The objective is to empower female porters (Kayayei) from Northern Ghana with skills that will enable them gain financial freedom and reduce their reliance on men who might take advantage of their poverty to misuse them.

The word “Kayayei” is a Ga term that describes young women from Northern Ghana who travelled down south to engage in the load carrying business because it entails little or no capital outlay. There is abject poverty in this part of country which tends to push them out to improve their economic position. Majority of them normally migrated from the rural parts of Northern Ghana to make a living in the southern cities.The phenomenon of kayayei is a very deplorable and the inhuman situation these young girls find themselves in. They’re really like human donkeys; sometimes you find a child as young as six or nine carrying loads that even an adult cannot manage. They sleep out there and are exposed to all kinds of diseases; they are raped and subjected to all kinds of abuses; they’re not in school and not learning any skills for sustainable employment; some end up being trafficked, like those who ended up in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Thus we must collectively decide to include them in the Ghanaian dream.

According to Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2016 – 2030, empowering women and promoting gender equality is crucial to accelerating sustainable development. Ending all forms of discrimination against women and girls is not only a basic human right, but it also has a multiplier effect across all other development areas.. For many people, employment is the entry point for economic well-being. In an inclusive economy, decent work means a living wage, workplace safety and protection against discrimination. There has been some progress.

This project intends to support those who are willing to go back to school whiles other would be initiated into vocations and supported with start-up funds to be self-employed.It will motivate every well-meaning Ghanaian citizen and benevolent individuals and international organization which are into women empowerment to be part of the solution to this menace.

Activities:

To reach that objective, it is appropriate to:

• Vocational training in hair dressing, sewing, catering, beads making among others to create a sustainable form of livelihood for the youth in the north to prevent them from migrating to the south for non-existing jobs.
• Provide educational support in terms of scholarship and materials for those who are willing to go to school.
• Formation of village savings and loans associations in the rural areas to enable the people save towards investment.
• Credible registration of female porters to enable them benefit from this project.
• Children of the kayayei would also be covered in the solutions.
• Dialogue with victims to tell society what they wanted to do with their lives, the persons behind their migration to Accra and Kumasi to do Kayayei and challenges they encountered.