LESDEP supports Persons Living With Disabilities with equipment

A total of 150 Persons Living With Disabilities in Greater Accra Region trained under the Local Enterprises and Skills Development Programme (LESDEP) were on Thursday presented with start-up kits and equipment at the skills training centre in Accra.

The equipment included computer and mobile phone repair kits, hand sewing and embroidery machines, ovens and multi-purpose tricycles.

The training, undertaken in partnership with the Centre for Employment of Persons with Disabilities, saw beneficiaries trained in Information Technology (IT), mobile-phone and laptop repairs and catering services.

There were special sessions on business development and entrepreneurial skills.

Mr. Gariba Adem, National Coordinator of LESDEP, said the goal was to facilitate acquisition of business and entrepreneurial skills among People Living With Disabilities to enable them support themselves economically.

"The training comes at no cost to the trainee. Upon completion, they are supported with the needed tools to start their own business," he added.

Mr. Adem lauded contribution of the Centre which was at the forefront of the selection process and expressed the hope that the collaboration would enable more People Living With Disabilities to acquire the necessary skills for more meaningful life.

He urged the beneficiaries to be serious with their businesses and explore other areas of income generating activities to sustain their livelihood.

Mr. Adem pledged the continuous assistance of LESDEP to the beneficiaries, adding that the target was to train about 5,000 People Living With Disabilities to acquire the requisite skills and trades for their development.

Mr. Alexander Tetteh, Executive Director, Centre for Employment of Persons Living with Disabilities, urged the beneficiaries to work hard to give meaning to the training they had received to boost the confidence of individuals who would be willing to support them.

He urged them to fulfill their repayment schedule for the equipment to enable others to benefit from the programme.

LESDEP is a unique business model for community development in Ghana with focus on training the unemployed to acquire viable skills to make them self-employed through specialised hands-on training within the shortest possible time in their localities.**