Dressmakers

I have spent the last two days meeting with the young girls who have expressed interests in vocational training. This has been an enjoyable experience and it’s always fun to watch the girls’ faces as we talk to them about the different options open to them—since they are all illiterate their expressions are my only clue to their feelings. The girls are all around 18 years old and have never attended school. One went to Accra in an attempt to earn money to pay for vocational training herself but returned home after living on the streets without enough money to buy food, while another is an orphan whose adopted parents are strongly supporting her choice to go to school. They will be provided at place at GIGDEV which a very well is run women’s center where they will learn how to sew, receive a basic education including women’s rights and empowerment, and basic business training so they can open up their own small sewing business. They will also be provided with all the necessary supplies along a bicycle so they can return to the village and visit their families—I often see groups of young girls pedaling along the dusty roads on their way to visit their families on the weekends or on holidays.

One of the girls we were to meet was visiting family in another village and was due to return soon but we decided to meet her on the way. We drove down one of the foot paths that lead to the farms. This was a nice break from the dusty and rutted main road. We met her just outside the village that she was visiting and asked her some basic questions about her goals and wants. This was one of those moments that struck me as incredibly beautiful. We were standing on a dry and windy plateau under a cloudless blue sky while groups of preschoolers straggled back into the nearby classroom after break.

After the difficulties of last week it’s refreshing to be able to provide something so basic to such grateful and deserving girls, and I know that this opportunity will be life changing for them to a point that I can’t even imagine. Thanks for the continued support.