AWDF has been working in diverse ways to ensure that women play an active role in transforming their lives, families, communities, nations and the world to ensure social justice and equal opportunity for all.

A number of factors contribute to the continuous perpetuation of the subjugation of women. Lack of education, employment, skills, opportunities and income are some of the factors that prevent women from extricating themselves from the patriarchal systems and culture that so often plague many communities and cultures. Increases in the acquisition of skills has been linked to creating conditions for ensuring income earning opportunities for women that helps them to break through many of the patriarchal systems that have been built in society. Skills’ training is one way of empowering girls and young women to prepare them to take advantage of income earning opportunities. However most of these young women after acquiring the skills are unable to access the funds that will help them to set up income earning ventures.

The AWDF has over the years supported not only the skills training of women but have also supported the provision of start-up capital either in the form of equipment or funds to ensure that women who receive skills and entrepreneurial training are able to set up viable ventures that will improve their income and consequently their status in the family and community.

A signpost for “Alima Couture Mixte Coupe sur Measure” welcomes the visitor to the modest but very busy dressmaking shop set up by Alima Lemane, a 27 year old graduate of a vocational training centre run by the Association Catholique pour le Developpment Social (ACDS) based in Burkina Faso, a grantee partner of the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF). AWDF over the years has been supporting ACDS to provide different kinds of skills training to young women. In 2009, AWDF supported ACDS to provide start up equipments for its graduating class. Alima was one of the beneficiaries of this support and received a sewing machine on graduation, which proved to be the catalyst for her business today.

With the machine received Alima set out to practice her trade. Through dint of hard work she was able to save and succeeded in renting a shop where she currently carries out her trade. Alima’s expertise led to an invitation by the ACDS to support their training programmes. Alima therefore presently supports the training of students at her alma mater. She is at the vocational centre from 7.20 am every working day till 11.00am when she goes to start her daily tasks at her dressmaking shop. Alima is passionate about passing her dressmaking skills to other young women and continues to work at the vocational centre despite her own growing sewing centre. In order to keep her dressmaking shop active and to ensure that she does not disappoint her numerous customers, Alima has gone into partnership with a young tailor. They now have a partnership with Alima being the senior partner. The partnership allows Alima’s venture to produce clothing for women and men and also ensures that Alima’s shop stays open with customers orders fulfilled whilst Alima continues to give back to society.

The 2009 grant that AWDF awarded to the Association Catholique pour le Developpment Social covered start-up capital for trainees and the purchase of sewing and catering equipment for the training centre. The funding also supported the integration of other life skills training such as education in reproductive health issues that covered HIV/AIDS, relationships and women’s right issues. This prepared the young women to claim ownership of their rights; especially their reproductive rights as they testified about their ability to presently take informed decisions about their reproductive health and being able to negotiate reproductive rights.

Alima’s status has improved within the family and community. Today she is more assertive and confident. Alima and her colleagues who have obtained new skills are going to be more visible in their communities and they would be better able to negotiate for the public sphere and play a stronger role in decision making.

By Beatrice Boakye-Yiadom

Grants Manager

AWDF