Ghana: USD 9,500 Bead-Making Factory for Manya Krobo

A US$ 9,500 bead-making factory has been inaugurated for the Manya Krobo Queen Mothers Association to help generate income to cater for People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWA), orphans and the vulnerable in society.

The project is part of the US government project called the President´s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief using the Ambassador Special Self-Help Programme, a programme that provides grants to community based organizations, local non governmental organizations and other grassroots project.

Under the project the US government through the Ambassador provides funds for people in rural areas who need support to venture into income generating projects or activities for orphans and vulnerable people.

Mr. Philip Cummings, Chief of Economic Section at the US Embassy in Accra who represented the US Ambassador Mr. Donald Teitelbaum, said the facility was to help the community and the queen mothers generate extra income to enable them provide care-givers for the target groups in the community.

"This project would definitely improve their income, provide job for more women and save them the laborious work of breaking and grinding the raw glass and add value to their beads", he said.

Mr. Cummings commended members of the association for their hard work, expertise and labour for making the project a success.

He said the completion of the project demonstrates that community organizations working for their self help partners can truly make a better life for themselves.

Madam Manye Nartekie, project leader, said the association had about 1,350 HIV patients and orphans to cater for and expressed hope that with the inauguration of the factory they could generate more income to cater for them.

Mr. Abraham Tetteh Osakonor, leader of bead makers, expressed happiness at the project and said at first their work was very tedious because they had to pound the glass to enable them get the right material for the bead.

"Now we would be more efficient because we do not need to use manpower to pound glass and we can produce more than we used to do", he said.