The Project, dubbed: “Strengthening the Capacity of Women with Disabilities, through entrepreneurship training and innovative basket weaving skills,” was sponsored by the Abilis Foundation of Helsinki-Finland.

The training empowered the 50 beneficiaries drawn from the Bolgatanga Municipality and its environs with innovative methods of basket weaving, business management and records keeping skills.

The objective of the project was to increase the productive capacity of Women with Disabilities to produce more quality and modern baskets that meet international standards, to appreciably increase the competitiveness and marketability of their products and income levels of PWDs.

It was to increase WWDs and PWDs knowledge and skills in the use of plastic waste and polythene bags, as raw materials for weaving quality and innovative baskets that would contribute towards environmental cleanliness as well as enhance WWDs weavers’ ability to keep proper records.

It was also to enable them do proper costing and pricing of finished basket products, as well as operate an effective financial management system that ensured proper business transactions.

Speaking at the end of the training programme, the Programmes Manager of SEEV-Ghana, Mr Robert Basumah, said the NGO had been working with a number of WWD groups and individuals since in 2012.

He indicated that research conducted by the NGO, revealed that women with disability were mostly discriminated against in the Region because of their low economic standards.

“Women with disabilities are predominantly sidelined in most activities in their communities. They are perceived to be dependent on their families and relatives. Marriage is even a problem since men think they will be a burden on them”.

He said the low capacity of these women to use modern and innovative skills to add value to the products and manage their businesses professionally had lessened the uniqueness and competitiveness of their products on the local and international markets, leaving a supposedly more lucrative industry redundant and less rewarding for WWDs.

“As a result, the members are not able to compete favourably especially on the national and international markets.

“This situation impacts negatively on the product and income levels of WWDs whose role in the upkeep of the household and community is very significant. Therefore, supporting women in this sense means transforming their lives, their children’s access to education, health and nutrition,” he stressed.