The Member of Parliament (MP) for Ellembelle Constituency of the Western Region, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, has empowered 1,000 young women in his constituency to be self-employed and self-reliant in the future.

Over the weekend, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, who is the Deputy Minority Leader in Parliament, launched the second phase of his Skill-Up Ellembelle Initiative to provide various apprenticeship skills to young women in the area. The colourful inaugural ceremony took place at Nkroful, the birthplace of the first president of Ghana, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.

He took the opportunity to present 500 sewing machines, 500 hair clippers, and 200 hair dryers to the 1,000 young women beneficiaries.

Speaking to the media after the event at Nkroful Agricultural Senior High School park, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah stated that youth unemployment was a major concern in his constituency and he would do everything possible to drastically reduce the situation by empowering the youth to be self-reliant.

He said, "This phase targets 1,000 people in Ellembelle constituency who would have otherwise been unemployed and lacked essential skills to work."

"To eliminate financial barriers and ensure uninterrupted training, I absorbed the entire cost of their apprenticeships and paid their various masters and madams in full on the spot," he added.

The MP disclosed, "The 'Skill-Up Ellembelle' initiative is thoughtfully designed to provide comprehensive skills training across a diverse range of hands-on trades, empowering our teeming youth to seize job opportunities and build sustainable livelihoods."

He pledged his total commitment to transforming the lives of the youth in his constituency.

"I am committed to transforming lives and equipping our youth with valuable skills to be self-reliant and to also contribute meaningfully to the larger society," he promised.

He, therefore, seized the opportunity to urge the beneficiaries to take their apprenticeship skills seriously and stay away from things that would prevent them from completing their training.

"Let me take this opportunity to advise the beneficiaries that they must take their training very seriously. They must stay away from bad influences that will not allow them to finish their training to become self-reliant. This is a great opportunity for them and they must not take it for granted at all," he advised.

He disclosed that four years ago he helped some youth to become self-reliant through apprenticeship and pledged to continue to support the youth in his constituency without considering their political and religious backgrounds.

He commended the NDC presidential candidate, John Dramani Mahama, for promising to introduce a national apprenticeship program to empower young women and men during his second term as president of Ghana.

Some of the beneficiaries who spoke to this reporter expressed their profound appreciation and prayed to Almighty God to bless Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah abundantly.

They promised to take their training seriously in order to become self-reliant and responsible family members and citizens of the Ellembelle constituency.