Many young women have participated in our vocation training project since its incorporation. The project has focused on giving young teenage mothers and school drop-outs a second chance for better living in their community by involving them in skill-based training such as soap making and baking.
We had the opportunity of visiting Ama who participated in our training program for 6 months and has started her own baking business in her village. Ama bakes and sells her cookies to kids in a local public school in her communities. On weekends she often runs out of cookies especially when there is a social gathering or event in her village. There are about 250 people in her village but on weekends the number increase considerably due to social events such as weddings, funerals, church activities.
With basic materials and equipment, Ama bakes cookies 2-3 times in a week, because she wanted her cookies to stay fresh for her customers. If the demand continues like this she hopes to expand her business and include bread baking. She has not branded her cookies yet, but since everyone calls her cookies Sister Ama Cookies, she hopes to maintain the name for easier publicity.
Ama is a single mother of 1 kid (Okyere, 3yrs). After her training, she considers herself fortunate to have the opportunity to learn skills she can depend on to put food on the plate for her son and herself and also pay for her house rent and other bills. Ama had involved in the past in many odd jobs to take care of herself and later her son. She is very happy to be self-sufficient.
By Millicent (Coworker)