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120 girls trained in solar installation, motorcycle repairs

About 120 young girls in northern Ghana have received training in motorcycle repairs and solar installation as part of strategies to empower them to have gainful employment and curb rural-urban migration.

The three-year project dubbed, “Female Motorcycle Mechanics and Solar Technicians (FeMMSTECH)” is being implemented by the German International Cooperation (GIZ) in the Savannah, North East, Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions.

GIZ, a German development agency working in some developing countries, is aimed at helping women in northern Ghana to increase their employment prospects by undertaking self-oriented businesses and creating jobs.

In an interview with the Ghanaian Times, the Director, Cleanlight Ghana, GIZ, Mr Doku Kubatey, indicated that after acquiring knowledge in motorcycle repairs and solar installation which ran from 2016 to 2019, the young ladies still needed to learn some basic skills as to how to run their businesses effectively.

As a result, a second phase of the project which would be about entrepreneurship training and development has begun and aimed at beefing up the girls’ knowledge on the skills they have acquired so far and how to start and manage businesses and customer relations.

He added that, the youth between the ages of 18 and 25 years often migrated to southern Ghana in search for non-existing jobs, hence the need for the training to enable them stay in their respective communities and establish their own sources of incomes.

The director stated that the overall objective of the project was to increase employability of females in northern Ghana by equipping young women with technical skills that would allow them to succeed in the fast-growing markets of two-wheeled vehicles and photovoltaic.

“The first market is that of photovoltaic appliances, which are used to generate electric power from the sun. The vast majority of Ghana’s rural population has no access to the national electricity grid, and the country’s government has been heavily investing in solar photovoltaic appliances and other renewable energy sources to serve as alternatives.

“When solar lanterns are installed in rural communities, women can make use of electrical appliances and have more access to light; therefore, they can spend less time on house chores and devote more time to education,” he added.

FROM SAMUEL AKAPULE, BOLGATANGA

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