Kayayei are unskilled, 16-24 year-old girls who run away from the northern parts of Ghana to Accra. They sleep rough in open places and get raped, beaten up, robbed; have unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortions; and many become single parents or prostitutes. We will train 120 girls, age 18-24, annually as housekeepers, cooks, cleaners and babysitters and place them in the hospitality industry, organizations and homes or help them start their own businesses to keep them safe and out of poverty.
Kayayei are victims of culture, trafficking, rape and abuse from under-served, low-income, poor communities. They are all homeless, uneducated and live hand-to-mouth but some of them are brilliant.They work as porters with no healthcare and many end up as prostitutes and single-parents and their baby girls become Kayayei from age 8. This vicious circle adversely affects the Kayayei, their children and the communities in terms of security, health, productivity, sanitation and decent livelihoods.
The project will shelter and train 120 Kayayei yearly in batches of 15 as housekeepers, cooks, cleaners and babysitters and place them in the hospitality industry and households. Some will be supported to become self-employed. They will be counseled to be confident and disciplined. We will institute Service Level Agreements to ensure fair wages and safety for the girls. We will expand yearly to help more Kayayei. The demand for trained domestic help is very high, so we have a win-win situation.
End of Kayayei trend. Safe haven for destitute, homeless girls; Reduced teenage pregnancies, single-parenthood and youth poverty. Increase in youth employment and income. Sustained availability of domestic professionals for industry and households; Improved health, safety, security and improved livelihood and environmental decency in under-served communities. Empowered women who protect their girl-child. Enactment/enforcement of laws to end forced marriages and witch hunting that cause Kayayei.
This project has provided additional documentation in a DOCX file (projdoc.docx).
