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St. Louise Vocational Training Centre (VTC) is an offshoot of Street Children Project, Catholic Archdiocese of Kumasi in Ghana. The centre was established in 2013 to provide a residential skill training centre for girls who wish to leave the street to learn skills but who may not have stable families to return to.
It was noted that some girls who returned home from the streets and sponsored in skill training dropped out due to reasons such as, abusive family situations, early/forced marriages, lack of family support as a result of economic hardship.
To prevent the continuation of these oppressive situation, we discerned the need for a residential training centre as an alternative, so vulnerable young girls can be supported to learn skills of their choices, free from threats and can become economically independent.
When girls have a means of livelihood, they can decide for themselves, they can also provide for their needs and support their families and they can overcome abusive and exploitative family situations.
The VTC provides the opportunity to learn employable skills including dressmaking, hairdressing and catering. They are also trained in a wide range of areas including home keeping, basic literacy, human development/sexuality, communication and self-awareness etc. They are also exposed to a range of chores including crop and animal farming, bead making, tye and dye making etc.
There are currently 40 girls at the centre from very poor families. The centre provides all their needs including feeding, training, toiletries, clothing and medical with the cost of sponsoring one girl being quite demanding.
When they graduate, they are offered an internship with well-established experts in their fields of training to expose them to the practical reality of the job markets. On completion of the internship, they are helped with establishing their businesses with set up needs.
The centre is indebted to the donations received from SVP NI in supporting the poultry farm which contributes immensely to the feeding of the girls and would be grateful of any support that can be given to enable them to serve more children from the street.
