Stories Kofi
Kofi is using Youth Apprenticeship Training to train as a mechanic in Ghana and leave poverty behind.
City: Kumasi
Country: Ghana
Apprentice Training: Mechanic
From a young age, 18-year-old Kofi dreamed of becoming a mechanic. But coming from a poor family with seven other siblings, he knew his parents couldn’t afford to pay for an apprenticeship or buy the tools he needed to train.
So Kofi decided to help his parents on their small farm, hoping that eventually he would earn enough money to afford the apprenticeship he dreamed of. But after three years, he still couldn’t afford the fees. That’s when he learned about the Youth Apprenticeship Program – a special initiative that trains young people living in poverty in Ghana in a trade. He jumped at the opportunity to enrol.
Now halfway through his apprenticeship, Kofi says how happy he is. He has been partnered with a skilled mechanic, known as a ‘trademaster’, who is teaching him how to fix cars and run a mechanics shop. He‘s even been given his own set of tools.
After finishing his apprenticeship, Kofi will be able to take out a small loan and start his own mechanics business. He hopes that in the future, thanks to his training, he’ll be able to help other young people find their way out of poverty, too.
Opportunity International Australia helps people move from poverty to self-sufficiency, which in turn gives them a sense of empowerment and a feeling of elevated social wellbeing.
Millie, supporter of Opportunity