Alia Hudu, a twenty (20) year old girl and a native of Abrumasi (a village in the Northern Volta of Ghana) is a trainee undergoing hairdressing skill training at the Jisonayili Training Centre. Alia is a single teenage mother with one child who stays with her mother. According to her, she got pregnant with a young man called Fuseini when she was sixteen and went seeking greener pastures in the city. This made her to drop out from school just when she was about to write her Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE). She however, continued her Basic education a year after delivery and failed the final exams. She decided to stay away from this young man with the reason that, Fuseini has wrecked her education and had not married her. Alia struggled to find a job to do in order to take care of her little child and her mother. She traveled to Yeji where she worked with a family as a house help and a kenkey seller. Though life over there was very challenging especially as she had no family there, she was able to save the little money she got.
Alia decided to come back home to see how her child and her mother were doing. On her return, she became motivated by the life of one GIGDEV graduate who established a shed after graduation and got two apprentices and customers. Our graduate encouraged her to visit GIGDEV. Alia Hudu got enrolled in GIGDEV in hairdressing in February 2010. Within this short period, she has demonstrated diligence and has been described by her colleagues as an all-round trainee because they find her participating in all activities with dedication. The Instructor of the Hairdressing Unit, Miss Matilda Awuni after observing her for some time, called her and asked; “Alia how come you are able to plait hair better and faster than other trainee?.” Alia responded, “I find great pleasure since I arrived here and I desire to train to become one of the best hairdressers of GIGDEV”. She added that, “everywhere I go I find myself trying to do the best, so I realized I have to make good use of my potential in order to better my future, my child and my family.”
When she was asked what GIGDEV has impacted on her within this short period, she verbalized “the counseling has empowered me and made me to become aware of dangers associated with teenage friendship and streetism. She added; “sleeping at the GIGDEV’s hostel has afforded me the opportunity to practice plaiting of hair with my colleagues after closing and even makes me learn other skills”. Alia Hudu, can also do batik-tie and dye. It is her wish, to graduate early to start her own business and also impart the skills and experiences gained to other girls in her family and the community. She also wants to enjoy every bit of GIGDEV’s training in catering that she could be a food vendor as an alternative job. Alia’s mother, a 56 year old widow by name Amamta Kusi, is now happy because her daughter has returned home and is learning and enhancing her knowledge and skills at GIGDEV. Alia is becoming a role model to many girls in the Jisonayili Training Centre and has been advising her colleagues against teenage pregnancy.
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