Cape Coast, April 21, GNA - More than 48 disabled persons in the Cape

Coast Metropolis are being trained by the Cape Coast Business Advisory

Centre (BAC) of the National Board for Small Scale Enterprises, on business

management, to build the capacities of participants, to enable them to impr= ove

upon their businesses. The one-month programme was organised by the Cape Coast BAC and the

Department of Co-operatives with financial support from Voluntary Services

Overseas (VSO). Ms. Alison Walker, the Disability Development Advisor of the VSO, told

Ghana News Agency in Cape Coast that the voluntary group had released

10,680 Ghana Cedis for the training, to enable the disabled to acquire skills to

successful operate profit making enterprises to better their living conditi= ons. She said the executives and members of disabled groups: the Ghana Blin= d

Union, Ghana Society for Physically Disabled, Services and Advocacy for

People with Intellectual Disability and the Ghana National Association of t= he

Deaf would benefit from the programme. According to Ms. Walker, who is currently attached to the Cape Coast

Metropolitan Social Welfare Office, the training programme would focus on

group dynamics where members would be encouraged to partner with others to

undertake income generating activities. Other contents include records and book-keeping to expose participant= s

among others to business transaction and record keeping, business and finan= cial

management, the culture of saving and the benefits of banking. Ms. Walker said the training course was important because majority of the

disabled in the Metropolis were poor and face obstacles in the area of secu= ring

and maintaining livelihoods. She said it was necessary that their capacities were built for them to run their

own businesses and petty trading activities with the required skills. The Head of the Cape Coast BAC, Ms. Veronica Essien, indicated that

Associations of the Disabled were working to develop a collective business

venture for the benefit of all its members. She said numerous assistances both in cash and tools from organizations, to

some of the disabled persons have not helped improve their businesses hence

the training programme to give them the needed skills to run their economic

ventures. Ms. Essien asked the participants to avail themselves of the opportu= nity

being offered them to secure livelihoods and take care of their families.