Challenging Heights, in July 2026, graduated 17 young women from its two-year Fashion and Design Training Program at its Halsted Women’s Centre in Winneba, Central Region. This was the second cohort to complete the program since the centre opened.
The program is part of Challenging Heights’ efforts to prevent human trafficking, child labour, modern slavery, and exploitation. By supporting vulnerable young women, including survivors of abuse and exploitation, the two-year training equips participants with the skills and confidence needed to build independent livelihoods.
Over the two-year period, the program trained the young women in garment making, textile design, craftwork, and business management. They learned to make items ranging from simple garments to school uniforms, traditional Kaba outfits, menswear, and custom dresses such as wedding gowns and suits, along with hats, bags, and sandals. They also trained in traditional Ghanaian textile techniques, including batik and tie-and-dye. To help them run their own businesses, training included basic math, reading, budgeting, pricing, and market planning.
During the training, students gained practical experience by producing hundreds of school uniforms for local children, making 100 costumes for the Aboakyer festival in Winneba, and creating clothes for fashion exhibitions and public displays.
This brings the total number of young women who have completed vocational training at the centre to 36, following the 19 who graduated in the first cohort last year. They now have the skills and business knowledge needed to earn a living, protect themselves from exploitation, and support their communities.
For more than two decades, Challenging Heights has worked alongside children, families, and communities across Ghana to break cycles of exploitation and build pathways to safety, opportunity, and resilience. Alongside rescue and recovery, it reaches several thousand women and young people each year through livelihood programs in communities across Ghana.
Challenging Heights is grateful to the donors, partners, and families who stood with these young women through their training and helped turn opportunity into livelihoods for them and their communities. For its part, Challenging Heights remains committed to skills training and economic empowerment that break cycles of exploitation and open pathways to safety and opportunity across Ghana.
