The Kaya Care Project

Kayaye is a local Ghanaian term for a female head porter or bearer. The kayaye involves young girls and women who have migrated from rural communities to any part of Ghana’s urban cities in search of work. They generally carry the burdens or loads of others on their head to make a living.

Every day, young girls from 10years above migrate from rural areas to urban areas in Ghana. Most of these young girls and women see the kayaye experience as an opportunity to acquire economic independence and gather items they need to build up their marriage and basic things, such as cloths, bags, foot wares and other basic necessities, some of them also see this as a source of livelihood. Others also fall into kayaye to avoid being forced into early marriage and running away from abuse. Some women and young girls embrace kayaye because of how their colleagues exhibit their gathered wealth whenever they travel back home.

It is very essential for every female to practice hygiene but this cannot be said for the kayaye. The proceeds from the kayaye activities are nothing to write home about. These young females are not able to observe basic hygiene or use a sanitary pads at the end of the month, Taxes on these sanitary pads are not making it easy for them to afford a sanitary pad. Most of them use unhygienic material to line their panties and those who can afford toilet rolls in place of sanitary pads.

This is the reason Hereafter-Ghana is initiating the Kaya Care Project. This project is to help take the burden of the kayaye in acquiring sanitary pads and educate them on hygienic practices, Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA), Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) to improve their health and wellbeing. The Kaya Care Project will help support the kayaye in accessing free sanitary pads.

These sanitary pads are going to be giving to them on monthly basis to enable the organization keep track of kayaye’s in the locality. This will also help in promoting their health as well. We are setting up a collection point for the distribution of the free sanitary pads.

There will be capacity enhancing programs where these young girls are going to be trained in trades and other economic empowering skills that will serve as an alternative for them to make money to improve their living standards.

Health screening services as well as registrations and renewal of health insurance will be available to them to help them get easy and cost effective access to quality health care at various health facilities in Ghana. Receiving regular healthcare services and medications will help reduce their risks of getting sick.

The girls will also be taking through literacy and numeracy skills alongside introduction to computer and IT skills. The kayaye’s are going to learn basic calculations, writing and reading skills to help them with their new and future careers.