8th March is celebrated every year as International Women’s Day, a day that celebrates women’s rights, equality and women empowerment. WIN as a women centred organisation organised a discussion and a livelihood skills training for the women of Ga South Municipal Assembly.
The training begun with a welcome address from the Executive Director of WIN, Ms. Susie Arku. She welcomed all the women to the meeting and thanked them for coming. She gave a brief history of how international women’s day came about and the significance of celebrating the day as women. She further introduced this year’s theme for the day; “ DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality”. She added that, from the earliest days of computing and technology and its evolution through the ages, women have contributed immensely to its development and establishment. However, their accomplishments have been against all odds in a field that has neither welcomed nor appreciated their contributions. Women have and continue to influence technology and its high time their contributions are acknowledged, appreciated and welcomed and given the same recognition as their male counterparts.
She encouraged the women to get themselves involved in issues of technology as well as encourage their daughters who are interested in that field to achieve their dreams. After her address the women were introduced to WIN and the PERD project then they continued with discussions on how women’s rights can be upheld and how they can fight against sexual and gender-based violence.
The women were equipped with livelihood skills after their discussions ended. They were taught how to make liquid soap, bleach, meat pie, chips and cake. They started by making soap, the training was led Mrs. Beatrice Anim. She took time to outline all the chemicals needed to make the products and also explained the procedures in the simplest term.
After her training, Madam Eugenia a member of the Ghana Federation of Disabilities (GFD) spoke with the gathering. She explained to the women that being disabled is not a choice and therefore it can happen to anyone at any point in a person’s life. She admonished the women not to discriminate against persons with disability or stigmatize them. She encouraged the women not to hide their children who are disabled but rather bring them out and support them in any way that they can so that they are not left behind.
The livelihood skills training continued with training on how to make chips and meat pie. The women learned a lot and they even tried to make so of the items on their own. They were all excited at the program and asked that more of such initiatives are put together for the women and girls of the Ga South communities.
