Seamstress Vocational Training Program 

 

Our seamstress program is based on female, youth empowerment. The program allows Ghanaian female, youth to train with a seamstress to learn the trade of sewing. In Ghana, a seamstress is an integral part of the community and economy, because getting clothes personally made is very common across the country. As we go to stores here to find clothes, it is very common to buy fabric in Ghana and get an outfit made by a local seamstress. 

 

This program is running in Bawjiase, a rural village in Ghana's Central Region, in addition to Swedru, a town in Ghana's Central Region. Currently the program is sponsoring 21 women. The enrollees train with the seamstress 5 days a week for 3 years. At the end of the three years, the program will have equipped each participant with the skills necessary to open their own seamstress business. 

 

 

 

 

 

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Our program started out of a collaboration with Forbes Chocolate, founded in 1901 and located in Broadview Heights, Ohio. The company wanted to give back to a program in Ghana that was empowering and sustainable. The company shared with us that “as a company, we rely on Ghana for a large portion of our cocoa. We feel it is very important to give back to the communities that contribute so much to what we do. In doing so, we hope to improve the lives of the people there by working with an organization that uses the money efficiently to make a direct and lasting impact on improving their quality of life.” We are so grateful for Forbe's desire to give back to Ghana through our foundation, as Forbes gets part of its supplies from Ghana's farmers.