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bout 400 children in the West Mamprusi District and the Savelugu/Nantong municipality in the Northern Region are to be given vocational skills training by the Regional Advisory Information and Network Systems (RAINS), a non-governmental organisation, to enable them to gain economic independence in the future.

The beneficiaries, who are to be trained in vocations of their choice such as carpentry, satellite installation, dressmaking, mobile phone repairs, hairdressing, motor and lorry fitting, were selected from four communities including Zokuga, Nantong-Kurugu, Daboya No. 1 and Nayorku.

Prospects

Speaking at the launch of the project at Walewale in the West Mamprusi District, the Executive Director of RAINS, Mr Hadi Tijani, said the training was part of the NGO’s ‘Childhood Regained Project’ which sought to curb child exploitation and rural urban migration.

He said the project being funded by Comic Relief, a United Kingdom-based charitable organisation, was aimed at empowering local communities to effectively promote positive change that would enrich the lives of its beneficiaries.

He explained that the Childhood Regained Project focused on promoting child rights, reducing child labour and exploitation in rural communities in the three northern regions.

According to Mr Tijani, the skills training would enable the beneficiaries, aged mostly above 17 years, to gain economic independence.

Start-up

He added that by undertaking the skills acquisition training, participants would find productive ventures thus reducing unemployment in the region.

He explained that after their training, they would be provided with tools and logistics to enable them to start their work.

The Mamprusi West District Chief Executive, Mr David Awuni, commended RAINS for introducing the project in the two districts.

Employment

He said vocational skills acquisition would help the people, particularly the youth, to find jobs without depending on the central government for employment.

According to him, the government alone could not solve the unemployment situation in the country and, therefore, needed the efforts of all institutions, especially NGOs, to create more jobs.

Mr Awuni, however, cautioned the beneficiaries to take their training seriously in order not to defeat the purpose of the project.