There are thousands of children living on the streets of Kumasi; they often end up in drug trafficking and child prostitution. Most of the girls are from the northern part of the country. They have come to Kumasi in the hopes of finding work as head porters or “kayayo” (carrying things on their heads for market vendors). The children work long, hard days and barely make ends meet. Many of them are forced to sleep outside, so there’s always the threat of robbery or rape.

This motivated the building of a Vocational Training Centre (VTC). It offers young girls a safe place to stay (a bed, food, sanitary facilities, clothes). They also learn how to cook and about personal care, all aspects related to self-reliance. Additionally, they get a professional training to become a hairdresser or seamstress and attention is also paid to reading, maths and business skills.

At present (2021) there is room for 40-60 girls. They will be staying there for 2 years and get full time training. After finishing, a social worker will continue to assist the girls in finding work and housing. Sometimes the girls return to their families, sometimes they don’t.