The girls were taught dress and beads making, batik, tie and dye  and soap making. Mr Emmanuel Atiiga, the Director of the NGO, said this at an  exhibition ceremony organized by the NGO in Navrongo to showcase some  of the products they had produced during the training.

The ceremony which brought together parents of the beneficiaries,  members of the Navrongo Traditional Council and the Navrongo Municipal  Assembly, was to support each of the 31 beneficiaries, with a sewing  machine each, a certificate as well as a start-up capital.

Out of the 31 beneficiaries, nineteen successfully completed  dressmaking, eight   in beads making, four batik, tie and dye and soap  making. Mr Atiiga said the NGO aimed at providing economic empowerment to underprivileged communities and individuals,  particularly women and youth through literacy and non-formal education, ICT and employable  skills training, workshops and seminars, entrepreneurship development  as well as Human Rights Campaigns and Advocacy.

He explained that the initiative had helped to reduce the rural  urban migration in the area especially among the youth and said those  who had received training over the years had established their own  businesses and even employed other young people in the area.

“Our Lady of Community Services was established in 2005, and since  then it has been proving skills training with start-up capitals to  support the youth and about 370 youth have acquired employable skills  and 300 youth in ICT,” he said.

Mr Atiiga noted that activities of the NGO had been expanded to  include radio programmes and adolescent reproductive health education  and advocacy in the area. “We have now expanded our activities to include radio programmes  in partnership with Nabiina Community Radio, women rights and child  rights advocacy and education, adolescent reproductive health rights  and natural resource management. Three counselling centres have also  been established in three locations to offer counselling services to the adolescent and their parents at     Navrongo, Paga and Sirigu,” he indicated.

He commended the NGOs and individuals that are supporting the  project to help reduce poverty in the area.     The participants lauded the efforts of the NGO for implementing  the initiative and complementing government’s plans at reducing  unemployment among the youth in the area.