Sometimes, Good Things Take Time

This article was written by a Teen Girls Club support staff member, Bridget Gyamfi, a National Builders Corps (NABCO) member of the Teen Girls Club.

Hawa.

Hawa is a go-getting young woman with a dream of becoming a fashion designer. She is from Bedaabour, a cocoa growing community in the Ashanti Region of Ghana, and she studied Visual Arts in senior high school. She completed senior high school in 2018, just as the Self-Help International Teen Girls Club was starting in Bedaabour. Hawa eagerly joined the club, and her involvement helped her to stay committed to her studies. Additionally, being in the club made Hawa realize the importance of helping herself no matter the challenges she faces in the future. 

Hawa’s plan after senior high school was to enter into an apprenticeship program or a fashion school, which would put her on the path to achieve her dreams. She believes that the skills she acquired from school – reading, writing, and speaking English – will complement her talents and take her far in her desired career.

Hawa’s life after school has not been easy. She has had to help her parents on their farm so they can raise enough money to put her into a fashion design program. Hawa remembered the life skills she had learned from the Teen Girls Club, like saving money and resource mobilization. Using the skills she learned, Hawa started a small business producing and selling popcorn in her village, and it is helping her save money toward going to a fashion design program.

Hawa selling popcorn.

Because Bedaabour is a rural community, young women typically do not start small enterprises in the community, so Hawa has become a role model to some of the younger girls. In addition to her business, she works casually during cocoa seasons collecting and gathering cocoa pods from nearby farms. Hawa is able to save part of the money she earns and use some to support herself. 

Hawa accepts that life is full of ups and downs. She also believes that she will be able to gradually work towards her dream because she was able to excel during junior and senior high school. She shared that every aspect of her life has seen a positive change as a result of the Teen Girls Club. Hawa gratefully thanked Self-Help and the Teen Girls Club for helping her to help herself to have confidence and goals in life to keep her focused.

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