A total of nineteen artisans attended the first training course which was facilitated by Tarzan Nasara , who himself has disabilities and works with a range of disability organisations in Bolgatanga. Unrefurbished sewing machines, tools and spare parts were supplied by Tools for Self Reliance. At the end of the course all participants were able to return to their communities with their own sewing machines and the skills and knowledge to keep their machines running.

So, now with the help of ADD Ghana and TFSR artisans are repairing their own machines. Even better those trained are now acting as trainers for others in their local communities. Following the success of this course we are hoping to repeat it in other areas in the coming year so that together with ADD Ghana we can build a bigger pool of sewing machine repairers in the region

Participants’ Impressions of the training course

• Now I know how to identify problems and deal with them.
• I fixed my broken down machine after the first day of training.
• I gave my sewing machine to a repairer and he abandoned it as a write off. I will contact him immediately when I get home and repair it myself.
• Before the training any time I had a problem I would be at a loss, now I will have no problems.

• Even for those of us who thought we knew something about sewing machines, this training has broadened our knowledge and given us new insights.