Meet our Beneficiaries: Elizabeth Anafu

Survival is a daily struggle for street youth in Ghana.  From finding food to eat, clothes to wear and a place to lay their heads down, life and the journey into adulthood can be a road laced with hopelessness and desperation for this often overlooked group.

Youth Alive (YA) Ghana provides a variety of services that address and effectively confront issues that spread poverty amongst youth within the local community. One strategic project is the vocational training program which allows at risk youth to learn a trade and gain employable skills that will help them find work, earn an income and be able to support themselves.

Elizabeth Anafu from Bolgatanga (Bolga), Upper East Region transformed difficult circumstances into a positive force that has changed the lives of herself, her family and local community.

Orphaned as a child alongside three siblings, Elizabeth had to learn to fend for herself at a young age. After completing Primary five and at the innocent age of 11, she began travelling regularly between Bolga and Kumasi to find work and earn money to support her family. She eventually found a dishwashing position at a local restaurant but, unable to afford accommodation, frequently found herself sleeping outside of the restaurant after close each night. During this time Elizabeth faced health risks like sexually transmitted infections, pregnancy and low self-esteem due to her unfit living conditions. Following the birth of her son, she finally decided to relocate back home to the familiar Bolga area after hearing about the valuable opportunity YA was offering to train youth.

2005 became a year of revolution in Elizabeth’s life as she became an active participant in YA’s vocational training program. She practiced as a dressmaking apprentice for four years under the careful guidance of a trained seamstress who offered her every opportunity to learn, grow and perfect her craft. As part of the program YA monitored Elizabeth’s progress to ensure her success. She recalls YA’s ‘above and beyond’ attitude, noting that the organization not only provides the apprentices with soap, uniforms, a stipend and counseling but even went as far as helping to pay medical bills so that she was able to continue with the program.

In February 2009, Elizabeth graduated from the program and is now a full-fledged, independent seamstress. She affirms that her success is based on her excellent service which includes creating good relationships with customers and producing quality work. “[They] trust me because of the way I speak to them, ” she says of her customers. Through the integral skills gained through the vocational training program her successful business has given her the means to support her son and three siblings with basic necessities and their education, something she would have struggled to do in the past.

  
The YA vocational program asks that all graduates provide some form of mentorship to others interested in pursuing the same trade. Currently, Elizabeth has an impressive five apprentices under her care. She is very encouraging and tries to provide opportunities for young women to learn from her so that they can also improve their living situation, as YA has done for her.

  
Although currently operating outside, in the open, Elizabeth’s next project will be putting up a building for her own shop which she hopes to fittingly name, “With God, All Things are Possible”. Elizabeth hopes this expansion will provide enough space for all her apprentices and to display materials in-store for the customers to buy. YA helps all program graduates establish their first shop and will supply building materials like roofing sheets, wood and cement to aid the completion of the structure and the next step in Elizabeth’s bright and hopeful future.


- Hawa Kombian

Pictures: 

1. Hopeful for the future, Elizabeth laughs with us as we discuss her plans and aspirations. 

2. Elizabeth at work, sewing a shirt. 

3. Elizabeth is trying to put up a structure for a shop, and continues to work under the shade of nearby trees. Even after part of the structure was destroyed from a pesky neighbor, she maintains her hope and continues. 

4. One of Elizabeth's apprentices and her handiwork.