NGO trains "Kayayei" in Agbobloshie

City of God, a non-governmental organisation of the Catholic Archdiocese in Accra, has offered to provide skills training for hundreds of young people living in Agbobloshie.

It has, therefore, opened literacy and skills training centre which had trained over 3,000 students most of whom had gone back into mainstream junior or senior high schools with some graduating from tertiary institutions.

The centre, situated at Agbogbloshie, a suburb of Accra, was established by Father Arcadio Sicher in 2002 who organised night schools for kayayei (head porters) and truck pushers in the vicinity who were ready to acquire further education.

Mr Abraham Kwabena Kuchando, a teacher at the centre, told the Ghana News Agency that the head porters and truck pushers were grouped into two classes and taught Basic English, Mathematics and Computer Literacy whilst those who already had the basics were trained to re-enter mainstream formal education.

The centre has six volunteer teachers with each class having at least 60 students.

He said some of the young ladies were also trained to use beads in making rosaries, slippers, and necklaces among other crafts for sale while others, including boys, were taught tailoring or dress making.

Mr Kuchando said due to the location of centre, it was bedeviled with lots of problems which include flooding and lack of site for the proper disposal of waste making the people susceptible to airborne diseases.

He called for better structures to help curb the rampant fire outbreak in the area adding that the centre had trained fire volunteers to assist should there be any fire outbreak.