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Welentsi Foundation helps Nungua youth acquire vocational skills
Dignitaries and the beneficiaries after the programme Photo Victor A. Buxton
Welentsi III Foundation Youth Empowerment programme have been launched in Accra with the aim of equipping the youth of Nungua and its environs with employable skills.
Under the programme, a sewing project was also launched to train the youth interested in sewing within the Nungua Tradtional area the opportunity to learn the trade.
Out of over 50 applicants who expressed their interest in the trade, only 11 youths were selected to undergo a three year paid-for apprenticeship. They were made up of eight females and three males.
Speaking at the ceremony , a business man, Nii Boye Abbey, said training the youth in employable skills was vital in curbing most social vices adding that “ we have trained most of our students to graduate with non-existent white-collar jobs which eventually frustrates them.’
He said the launch of the programme was a refreshing gesture to assist needy students from poor backgrounds to acquire vocational skills in order to earn a living and also assist their families in the near future.
He mentioned that it was trite knowledge that not everyone could pursue higher education and therefore there was the need to create job avenues for the less privileged youth.
Mr Abbey said the foundation was starting the project with 11 youths drawn from communities within Nungua to start a three year apprenticeship programme with six different fashion companies.
He said “we have also provided them with sewing machines and other materials needed to enhance their training,” adding that the foundation will monitor and evaluate the progress of the beneficiaries.
He said the number of trainees would be increased subsequently in order give opportunity to more youths to learn their preferred trade.
He therefore called on nongovernmental organisations (NGOs), philantropists, businessmen and women to help the foundation train the youth of Nungua in vocational and technical skills.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Foundation, Mr Eric Bortey Djenge said it was established in 2017 by the paramount of chief of the Nungua Traditional area, Oboade Notse King Professor Odaifio Welentsi III to address the unemployment and educational needs of the people.
He mentioned that the foundation in time past had embarked on a lot of projects which included donation of electronic boards to the Nungua Senior High School and presentation of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to students and residents during the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020 within the traditional area.
Mr Djenge said indigenes interested in other vocations such as tiling, carpentry, hairdressing and beading will be later trained adding technical and vocational training was the way to go now stating that “the focus of the foundation is technical and vocational skills training.”
He said the foundation was being driven by five pillars, namely, education, youth empowerment, entrepreneurship, women and children protection and culture and tradition.
He called on the people of Nungua to support the vision of the paramount chief to bring development to the area.
By Jemima Esinam Kuatsinu
Troubled and anxious citizens in Damongo of the Savannah Region have expressed concerns about the number of young people, believed to be under the age of 18, involved in ‘shisha’ smoking in pubs and drinking spots within the township.
Eyewitnesses say the minors were seen patronising nightlife venues, where Shisha smoking happen in the open.
The situation has sparked renewed public concern over the enforcement of child protection laws and regulations governing the operations of entertainment centres in the municipality and country as a whole.
An eyewitness, who spoke to The Spectator on conditions of anonymity for security reasons, noted that the situation was becoming increasingly common.
“This is not a one-off incident. It is becoming very common, but residents like us cannot openly report or speak about it because our lives will be at risk,” he said.
Under Ghanaian law, minors were prohibited from patronising Shisha.
Public health experts have consistently warned that shisha use exposes users to harmful substances that can negatively affect brain development, respiratory health, and overall well-being, particularly among young people.
The residents believe the alleged incidents point to broader challenges relating to youth supervision, substance abuse, and weak enforcement of existing regulations and have called on municipal authorities, security agencies, and regulatory bodies to intensify monitoring of pubs and entertainment centres to ensure compliance with the law.
In an effort to address the menace, Mr Salisu Be-Awurbi, the Savannah Regional Minister, has led public education campaigns, engaged security agencies, and supported enforcement actions to address the rising use of illicit substances in the region.
Wura Kelly Seidu Boresah I, the Chief of Damongo, has also called on all stakeholders including parents, community leaders, institutions, and young people to actively support efforts to curb drug abuse, warning that the rising consumption of hard drugs poses a serious health threat to the future of the youth in the Savannah Region.
He also cautioned individuals involved in the sale and distribution of illicit drugs to immediately desist from the practice, stressing that offenders will face arrest and prosecution in accordance with the law.
From Geoffrey Buta, Damongo, Savannah Region
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Dr Theresa Baffour, an advocate for ending violence and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SAHM SAHW Foundation, has said that society plays a critical and pivotal role in breaking the cycle of domestic violence.
According to her, domestic violence is a major contributor of making women, who are mostly the victims, mentally derailed and unable to engage in economic activities.
She said this when the foundation called on the Ga Mantse, Nii Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, to solicit support for the initiative by the “Strong and Healthy Minds, Strong and Healthy Women” (SAHM SAHW) to combat domestic violence within the Ga State.
The visit was occasioned by the fact that domestic violence cases have become quite prevalent in the Ga communities and is retarding growth.
According to her, the canker was an impediment to national development because the victims were usually tortured and would have to go through series of therapies to return to the right state of mind.
Dr Baffour mentioned that Gender-Based Violence (GBV) places a mental toll on women, and was, therefore, important to break the cycle through comprehensive mental health support, crisis intervention and empowerment programmes in communities with high rates of GBV.
This intervention, she underscored, would help in empowering the denigrated victim of domestic violence to soundly heal, build and thrive.
Dr Baffour added that the initiative would provide holistic, trauma-informed mental health care and advocacy for young women affected by domestic violence.
According to her, the above statement would create safe spaces for healing and equipping them with entrepreneurial skills for renewed hope and empowered life.
The Ga Mantse pledged his support for the laudable initiative to combat domestic violence and also acknowledged the need to address it in the Ga State.
Further endorsement came from Justice Julia Naa-Yarley Adjei Amoah, Chief of Staff at the Office of the Ga Mantse, as she commended the team of SAHM SAHW Foundation for taking a bold step to end the canker in the Greater Accra.
She added that it was a step in the right direction to save vulnerable women from torture, stress and emotional abuse.
By Alfred Nii Arday Ankrah
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