Bawumia commissions multi-purpose ‘Kayayei' hostel, training centre

The Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has commissioned an ultra-modern hostel facility and a skills training and empowerment centre in Accra for head porters, popularly known as Kayayei.

The multi-purpose facilities, located in Madina and Ashaiman in the Greater Accra Region, fulfil a promise made by Dr Bawumia on behalf of the government in 2019 to head porters during a visit to their base in Agbogbloshie to get them a decent place of accommodation in a bid to help move them out of the streets.

With an added skills and training centre to the hostel facilities, the Vice President and the government have gone beyond the initial promise to empower disadvantaged girls.

Dr Bawumia expressed delight at the commissioning of the facility and the launch of the training programme, which he said would address the plight of the marginalised girls and offer them transitional job pathways to enhance their socio-economic status.

"I am honoured to be part of this initiative dedicated to empowering head porters, offering transitional job pathways and enhancing their socio-economic status. It is a cause close to my heart as it addresses the plight of a marginalised segment of our society.

"This noble endeavour resonates profoundly with the core values of our mission, as it squarely addresses the pressing needs of a marginalised segment of our society that has long been relegated to the shadows of neglect and indifference,” Dr Bawumia said.

He noted that statistics showed that there are over 100,000 head porters in Ghana, who endure unimaginable hardships such as lack of shelter, inadequate medical care and harassment in urban centres daily.

"From the harsh realities of homelessness to the glaring deficiencies in access to adequate health care and the pervasive scourge of urban harassment, their plight stands as a stark testament to the moral imperative of urgent intervention to uplift and transform their lives."

Dr Bawumia noted that the government's concern is not only to provide decent accommodation to the head porters but to also create a pathway which would empower them to be self-employed so that they would not have to go back to the streets, hence the establishment of the Kayayei Empowerment Programme.

The programme, Dr Bawumia noted, has been meticulously conceived and crafted to provide holistic and sustainable economic empowerment to "these resilient young women."

"This multi-faceted programme is characterised by a rigorous and exhaustive recruitment process, culminating in the selection of initial training cohorts comprising 5,000 head porters. Over three weeks, participants will be immersed in a transformative learning experience, encompassing essential modules such as baking and beading, supplemented by invaluable soft skills training in personal health care, financial management, and entrepreneurial acumen.

"Crucially, the provision of post-training support and implementation of a track and trace model serves as the linchpin of the programme's efficacy, with participants receiving starter packs tailored to facilitate their seamless integration into new economic opportunities and further ensure that beneficiaries do not return to being head porters," Dr Bawumia added.

In addition to the programmes on offer, Dr Bawumia disclosed that discussions with Aayalolo and Metro Mass are ongoing for the two agencies to also train some of the Kayayei in driving.

Overall, the government intends to build two more facilities in addition to the two newly commissioned facilities in Madina and Ashaiman.

Each facility is equipped with 300 beds, training rooms, panties, a kitchen, a clinic, washrooms, fire extinguishers, CCTV and a security and food shed.

Dr Bawumia expressed gratitude to several government agencies, which forged strategic and collaborative partnerships with some private enterprises and some civil society organisations to make the project possible.

The government agencies which collaborated are Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA), National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP), Youth Employment Agency (YEA), Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (CTVET), Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund), Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF), Ghana Gas and BOST, as well as the Father Campbell Foundation and BEST.