The Tema Oak Lions Club in the Greater Accra Region, in collaboration with the Kumasi Providence Lions Club in the Ashanti Region, both of Lions International District 418-Ghana, successfully trained and empowered some individuals within the Tema and Ashaiman municipalities with various vocational skills.

The training, which included sessions on setting up businesses and self-empowerment, aimed to equip participants with the tools needed to step out of their comfort zones and establish self-reliance.

With the clubs dedicating the month of August for youth development as one of the global causes of Lions International, the training targeted 50 beneficiaries with diverse backgrounds, including professionals, graduates, students, and the unemployed, amongst others.

Economic Empowerment:

As part of their commitment to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 8, which focuses on decent work and economic empowerment, the clubs provided training in the production of liquid and powdered soap.

President of the Tema Oak Lions Club, Lion Nana Kofi Karikari, in an interview highlighted the club's dedication to providing skills training to young persons from all backgrounds to enable them to earn a decent living as main or additional sources of income.

According to him, the Tema Oak Lions Club offered the training in diverse entrepreneurial skills, aiming to contribute to the economic stability of the beneficiaries.

Lion Kofi Karikari stated, "We’re trying to empower the youth in our community for them to get the skills in soap making, shower gel, and other things for them to also have their own way of working.”

He urged participants to take the training seriously, emphasizing its potential to secure better job opportunities for them and their families.

Underscoring the importance of the initiative, the president emphasized that it serves as a means to address the high unemployment situation among the youth by creating more job opportunities for them.

Lion Kofi Karikari indicated that the trainees are not left on their own after the training, but some startup assistance is given to them as well as adequate follow-ups to their locations are undertaken to monitor their progress with the new skills acquired.

“We just don’t train them and leave them, as and when necessary, we follow up to see the impact of our training,” said Nana Karikari.

He encouraged the participants to put the skills acquired to practice by continuously practicing them to boost their income.

The participants, most of whom are unemployed, expressed gratitude to their benefactors for the insightful education received, as it equipped them with knowledge on livelihood empowerment options.

They were hopeful that the skills acquired would serve as significant additional sources of income to augment the income generated from their current occupations.

The Lions International operates an eight-course annual calendar that includes youth, disaster relief, vision, childhood cancer, environment, humanitarian relief, diabetes, and hunger relief.

The Tema Oak Lions Club remains committed to fostering economic empowerment and creating lasting positive impacts among the youth.

Lion Nana Kofi Karikari expressed gratitude to Kans Logistics for sponsoring the event.