SOS Children’s Villages Ghana has distributed vocational tools and start-up kits to approximately 2,000 young people across five communities in the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly, providing practical equipment designed to help graduates of technical and vocational training programmes transition directly into self-employment.
The presentation ceremony was held at the forecourt of the Paramount Chief of Bamvim, Naa Ziblim Abdulai, in the presence of traditional and religious leaders, youth groups and community representatives. Beneficiaries were drawn from Bamvim, Adubiliyili, Fooshegu, Gbulahibila and Chansegu.
The distributed kits covered a wide range of trades including aluminium fabrication, tiling, carpentry, weaving, barbering, welding, beauty services and fashion design. Equipment provided ranged from industrial sewing machines, weaving machines and fashion design tools to welding machines, angle grinders, drilling machines and a full range of barbering and beauty salon equipment including sterilizers, standing dryers, hairdressing sinks and make-up kits.
Alexander Mar Kekula, National Director of SOS Children’s Villages Ghana, said the intervention was deliberately designed to bridge the gap between skills acquisition and economic activity. “We are here to distribute tools and start-up kits to young people to enable them to utilise their skills to create jobs and employment opportunities,” he said.
Kekula noted that the programme targeted both young people currently undergoing vocational training and those who had completed their training but remained unable to work due to lack of equipment. “The overall goal of this initiative is to ensure that our youth are not idle but engaged in meaningful economic ventures that translate into income generation and sustainable national development,” he said. He added that the initiative aligns with United Nations Sustainable Development Goal Eight, which promotes decent work, economic growth and poverty reduction.
The initiative forms part of the organisation’s broader Tamale Communities Project. The project was originally rolled out in 2022, targeting 300 caregivers and 1,200 children across the Fooshegu cluster of communities, and is scheduled to conclude in 2026. Friday’s distribution represents a significant scale-up of that original scope.
Alhaji Adam Abubakari Takoro, Tamale Metropolitan Chief Executive, whose remarks were read on his behalf, commended the organisation for the intervention and said it would support government efforts to reduce youth unemployment in the Northern Region.
One beneficiary, Karim Asimawu, a beautician from the Chansegu community, said the tools would allow her to finally open a business she had trained for but could not launch. She said she had acquired the necessary skills but lacked the equipment to set up her own beauty shop, leaving her unable to generate income. The kits provided, she said, would change that.
