Cape Coast, April 21, GNA - More than 48 disabled persons in the Cape
Coast Metropolis are being trained by the Cape Coast Business Advisory
Centre (BAC) of the National Board for Small Scale Enterprises, on business
management, to build the capacities of participants, to enable them to impr= ove
upon their businesses. The one-month programme was organised by the Cape Coast BAC and the
Department of Co-operatives with financial support from Voluntary Services
Overseas (VSO). Ms. Alison Walker, the Disability Development Advisor of the VSO, told
Ghana News Agency in Cape Coast that the voluntary group had released
10,680 Ghana Cedis for the training, to enable the disabled to acquire skills to
successful operate profit making enterprises to better their living conditi= ons. She said the executives and members of disabled groups: the Ghana Blin= d
Union, Ghana Society for Physically Disabled, Services and Advocacy for
People with Intellectual Disability and the Ghana National Association of t= he
Deaf would benefit from the programme. According to Ms. Walker, who is currently attached to the Cape Coast
Metropolitan Social Welfare Office, the training programme would focus on
group dynamics where members would be encouraged to partner with others to
undertake income generating activities. Other contents include records and book-keeping to expose participant= s
among others to business transaction and record keeping, business and finan= cial
management, the culture of saving and the benefits of banking. Ms. Walker said the training course was important because majority of the
disabled in the Metropolis were poor and face obstacles in the area of secu= ring
and maintaining livelihoods. She said it was necessary that their capacities were built for them to run their
own businesses and petty trading activities with the required skills. The Head of the Cape Coast BAC, Ms. Veronica Essien, indicated that
Associations of the Disabled were working to develop a collective business
venture for the benefit of all its members. She said numerous assistances both in cash and tools from organizations, to
some of the disabled persons have not helped improve their businesses hence
the training programme to give them the needed skills to run their economic
ventures. Ms. Essien asked the participants to avail themselves of the opportu= nity
being offered them to secure livelihoods and take care of their families.
