Francis and James Ali are brother’s resident in Sefwi Appeakrom. Francis is 25 years old ,while James is 23 years old. Both brothers are cocoa farmers. Both brothers decided to become farmers after completing Senior High School. The initial motivation was survival. They were unemployed and needed an income generating activity. However, when the MASO

The 12th of August  is celebrated every year   International Youth Day globally. The theme for 2018 is  “Safe Spaces for Youth”. On this occasion , we bring you voices of young people participating in our MASO Programme.  The MASO Youth talk about how their lives have been impacted by the programme. International Youth Day 2018 video  

He is focused, determined, works very hard and has a big vision to become a big cocoa entrepreneur. This is how his peers describe Saviour Adika in his community.   His physique and whole demeanor literally exudes the above qualities when you meet him. At 25 years old, Saviour has an eight-acre cocoa farm and a

The MASO programme was started in 2016. For the past two and half years, the programme has trained thousands of young people in cocoa growing communities to either become entrepreneurial cocoa farmers and or businessmen and women providing various services to the cocoa sector. Fred Frimpong, the MASO Programme Manager reflects on  two and half

Enoch Gyebi  is a 26-year-old carpenter from Sefwi Sui,  a farming community with a population of about 3000 in the Sefwi-Wiawso Municipality, of the Western Region. Enoch, dropped out of Junior High School in 2018 when he lost his father. He subsequently, went to learn a trade in carpentry. He practiced that for the past

Patience Normenyo, is a 25-year-old resident of Tweapease in New Edubiase in the Adansi South District of the Ashanti Region. She is one of the thousands of young people breathing new life into cocoa production in Ghana. She joined the MASO Programme in 2017 and trained as a cocoa entrepreneur. Her new skills in cocoa

Access to sexual and reproductive health information is critical for the economic well- being of youth in cocoa growing communities. The lack of it is impacting negatively on the youth increasing their risk of early pregnancy. The MASO programme has therefore taken steps to ensure participating youth have the right information and attitudes to make

Imagine being a Junior High School dropout, a single mother at 16, unemployed (because she does not consider her work on the farm as employment), unskilled, no financial support and practically “wasting away” in a rural community that was the story of Francisca Frimpong. Francesca is  23-years-old and resides in Abidjan, a small cocoa growing

The MASO Programme works with women and men who have made gender equality and women’s empowerment a commitment in their communities. MASO promotes equal participation and engagements with both young men and women. The programme targets 40% female participation in all its interventions. As a strategy to promote equal gender participation and to curb gender

Access to finance is a major challenge for young people especially for those in rural areas. Discussion at the bi-annual learning meeting hosted by the Youth Forward Initiative recently centered on the challenges faced by young people in accessing finance. Youth Forward aims to improve the capacity of young people in Ghana to get jobs,