Dubbed ‘Girls Empowerment Program (GEP)’, it is a skill training program for girls between the ages of 7-16 years and seeks to build on the confidence of the girls as well as teach them about their rights in the society.

Through community outreach, engaging workshops and activities, GEP helps girls learn and as well teach others to change their mindsets, followed by action and to be informed and confident leaders of change in their communities.

Madam Sherry Peters, Skills Training Advisor at Crossroads International, expressed joy with the the level of creativity of the girls and the products they made for exhibition after weeks of training.

She said the items exhibited by the girls – including; covered note books with Ghanaian clothing, necklaces, ear rings, beaded slippers – affirmed GEP’s aim to empower the girls to be creative and to expect more for themselves than what they have understood themselves to be.

“I have trained them in jewellery making, ice cream making, which has empowered them. They can sell that and be able to provide for themselves, so they are not dependent on anybody. And by that they can eventually make it some kind of living,” Madam Peters said.

She said girls should be encouraged to aim higher in life than restrict them for abuse and violence in the community.

For this reason, Madam Peters said, GEP has provided a safe space for its members to have the guidance of mentors, role models, friends and counsellors to help combat the challenges of daily life.

Miss Sierra Nallo, Communications Advisor for WiLDAF Ghana, said GEP has been introduced in eleven schools in three regions of the country and with membership population of about 440 girls.

She said the exhibition was to test the girls on what they had learnt from the workshops and after 16 days of activism.

“This is a testament to their skills, their crafts and applying their technical skills and their creative skills. And they are here to showcase it to the key stakeholders and have an opportunity for them to really be proud of what comes from them,” she said.

Miss Nallo said art is a way for the girls to express themselves in clear language to the world on issues of gender based violence and the abuse of the rights of the girl child.