Beneficiaries of the Youth Employment and Empowerment Project (YEEP) initiated by MTN Ghana Foundation in partnership with Plan Ghana are making an impact in their communities.
About 100 unemployed youth were trained in mobile phone repairs, how to maintain a safe and secure work environment, introduction to mobile phone technology, basic customer service among others.
At the end of the training at Suhum and Nsawam, the beneficiaries received certificates of participation, start-up tools, and kiosks to start work and improve their livelihoods.
A year after graduating, majority of them are touching lives and training others in their communities.
Some of them who engaged the media during a tour to assess their progress at Suhum and Nsawam in the Eastern region shared how their lives have been transformed after the programme.
Young Diana Ohene Ansah expressed profound gratitude to MTN Ghana for the timely intervention.
“I’m now independent and don’t have to rely on men for money. My parents can now concentrate on providing for my other siblings,” she stated.
Diana Ansah said she makes more money to support her family.
Awatey Derrick – Suhum
The team from MTN Ghana Foundation visited the shop of Awatey Derrick at Suhum. He is already training two of his friends after graduation.
“I’m saving a lot of money I have now been able to rent. I’m living a comfortable life and it’s all thanks to MTN. I want to say a big thank you to MTN Ghana,” an elated Derrick added.
Awatey Derrick
While revealing that he has started training others to also benefit from the skills he acquired from the YEEP project, he called on the MTN Foundation to continue the project to change the lives of others.
Another promising young man was Enoch Ofori who is training about four people in his community at Suhum.
He said but for the intervention, life would have been very difficult for him.
“Before this, I struggle to pay my rent and take care of things that I needed. But through this work, I’m able to sort all these things out,” he noted.
Enoch Ofori appealed to MTN Ghana Foundation to extend the programme to other young boys struggling to make ends meet.
Louis Boateng based at Nsawam is also a beneficiary making MTN Ghana Foundation and Plan Ghana proud.
He has trained about 11 people and assists his colleagues at Suhum and Nsawam should they face any difficulty.
“Thanks to MTN, I have my own container and I can now take care of myself. Things are going very well and I have a lot of people coming to me to also teach them,” he said.
Rosemary Mensah
The story of Rosemary Mensah is quite unique. As a trader at the Nsawam market, she took advantage of YEEP and is now making extra money.
She said unlike before, she is now living a comfortable life and is able to take care of her younger siblings.
She has employed two young men who take care of the shop while she goes to the market.
“I do mobile phone repairs and mobile money. MTN has changed my life because I’m making more money to support my younger siblings,” she stressed.
For her part, Economic Empowerment Advisor of the MTN Foundation, Cynthia Mills, said they are happy about the progress made by the beneficiaries.
“We are happy about the way they are going about their work. It tells us that our money hasn’t gone down the drain and the youth are hungry to learn skills so when you make that provision for them they will apply their minds to it,” she observed.
Cynthia Mills
Given the feat chalked, Mrs Cynthia Mills said there should be an engagement between MTN Foundation and Plan Ghana to scale-up the project to benefit other people from other regions.