Our Target Group: Kayaye
Our program focuses on young women from Northern Ghana who work in the capital city of Accra as so-called Kayaye (headload carriers). Many of them have completed basic schooling, but due to their economic situation, they have no access to further education or vocational training. Employment opportunities in Northern Ghana are scarce – outside of subsistence farming, there are few prospects for young people.
Life as a Kayaye in Accra is physically demanding and risky. Earnings are low – often insufficient to pay for safe accommodation or even three daily meals. Many women are homeless or live in precarious conditions. Yet, for many, the city still offers more hope than the strictly structured and often restrictive life in their rural home villages.
While not all Kayaye have a formal high school diploma, we focus on young women who have completed senior high school and are motivated to pursue further education and greater self-determination. We see great potential in these women for professional advancement and social mobility.
Especially for girls and young women from rural areas, educational opportunities remain limited and gender disparities persist. Through our scholarship program, we aim to ensure that these women can become positive role models within their families and communities – clear proof that education opens doors and change is possible.
Our Training Goal: Medical Professionals
We deliberately focus our support on training in medical professions – including nursing, midwifery, and medicine.
Ghana has a well-developed education system, modeled on the Anglo-Saxon tradition, which offers solid training opportunities. However, despite good access to education, the labor market situation for young people remains difficult: in many sectors, there are far more graduates than available jobs.
The healthcare sector, by contrast, offers better employment prospects. Qualified medical professionals can find work in the public health service or in private clinics.
In addition, they have opportunities to work abroad, especially in North America or the United Kingdom, as English is the language of instruction and professional training in Ghana.
This international mobility, however, has a downside: brain drain. A growing number of well-trained doctors and nurses are leaving Ghana to seek better working conditions and higher salaries abroad.
Germany, too, is increasingly relying on the recruitment of qualified healthcare professionals from abroad to address its shortage of skilled workers in the health and care sector.
While Ghanaian nursing qualifications are in principle eligible for recognition in Germany, language skills remain a major barrier.
This is exactly where our association comes in: If one of our scholarship recipients is interested in a career in Germany, we provide targeted support – including funding for German language courses and guidance through the recognition and migration processes.
In this way, we create a win-win situation: We help young women in Ghana to build a secure professional future and, at the same time, contribute to addressing the skills shortage in the German healthcare system. Our approach is built on education, self-determination, and sustainable international cooperation.
Our Scholarship Recipient Lateefa
Lateefa is one of our first scholarship recipients and an inspiring example of courage, determination, and the will to change her life.
On the left, we see her in mid-September 2024, still in Accra, where she worked as a street vendor selling soap – right up until her departure.
Just a few weeks later, the picture on the right shows Lateefa in the second week at the Nursing College in Sunyani, proudly wearing the college's formal uniform.
For Lateefa and her family, this scholarship means a real opportunity for a better future.
But the path ahead is challenging. Training to become a professional nurse in Ghana is demanding – academically, linguistically, and organizationally.
Yet, Lateefa has already proven her strength: Her time as a Kayaye in Accra taught her how to persevere, never give up, and pursue big goals with determination.
These qualities will continue to help her succeed – both throughout her education and in her future career.