Lady Volta Batik Project Expanding

Despite just starting last year, the Lady Volta Batik Project is quickly growing.  The seamstresses have been working energetically to produce batik items for VEG's partnership with Fair Trade wholesaler, Global Mamas, as well as producing items for the Lady Volta line of hand made batik bags and accessories.  With the project expanding, Village Exchange Ghana and the Lady Volta Batik Project decided that hiring an in-house batiker would be the best option in terms of cost effectiveness and quality control.  After testing dozens of batikers in the area, Ikema Haruna, 22, was chosen as the newest addition to the thriving and talented Lady Volta team.

Meet Our Peer Educators

The VEG Reproductive & Sexual Health Resource Center with support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) began a Peer Educator training program earlier this year for area High School Students. Since July, the program has trained 20 students from 10 area high schools to become Peer Educators in their respective schools and communities. As one of their projects, the students start youth clubs within their schools to provide peers with an open environment in which to discuss the sexual and reproductive health issues they face.

Name: Adzovor Happy Yayra, 17

School: Wallahs Academy General Arts

"I am the type of person that likes to help people solve their problems. When I heard that there was an opportunity, I put it upon myself to come and learn as to equip myself to do what I love the most. Through education, I have the ability to shape human life."

Name: Adu Koranteng Oscar, 22

School: Wallahs Academy General Arts

"My role as a peer educator is to educate my peers or anyone I encounter to help them to make the right decisions in life. Also, I should be able to educate them on sexual and reproductive health—the dangers, the consequences, and the way they should go about their sexual life."

One Man's Trash

Led by microfinance volunteer David Ruby, Village Exchange Ghana has begun a local recycling program.  Working in cooperation with the community, VEG volunteers, staff and Trashy Bags, VEG has started recycling plastic drinking water sachets, which are the most common form of purified drinking water in Ghana.  Trashy Bags, an Accra-based company, manufactures the used sachets into stylish bags and totes.  In just one month, an estimated 20,000 water sachets have been removed from the streets of Ho, which equates to over 220 pounds of rubbish.  

Additionally, any recycling done generates a small amount of income paid by Trashy Bags, furthering VEG's overall mission and program sustainability.  In the future, it is possible that microfinance clients may establish their own "social businesses" based on recycling, a concept which the local community seems to embrace.  By continuing to use recycled materials in VEG's Lady Volta products and promoting other eco-friendly businesses, the organization hopes to broaden the “Go Green” movement in Ghana. 

Featured Volunteer Placement

Trainer in Reproductive & Sexual Health

The Resource Center seeks dedicated volunteers to support its Reproductive and Sexual Health (RSH) Program. Funded under the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the RSH program aims to prevent early pregnancy and promote healthy behavior through the provision of sexual health education and services.
Volunteers work with a team of local staff to design, plan, and implement various RSH program activities, both at the Resource Center and in the field. Depending on volunteers’ skills and preferences, this may include the following:

-Conduct trainings for Resource Center staff, Youth Leaders, and Peer Educators
-Conduct Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Research
-Serve as a Youth Group Leader
-Conduct outreach in Ho Central Marketplace
-Implement VEI’s Young Entrepreneurs Program
-Provide Marketing and Communications Support

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