History
The start
The foundation of Stitching talents has been built on service and strength from our team members and our students. Stitching talents began as an idea developed through Emmanuella Oppong’s drive to provide for those in need of education and support. Ella heard about the Davis Projects for Peace which encourages changemakers of all kinds to put their ideas to work in the continuous fight for peace worldwide through the Union College fellowship office.
Ella had always been passionate about protecting the environment; thus, she wanted to work on a project that would bring recycling bins to Accra, Ghana that would hold and cycle trash. Unfortunately, there were difficulties connecting with the right people. Therefore, she pivoted to connecting with orphanages after watching a movie that inspired her.
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From that moment, Ella began to reach out and connect with different organizations in her motherland, Ghana, that were working with orphaned students. This research led her to the Egyam Children’s Home. After long, extensive discussions with the orphanage about their needs and plans, preparations for building Stitching Talents began.
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Stitching Talents is uniquely designed to allow students of the orphanage to learn skills that would benefit them and their communities. By connecting with the director of the children’s home, Ella was able to reach out to locals to develop a plan for construction. This included designing blueprints, organizing contractors, developing a budget based on local supply prices, and getting in touch with local tailors who would commit to teaching students.
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Funding and support was generated mainly through local campus organizations at Union College. Ella utilized her involvement with the African Dance Club to hold fundraising events. She also collaborated with friends and colleagues to develop and sell artwork.
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With all of these resources and preparations with the Egyam children's home and local community, Ella applied to the Davis Project for Peace and shortly after travelled to Ghana to begin the process of connecting with the children and local workers who helped build Stitching Talents Vocational School.
Ghana: Our homebase
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Ghana is a sub-Saharan country in Africa. Stitching Talents is located in Egyam, Ghana which is located to the West of Takoradi near the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. We are proud to work in connection with the Egyam children's home where we hope to empower the women there.
Ghana spans the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with the Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Togo in the east. Ghana covers an area of 238,535 km2 (92,099 sq mi), spanning a diverse geography and ecology that ranges from coastal savannas to tropical rain forests. With over 31 million people, Ghana is the second-most populous country in West Africa, after Nigeria. The capital and largest city is Accra; other major cities include Kumasi, Tamale, and Sekondi-Takoradi.
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The peoples of Ghana speak multiple languages, span many ethnicities and religious groups. The Alkan are the largest ethnic group in the country. The country consists of a variety of cities and prospers on its natural gas production, metals, and mineral mining.
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An interesting fact is that "Ghana" means strong warrior king (Wiki, 2022).
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Wikipedia contributors. (2022, February 12). Ghana. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghana