Agriculture remains the primary source of livelihood for the majority of Ghanaians. However, the adverse impacts of climate change and the depletion of natural resources have led to a steady decline in agricultural yields. This situation has driven many young individuals to migrate to urban centres in the hope of finding employment, but opportunities are often scarce. In their quest for a brighter future, thousands of young men and women undertake perilous journeys to Europe each year.

SOS Children’s Villages in Ghana GrEEn project aims to address this issue by creating opportunities within Ghana to counteract this trend. GrEEn, which stands for "Boosting Green Employment and Enterprise Opportunities," seeks to provide viable alternatives for the youth, promoting sustainable employment and enterprise ventures within the country.

The GrEEn project is dedicated to tackling the factors that drive migration in Ghana. Its primary focus is on creating green employment opportunities and bolstering the resilience of local economies in the Ashanti and Western regions, particularly in the face of climate challenges. Shaibu Fuseini, a seasoned development professional with over a decade of experience, leads the GrEEn project. His expertise spans youth empowerment, agriculture, climate adaptation, and poverty reduction. The project's core objective is to empower its beneficiaries by equipping them with the skills and knowledge necessary to identify economic opportunities that align with their personal interests and capabilities within the context of the local green economy.

The project, supported by a grant facility of $1,000,000, is designed to benefit a total of 4,000 beneficiaries, including women, youth, and returning migrants. This four-year initiative commenced in May 2020 and is scheduled to conclude in April 2024.

Significant Milestones!

Since its inception in 2020, the GrEEn project has graduated 1094 participants in ten (10) MMDAs in Ashanti and Western Region so far.

Significant successes so far:

Trained, coached and mentored 1,112 participants in ten (10) MMDAs during the first and second phase of the project
1094 participants graduated from the training programme
Organized nine (9) events to educate and empower over 1331 participants on gender biases and environmental sustainability
Nine (9) green businesses benefited from coaching and mentorship programmes in business plan and pitch preparation, securing a total of £16,000 in grants to expand their businesses.
Supported 1 participant to gain scholarship into Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

Areas of Work

Selection of Beneficiaries: Community outreach events are organized to invite potential applicants to learn more about the project and the application process. Participants are then registered and then invited for an interview. SOS Children’s Villages interviews and validates applicants to ascertain their motivation, commitment and availability for the intervention. This ensures vulnerable yet motivated young people are selected for the project.
Orientation of Beneficiaries: Selected young people are oriented on the project, administered with baseline surveys, guarantors and media consent forms. It also allows the trainers and beneficiaries to agree on ground rules for training, coaching and mentoring. SOS Trainers act as trainers, coaches and mentors.
Events: International Day Events focused on addressing gender-biases and ensuring environmental sustainability are held for project participants, community members and organized groups in commemoration of International Days such as Elimination of Violence against Women, International Women’s Day, World Earth Day, National Volunteers Day and National Tree Planting Day.
Core life skills training: Young people undergo 3 weeks boot camp of training, coaching and mentoring sessions. Using a customized training curriculum based on the needs and literacy levels of beneficiaries, topics such as identifying green job opportunities, being employed or being an entrepreneur, resolving and solving conflicts, communicating and negotiating effectively among others are facilitated by an experienced pool of SOS facilitators. Training sessions are mainstreamed with gender and uses customized audio visuals in local dialects, role plays and participatory methods to empower beneficiaries.
Coaching and Mentoring of Beneficiaries: SOS provides one on one coaching and mentoring to participants to enable them start or expand their green businesses. Participants are also empowered to incorporate green practices in their already existing businesses. Coaching is aimed at equipping beneficiaries with the necessary skills set to secure sustainable jobs within their local green economy. During coaching sessions, participants are guided to make judicious use of the funds they would receive from the project, develop a saving plan while setting realistic goals for themselves

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GrEEn

Boosting Green Employment and Enterprise Opportunities in Ghana

Significant Milestones!

Areas of Work