Fund Sewing Skills for Women in South Africa

Dear Supporters,

Over the previous months the mum’s club members have begun applying their newly acquired computing skills to their own goals and schemes, yet now on the eve of completion, we can start to initiate and perform far more ambitious plans with each of the ladies. The base now eagerly awaits the arrival of volunteers to build upon this foundational teaching with their own unique classes for further economic empowerment and gender equality, as posed by UN sustainable development goal number 5. 

Alongside the regular lessons of computing and English we have been lucky enough to receive health and wellbeing talks covering the subjects of heart disease, cardiovascular conditions, nutrition/dietary choices, exercise and reproductive health, all in relation to the local lifestyle. Needless to say this has been highly informative for the ladies and has also proven the mums club to be a safe space to speak in confidence about issues often left unexpressed by women of the area. 

Looking to the future, our women’s empowerment mission would greatly benefit from diversifying the range of knowledge and skills we transfer. One such anticipated program would be the teaching of fashion, in both the technical construction and creative design roles. Ghana is home to a strong tradition of textile production and is especially renowned for vivid print designs. The market for contemporary designed West African heritage garments is strong within country and has the potential to gain a significant footing abroad. Yet even locally, the talent of a proficient seamstress is much sought after too. Her ability to create uniquely tailored clothing, for example special event wear, school uniforms or Ghanaian dress styles means her livelihood is not threatened by imports either. Unfortunately, the base is currently lacking the necessary equipment for the construction of clothing. Namely sewing machines, pattern cutting benches and fabric sheers, as well as sewing supplies such as threads, needles and buttons. 

Gender inequality leaves many of the women we have been working with distinctly disadvantaged by their society, too many ambitions go unachieved and too many hopes are unrealised. These women are very much aware of their position in the wider community but without support they are sadly unable to escape their heavy burdens or access any prospects of professional development. At the Kokrobite base here in Ghana it has been a pleasure to watch the aspirations of the first wave of trainees become significantly more achievable. 

In the coming months we will surely be able to implement the mum’s club empowerment format into several more partner schools. Introductory sessions are targeted to be held at the beginning of term in January 2020. As the fourth coming schools also teach up to junior high level, there is the exciting potential to initiate additional girls focused empowerment courses too, thus greatly expanding our reach and impact. Thank you to all our donors for your continued  support.

With Gratitude,

Ghana Community

Dear Supporters,

In the traditional fishing community of Kokrobite, Ghana, climate change and illegal fishing have taken a heavy toll on local fish stocks. Many families in the community are second, third or even fourth generation fisherman and women, many have never earned a living in any other way, so preparing for change in livelihood and career is a scary prospect for many. From sailing the traditional handmade canoes out to catch fish to drying and selling the fish at market, without healthy fish stocks many families are finding it harder and harder to survive. For the women, who often care for their children, manage a domestic home, and have to work, finding alternative sources of income is critical in this context.

Working with one of GVI’s partner schools in the community, the Divine Home School, we have now set up a second Kokrobite Mums’ Club, creating a safe space for around 50 women as well as reinforcing a community around the school and its students. The women know that the sacrifices they make to raise the funds to send their children to school are acknowledged and rewarded through the club: by sending their children to school, the women get to be part of a project that responds to their own individual needs and personal development. Meeting 3 days per week at GVI’s base, the women are:

• Learning basic computing. Many had never used a computer before and felt both increasingly disenfranchised from modern society and unable to access the broad range of tools and opportunities computers and the internet offer in business and employment.
• Learning English language. The local dialect in Kokrobite is Ga, and while most of the women have conversational English, reading and writing is less common. The women are learning the language skills they need to promote their enterprises to broader markets, create materials, and make sense of the tools available to them online.
• Learning about gender equality. Framed in both a local and global context, the women are completing workshops on what gender equality and disparity mean, how does it affect them, and what needs to change.
• Perhaps most importantly though, the Mums’ Club has created a safe space, just for local women, to talk about their concerns, enjoy each others company, and learn the skills they are most interested in: when setting up the club, GVI interviewed each of the women to establish where their growth areas were, what support would be most beneficial to them, and how they would like the club to be structured. This ground up approach has created a fantastic atmosphere at the club, with monthly social events to celebrate the women’s progress and have a little fun now a regular occurrence.

The basic computing course in particular is having a tremendous impact. The women are able to learn at their own pace, and their abilities are improving much quicker than anticipated. This week, the women typed and printed either their first ever official curriculum vitae or a promotional flier for their small business or enterprise. Many are incredibly proud, and they are already thinking of new and innovative ways of using their new-found-abilities to improve their family’s livelihoods. In addition, by completing the English literacy course and basic computing course at the same time, the two reinforce the pace of learning: using the English keyboard helps the women form and write sentences and by completing the English course the women increase the pace at which they can interpret on-screen computing text and instructions. Win-win!

The popularity of the Mums’ Club and the keenness of the women to attend as many classes as possible has created two challenges: 

The first is that we currently only have 4 computers for the women, at this Mum’s Club as well as GVI’s other Mums’ Club, to work on. This means there are often long waiting times to get on to a computer or that sometimes the women have to share. GVI would like to increase the number of computers to 10, so we need an additional 6 laptops. The laptops cost $300 USD locally, so any donation of $1800 or the equivalent units would be extremely welcome, enabling GVI to expand its Mums’ Clubs projects and to work with more and more local women over the longterm.

The second challenge is that many of the women would like to move on to an intermediate-level computing course once they have completed the basic course. This will require a professional syllabus, supporting materials, and the provision of an accredited certificate upon completion. So if you, or anyone you know, are able to provide this support, get in touch today to help GVI deliver this incredible project and further the international development targets in gender equality driven by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal no. 5. 

Thank you for all your support and be sure to follow this community project

Medassi("thank you")

With Gratitude,

Ghana