The Citizens Bureau of Public Accountability Ghana (CBPA-Ghana) a Non- Governmental Organisation has rolled out an intervention support vulnerable women and girls in the Nkoranza South Municipality of the Bono East Region to engage in employable skills training to enhance their socio-economic livelihoods.

In that regard, the NGO has held engagement meeting with dressmakers, designers, beauticians and hairdressers in the district to partner with them, identify and support their needy, but brilliant apprentices to enable them acquire the needed skills for sustainable livelihood. Such support will cover sustainability allowances, learning essentials, examinations and graduation fees, as well as start-up kits and capital for deserving graduates to set their own businesses in the localities.

The engagement meeting held at Nkoranza was on the theme "CBPA-GHANA partner trades associations in the Bono East Region to support Women and girls in apprenticeship for social inclusion and livelihood" Mr Mathias Segbefia, the Executive Director, CBPA-Ghana highlighted the vision of the NGO, saying it was committed to impart citizens with knowledge for sustainable socio-economic livelihoods.

"If you support or train a woman, you are in effect, supporting a generation but, if you train a man, you achieve individual success", Mr Segbefia added. The Executive Director said the contributions of the master apprentices and instructors were required to make the vision of the organisation a success, and indicated the CBPA-Ghana's readiness to also create opportunities for the instructors to learn new skills and upgrade themselves too.

Mr Francis Kongwie, the Organizer for Professional Garment Makers Association, expressed appreciation to the Executive Director for the initiative, saying the support would greatly help control rising teenage pregnancies in the Municipality. He said because of the lack of family and financial support, many of the apprentices sought permission to engage in menial jobs to fend for themselves in the detriment of their training. Some of them often engage in hawking, dish washing, and sometimes commercial sex work to raise funds for their training.

sompaonline.com/K Peprah