Amy and I arrived late Friday evening to Accra, the capital city of Ghana. We stayed in Accra that night before leaving the next morning to go to the Premec Creations center which is located several hours outside of the capital along the coast. Martha had planned a special workday for all of the center’s graduates. Just last week the 3rd session of women graduated. Women from all three sessions came together to make batik fabric and soap. Amy and I were met with a shower of hugs and cheers when we arrived. They ran for chairs for us to sit down and watch the work they were doing. The women had arranged an exhibition table with all the goods they had made in the last session: batik, liquid soap, pomade, hair cream, body soap, and beads. I can’t tell you how wonderful it felt to be with them. My heart was so full.
Amy and I spent the day holding babies, helping in any way they would allow a naive obruni (white person) to help, and observing their work. They showed us the sewing shack, the hairdressing studio, and the new Premec workspace. They showed us photos from all three of the sessions. It was wonderful to see how hard they have been working and how much they made this project their own. They have added the Premec logo to soap labels, t-shirts, graduation certificates, fabric wrappers, etc. Martha so fully embodies the mission of Premec. The women are a tight-knit community that loves and supports each other. The day is full of laughter and joking when they work together.
My grandmother sent some toffees (candy) over to Ghana with me, which I shared with them. You would have thought it was a million dollars they way they rushed to eat some. They played the typical game where they pretended they didn’t get one so they could have another. It was so much fun to see the joy the simple toffees brought them. Thanks Grandma!
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