Fifteen persons living with disability in Kumasi have been empowered to produce hand-made products to improve their livelihoods.

The beneficiaries often face mobility challenges due to their disabilities affecting their financial strengths.

The training, by the Mandela Fellows, encourages efforts of the persons with disability to be able to start, own and run income-generation trades.

Inclusiveness in entrepreneurship and in the workforce demands concerted efforts from society.

Persons with disabilities encounter barriers in securing physically demanding yet decent income-generating jobs.

Recognizing this obstacle, the Mandela Fellows designed a specialized training program to equip PWDs with the necessary skills in soap making, a trade that can be managed from home and other accessible locations.

The soap-making initiative is a collective venture led by Gifty Adzigbey and Shaibu Fuseini.

Gifty says the initiative is an effort to spotlight inclusiveness and help beneficiaries with a livelihood skill.

“We want to be sure that whatever we are teaching them, they are picking it up. We will help them with packaging and how to brand their products.

“We will follow up and nurture them to grow. We should be able to use them as focal people to earn a living for themselves,” she said.

The fellows sensitize 130 students of Ibadur Rahman Senior High School to build their self-confidence, and sense of purpose and uphold inclusion.

Gifty says the outreach will leave the students and beneficiaries well-informed on the topic of inclusion.

“People have misconceptions about people with disability and there's no inclusion.

“It only exists on paper. Practically it is not there. So our engagement and speakers took away the false sentiments and enlightened them,” she said.

Some beneficiaries expressed happiness, indicating that the skills acquired will allow them to have a supplementary source of income.

“We will earn some money to take care of the family. It will also keep as working all the time and we won't find ourselves on the streets begging,” they said

Beneficiaries were given start-up kits to begin their entrepreneurship journey.