#vocationaltraining

Strong Women, Your Daughters Are Watching You.

Apr 2, 2018
2 min

Strong Women, Your Daughters Are Watching You.

When a single mother enters our Income Generation program, we know that her daughters are watching her closely. Suddenly, she is a working woman. She is going to her seamstress shop, hair salon, fabric market, or weaving center every day. She may wear a uniform. Or put on special clothes for working with wax and dyes. She starts keeping a savings account book to log the money she puts back for emergencies or health care costs. And she is able to pay for school, and buy fresh

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North Trip Travel Journal: Wax, Stamp, Dye, Earn

Lisa Tresch

Nov 3, 2017
2 min

North Trip Travel Journal: Wax, Stamp, Dye, Earn

Bunkrugu is a small community village in the north, and although we thought it would be a relaxing trip as we drove there through the countryside, it was a little rougher than we expected. My plan was to take a nap in the car because I had little sleep the night before, but the bumpy rough road did not allow a nap. It was four-hour journey from Tamale, but we were able to pass some of the time talking and discussing more about Rising Village and our impact on the women and fa

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Lisa Tresch

Sep 21, 2017
3 min

A Party for Janet and Comfort

We held our first House Party on September 17 in Tulsa, and, yes, it was a party! One of our board members graciously opened her home so a group of about 25 adults and their children could enjoy an authentic Ghanaian meal prepared for our resident Rising Village caterer. The party-goers listened to the stories and passion behind our work in Ghana, and purchased products that helped fund batik training and micro loans for two women in the Northern Region of Ghana. The shoppers

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Lisa Tresch

Jun 28, 2017
2 min

Learning More Than a Skill

This is my favorite photo of Linda, taken in April, 2016 when she was about a year into her hairstylist apprenticeship. The shop where she trains is located on a quiet road in Tamale, Ghana. The sink where she washes her customer’s hair is under a covered area, but open to the dirt road and the sounds of cars, cycles and chickens. While they are waiting on hair treatments to work their magic, women sit in plastic chairs out in front of the open air shop and share the latest g

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Lisa Tresch

Aug 21, 2015
2 min

Beautiful Braids You Can Wear

Seamstress apprentices in our Income Generation program have been stitching children's clothing, headbands and assisting head seamstress, Esther, in sewing handbags, aprons, skirts and scarves. We sell these items here, which provides income for these ladies. There are three hairstylist apprentices, Joyce, Linda and Faustina, who also need to earn income during their apprenticeship, so one of our summer interns, Kelsey, came up with an idea that we are excited to share with y

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Lisa Tresch

Jul 9, 2015
2 min

Jennifer: Earning and Investing

In January of 2014, Jennifer Agyemong entered our Income Generation program as a seamstress apprentice. She immediately began making creations of her own, including children's clothing. A courier brought some of her dresses back from Ghana in September, 2014 and we began selling them to provide her with income. Every three or four months, we have enough to send her income from the sales, and she is now receiving part of the labor cost we pay to our seamstress in Ghana who hel

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Lisa Tresch

May 6, 2015
2 min

Lilian and Esther

Our work has officially begun in Tamale. For the past several months, Matthew, our staff person in the northern region, has been assessing women who are in need of apprenticeship grants so they can begin job training. These are women who have had to drop out of school at an early age because their families could not provide school fees. After interviewing and assessing many women, we have begun with grants given to two women who want to enter an apprenticeship in hairstyling.

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Lisa Tresch

May 6, 2015
1 min

The Work of their Hands

Jennifer, Abigail, Lydia and Georgina are learning to stitch on hand-crank sewing machines and on certain days, there is no electricity so the shop can be dark and hot without the movement of a fan. But every photo we see of these ladies shows big smiles. Each day they are learning a little more how to sew quality items. Along with learning to stitch the Ankaase bag, tote bag, market bag, and aprons, they are stitching little girl clothing without the help of their seamstress

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Our Apprentices Need Stitching Partners!

Lisa Tresch

Mar 25, 2015
1 min

Our Apprentices Need Stitching Partners!

