Gender Challenge Training

I promised to post more about the training I attended last week and I fully intend to after wishing everyone a happy independence day!  Tomorrow I won’t be doing too much celebrating but I did have the opportunity to go to an ex-pat party Saturday night in Tamale where I enjoyed a burger with guac, drank ginger ale, and devoured cake.   It was wonderful to eat food from home and meet other foreigners living in Ghana though most of them worked for an NGO and live in a cities so it’s pretty different but still.  

Onto the training… the first day was the partner’s meeting where Ghanaians working for NGOs and the government met with us to discuss ways they are currently working on the kayayo issue and the phenomenon in general.  Some of the current education interventions I found particularly interesting included a sensitization programs by Camfed, use of film shows at market to educate communities, and radio shows which give a realistic picture.  Another interesting project picked village girls to send them for a camp in Accra where they’re exposed to the sleeping situation of kayayo and receive HIV/AIDS education.  Other interventions addressed those currently in kayayei such as one targeting street children to train them in a skill and another which works to resettle people back to the three northern regions.  Other organizations also work on skills training like bicycle mechanics, sewing/dressmaking, tie & dye, hairdressing, and mobile phones repairs.  It was really interesting to hear all the work that’s currently being done and to get ideas too.  The district chief (or DC) from my district was present so that was great getting to meet him and talk to him.  We also did a situational analysis and discussed the economic, social, and cultural causes of the kayayei phenomenon.

The next two days were just for the volunteers and our counterparts.  We were trained on topics like community entry, confidence building, and business skills training.  One of the best activities we did was group work on the pros and cons of kayayei and then sharing the ideas in a debate.  I (thankfully_ wasn’t chosen as a presenter but I thought it was a creative way to present both sides of the story.  Then we discussed how to support potential and returned kayayei in our communities.  My counterpart and I decided we want to first focus on the education piece to clear up misconceptions about kayeyei in our community and give an accurate picture.  Dispelling myths and portraying the reality of village versus city life will so people can make better informed decisions.  Naturally we plan to start at our school since we’re both teachers but also want to reach out to the PTA, primary schools, churches, and clubs.  We want to not only speak to the community members but also use media like photos and video.  We will also continue our work of working with peer educators and the students in our school to equip them with basic life skills and good health information.  The last step once we meet with all the parties would be to do some type of income generation activity (examples: soap/pomade making, tie & dye or batik, sewing) to give them a reason to stay in the village.  If life is improved and money can be made in the village then there are fewer reasons to leave. 

 

Besides interventions at the community level, there are a couple of projects the volunteers want to work on together too.  One is a ‘survival kit’ for the girls who decided to go do kayayei so they are better equipped for life in the city.  The other is a travelling two-day camp to not only educate girls on kayayo but also prepare for life in general but more specifically as a kayayo in case they decide to go.  It was nice exchanging ideas with other volunteers in the north on how we can help by working together.

In other news, the rain has come to the Upper East thankfully and now the farmers are starting to sow their seeds.  School will officially vacate July 26th which means we're going to be wrapping up teaching, doing revision (review), and starting exams soon.  And, saving the most exciting partfor last, in 1 month I'll be home for a three-week vacation!