Accra, Nov. 24, GNA - Assemblies of God Relief and Development Services (AGREDS), an NGO based at the Agbogbloshie Market in Accra, has assisted 90 kayayei (female porters) by helping them to learn various vocational skills.

The skills include catering, dressmaking, tie and dye, hairdressing, cosmetic making and bead making.

Mr Joseph Wumbee, Executive Director of AGREDS, said this at the Seventh Graduation Ceremony of the Skills and Empowerment Programme for Girls in Accra under the theme, "Growth and Poverty Reduction; The Role of Skills Training for the Vulnerable in Society."

He said since the inception of the NGO eight years ago, it had trained 631 girls within the Agbogbloshie area.

Mr Wumbee said the deprived and vulnerable trainees were victims of poverty who had been physically and emotionally abused adding that after graduating, 90 per cent of the girls returned to their communities to start life.

He said through the support of the partners of the NGO, each of the 90 was receiving an input credit support in the form of tools and a start-up capital on the skills acquired. They would also participate in an ongoing refresher training support scheme as part of their reintegration, monitoring and mentoring programme.

Further funding was also being mobilised for the payment of apprenticeship and attachment fees requiring top-up and further training to enable them to compete favourably in the changing market environment while plans were also being put in place to help them acquire their own work space upon completion.

Mr Wumbee added that they had constructed a pre-school building for children of market women and street girls. The Minister for Women and Children's Affairs Hajia Alima Mahama in a speech read on her behalf said government had set up the micro finance and small loans fund to improve access to credit for women and the vulnerable.

"This year the government has through the Micro Finance and Small Loans Centre provided 17,770 women with credit," she said, and urged those who had passed out to access the credit and work hard in order to pay back the loans.

Hajia Alima said government was implementing a poverty reduction strategy to ensure sustainable growth and protecting the vulnerable and deprived in society. She urged AGREDS to create awareness on the human traffic law since some of the girls were trafficked. 24 Nov. 06