We're looking for Stitching Partners who will make a monthly difference for our seamstress apprentices. These partners give a recurring donation each month to purchase fabric that Rising Village seamstress apprentices will use to earn income. Here's how it works: We provide apprentices with fabric each month so they can stitch items that will be sold in Ghana and here in the U.S. Traditionally, apprentices do not earn income during their three years of training. Each of the a

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Stitching and Styling: Meet the New Apprentices

Lisa Tresch

Jan 26, 2015
1 min

Stitching and Styling: Meet the New Apprentices

Georgina Linda Lydia Three new apprentices will be entering the Income Generation program in February. Georgina and Lydia will be seamstress apprentices working under Esther in Ankaase, and Linda will be a hairsytlist apprentice working under Hagar in Ejuritia. They live in Dumakyi, and will be walking a long distance to work each day. Solomon and Isaac have spent time assessing the women and talking with them about their future goals. They are all ready to work hard to learn

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Investing in Women through Apprenticeships

Lisa Tresch

Jan 8, 2015
2 min

Investing in Women through Apprenticeships

In a small hair salon located in the center of Ankaase, Ghana, stylists and customers laugh and chatter amid hairdryers, wash basins and walls adorned with posters of various popular hairstyles. It is in this salon where Joyce works each day as an apprentice, learning the trade and moving closer to her dream of opening her own salon. But first, she must complete her apprenticeship, which will last two years. Apprenticeships are the main type of skills training in Ghana, and a

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Lisa Tresch

Dec 1, 2014
2 min

Giving Tuesday

Tuesday, December 2 is Giving Tuesday. In the midst of all the shopping, holiday preparations and social engagements, why are we asking you to stop and consider giving a donation to Rising Village tomorrow? Because these donations change stories, and we have seen it for ourselves. During our team’s last visit to Ghana, we walked the same road that Abigail walks every morning when she goes to work as a seamstress apprentice. It takes her an hour to make this walk, but because

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Lisa Tresch

Oct 15, 2014
1 min

Women Encouragers (WE)

WE Women is a new program offering women here the opportunity to connect with women entreprenuers in Ghana for the purpose of relationship, encouragement, and support. As a woman in our Income Generation program starts her new career, we invite women in the U.S. to write letters and send photos to a woman who is entering an apprenticeship or starting a new business. Often, these are single mothers who are overcoming challenging obstacles as they are the sole provider for thei

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Lisa Tresch

Oct 6, 2014
2 min

An Evening of Connections

Last Thursday, approximately 175 women gathered in Tulsa to make connections with women in Ghana. "The Village" was an opportunity to meet five women in our Income Generation program through video, photos, and stories. We were able to give the women here a glimpse into the lives of women there who are working to provide for their families after receiving grants to start or expand a small business, or enter an apprenticeship. Each table was filled with photos of one of those w

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Lisa Tresch

Sep 26, 2014
2 min

Abigail: The Love of Sewing

Every morning, Abigail takes a beautiful piece of brightly patterned cloth, wraps her infant daughter, Lukaya, in it and winds it around her upper waist to secure the baby on her back for the day. Then she makes the hour-long walk from her village of Dumakyi to the sewing shop in Ankaase where she is a seamstress apprentice. She is in her second year of her apprenticeship, and is grateful to still be sewing. It would have been easy for Abigail to quit after the first year of

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Lisa Tresch

Jun 24, 2014
2 min

BE a Business Encourager

This summer, we are introducing an opportunity for small business owners here in the U.S. to connect with new small business owners in the villages where we work. Ama began her Puff bread business in the village of Ankaase in early May. In addition to receiving the grant money to start her business, she attended a training workshop to help her learn bookkeeping, business ethics, and money management. Now she has expanded her business to include another pastry, so she is on he

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Lisa Tresch

May 14, 2014
1 min

Meet Joyce

Our Income Generation program welcomed Joyce last week, as she began her apprenticeship at the Shalom Hair Salon. She will be apprenticing for two years before she begins her own hair salon business. Joyce is 22 years old and lives in the village of Ejuratia. She had to drop out of school when she was in JHS 2 after being in and out because of lack of funds for fees. She had her son four years ago and is unable to finish her education, so she has decided she wants to learn a

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Training Day for Business Grant Recipients

Lisa Tresch

Mar 9, 2014
1 min

Training Day for Business Grant Recipients

Yesterday four women who received Business Build Grants last December had their first training session in budgeting, bookkeeping, good business practices, hygiene and family planning. It was a full day of learning about how to earn, save, and give. A health worker from the local hospital was also on hand to give them advice about how to stay in good health so they can work and provide for their families. For the first year of their new business, Rising Village walks beside ea

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