Community Service

Project Title: Monmua

Location: Sorbelle, Sissala West District, Upper West Region

Project category: Skills Training and Women Empowerment

Abstract

Imagine living in a place where farming is the only way to survive, but you can only farm for one season in a year. Imagine having to sell your small farm produce to pay for your medical bills, children’s education, and daily needs. Imagine facing the threat of hunger and poverty every day.

This is the reality for many women in the project location, where the single rainy season leaves them jobless and vulnerable in the dry season. They have no alternative source of income, no economic security, and no hope for a better future.

But what if we could change that? What if we could empower these women with skills that they can use to create their businesses and earn extra income? What if we could help them fight poverty and improve their living standards? 

That is the vision of our project, which started in 2021 as a collaboration between myself and three other Mastercard Scholars. We trained 20 women to make common yet essential domestic detergents using simple household items. The training lasted for two weeks and covered various methods of detergent production. We plan to expand the training to more women.

This training aims to equip women with skills they can monetize to complement their farming activities. By selling their personally made detergents, they can generate additional income that can help them cover their daily expenses, such as buying foodstuffs, paying medical bills, and meeting contingent needs. However, we realised that training alone is not enough. A year after the training, we found out that some of the trainees were unable to set up a business and those who did could not scale it up or make it profitable. The main reason for this was the lack of startup capital. Without financial support, the skills may never be monetised.

We need funds to help these women start or grow their businesses and turn their skills into sustainable livelihoods. We pitched our idea to the local authorities, including the paramount chief of the area during their national cultural display called Gandawii Nabahilme, as well as the regional minister, member of parliament, and district chief executive. They have expressed their support and promised to provide some funds for the women. We are still following up on these promises diligently and persistently.

The goals of our project are:

           I.                  To provide women with economic security.

        II.                  To provide sustainable alternative livelihoods.

     III.                  To battle chronic poverty using skills.

    IV.                  To improve living standards.

We believe that our project has the potential to transform the lives of these women and their families. We believe that by empowering them with skills and capital, we can help them improve their living standard.