children in the community.
