Phase 2 of 2nd Lady’s ‘Needles for Girls’ project kicks off, 100 underprivileged girls in Ga East to benefit

The second phase of the Second Lady's "Needles for Girls" (N4G) project has kicked off in the Ga East Municipality.

This phase involves interviews aimed at screening the registered participants and orientating them for the apprenticeship training in what is termed the "career day".

Those who could not participate in the first registration exercise would also be given the opportunity to register and benefit from the initiative.

The overall goal of the N4G project, which targets less-privileged girls between 16 and 24 years old, is to train and equip them with the requisite knowledge and skills in fashion and related activities such as dress-making, hairdressing, make-up, manicure and pedicure, among others; and fashion accessories, at no cost to them, and create job opportunities for them to enhance their living standards.

Five (5) Ga Municipalities of the Greater Accra; Ga East, Ga North, Ga South, Ga West, and Ga Central, and other selected Districts in the Ashanti and Northern Regions are to benefit from the three-year project which is financed through the Ghana EXIM Bank and GIZ.

The Presiding Member (PM), Hon. Jesse Nii Noi Anum, who represented the Municipal Chief Executive MCE Hon. Janet Tulasi Mensah, speaking at the opening of the second phase of the project at Haatso on Tuesday, 27th July, 2021, charged the participants to show commitment and desire to be trained and attain the necessary skills and knowledge to advance their lives.

He advised them to accord their trainers maximum respect and be obedient and cooperate with them to ensure they receive the right training.

The Presiding Member, who was joined by the Municipal Coordinating Director (MCD), Vera Akuffo-Mante (Mrs), lauded the efforts of the Second Lady in identifying and preparing deprived young women in the country for the future by giving them vocational training.

Mrs Vera Akuffo-Mante encouraged the participants to see the opportunity given by the Second Lady as a golden one and take advantage to learn a trade to improve their lives.

She acknowledged but debunked the misconception by some sections of society that vocational training is meant for school dropouts and low-classed people which often discourages young women from entering into such areas and advised them to ignore such views and concentrate on the opportunity offered them.

Mrs. Akuffo-Mante again urged them to grab the opportunity and make the best out of it in order to be counted in society and become breadwinners for their families.

An Administrative Assistant at the Office of the 2nd Lady, and a Facilitator for the programme, Miss Sandra Paye, noted that the second phase of the exercise would help the Project Secretariat to identify the girls who are genuinely ready and committed to enroll into the training.

She reiterated that the 2nd Lady's Office and associated partners were bearing the full cost of the training and appealed to the prospective beneficiaries to put in their maximum efforts to enable them to be trained in respective chosen areas for their personal development and advancement.