UNCHR, CCG and GRB graduate 88 refugees equipped with skills to transform lives

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Ghana, in collaboration with the Christian Council of Ghana (CCG) and the Ghana Refugee Board, graduated 88 refugees who completed various hands-on skills training at the Blue Oasis Centre for Urban Refugees in Accra.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony on Thursday, December 21, Dr Joyce Steiner, Director of Programmes and Advocacy at the CCG, urged the graduates to make use of the skills they acquired to benefit themselves and society.

Dr. Joyce Steiner, delivering the keynote address

"Most important this is putting the skills acquired into use. Plan with the little we have given you and make use of it so that you will be happy. Compete with yourself alone,” she advised.

Speaking on the CCG’s inspiration for being part of the program, Dr. Steiner remarked, “If someone is hungry, how do you tell the person to go to church? So this inspired us to venture into social intervention programs through which we have worked with the UNCHR for over two decades."

According to Dr Steiner, the graduates would receive seed funding to help boost their new skills and careers.

Also speaking at the event, Kokomlemle Mantse, who represented the Adabraka Mantse, told the refugees to "impact what you have learnt onto others so that vulnerability would be erased."

The 88 graduands completed hands-on training in fields like hairdressing, dressmaking, driving, catering and interior decorating.

An additional 152 refugees graduated from the centre's English grammar classes over the past few months.

Certificates were presented to each graduate at the ceremony, which also featured fashion and makeup demonstrations and exhibitions.

A graduate receiving his certificate

Some trained dressmakers exhibiting their designs

Refugees who got training in hairdressing exhibited their acquired skills

Some graduate refugees said the continuous support from CCG and UNHCR had helped transform their ordeal into hopeful futures through renewed confidence and marketable skills.

The training programme aims to empower refugees to become self-reliant contributors in Ghanaian society with funding from the UNCHR and implemented by the CCG with authorization from the GRB.