By Samira Larbie, GNA
Kasoa, Oct. 29, GNA - Maisha Ghana, a Non-Governmental Organisation has trained 54 returnees under its 'Akwaaba Project' to help educate people on the dangers of travelling across the Sahara and the Mediterranean through illegal means.
The Project is aimed at giving returnees, especially women, the chance to discuss their migration experiences and the realities of living as an illegal migrant.
The training however, brought to bear, the method of recruiting women and girls by traffickers to discourage people planning to embark on such journeys, by empowering them to make the right decisions for their lives.
The training was on the theme "Change Agents on Migration" and awarded the returnees with certificate to undertake their first assignment of reaching out to people in communities.
Ms Virginia Wangare Greiner, the President Maisha Organisation, speaking at the closing ceremony of the five- day training programme said the issue of trafficking and migration dated back into the 90's and the stories behind people's migration were shocking, hence the initiative.
She said aside the training, the women had also been given skills and Maisha was planning to set them up in other to find something doing and remain in the country.
Ms Greiner said migration was a crucial issue that needed to be taken seriously by African countries because women and girls needed to be protected, adding that, such countries needed to know what happened to their people at the other end.
"The training will give healing to the returnees to enable them train others and also look at the perspective they can have here in Ghana," she stated.
She said it was important for people wishing to travel, either through legal or illegal means, got informed, access the information and made decisions for themselves.
The President advised people to travel through legal means to safeguard their lives because travelling illegally was risky and urged the women to educate and create awareness creation to impact on people.
"We need to raise awareness on the realities of trafficking and illegal migration for people to know and accept returnees wholeheartedly into society and not see them as failures," she stated.
Ms Greiner called for more support towards women's empowerment and Africa's development.
Hajia Ramatu Danaa, a Returnee, expressed gratitude to Maisha Ghana for the support and giving them hope when they returned to the country.
She appreciated the efforts of Maisha Ghana and urged other returnees who were in similar situations to contact Maisha office for the needed support.
The women demonstrated through theatre art the kind of things migrants were and are still subjected to in the various countries they found themselves to serve as a deterrent.
Maisha is a German- based organisation founded in 1996 with an aim to assist African women living in Germany.
GNA
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