Project summary
Female market traders face exceptionally daunting difficulties every day of their lives. Reliance on unsuitable and unreliable transport is expensive, time-consuming and unsafe, with the risk of theft or assault posing a likely threat. Walking and waiting for transport means a working day can stretch between 4am to 11pm, severely affecting health and well-being, permitting the women no time for family or community life. The lack of any real alternatives leaves a high proportion of women in a helpless situation, with high transport costs transferring onto goods, ultimately passing onto the buyers of basic commodities from these markets.
Transaid is working with the private sector to assist market women to own, manage and control their own fleet of transport to relieve the women traders of the burden and hardship associated with their trading. Women traders are the backbone of the inhabitants in Accra in terms of food supply. However these women are marginalised in terms of getting vehicles to transport their goods to and from the market. A survey was conducted in 2003 by Transaid and its collaborators, and a lasting solution to the problems faced by market women in Accra was found. Thanks to the support and expertise from many of its’ corporate members from within the industry, namely Iveco, Wincanton, Clipper and Ceva Logistics, the programme is now in the second stage of development. Iveco have donated and shipped three specially constructed Iveco Daily Vans. The Dailys have been specified with heavy duty options involving upgraded suspension and larger batteries to cope with the demanding conditions in Accra and are ideally equipped to meet the needs of the market traders. All of the vans will feature eye catching liveries to create impact when out and about on the road.
The project currently sees the women trained to drive, maintain and cost-effectively implement their own transport management system (TMS) using the Iveco Dailys. The dynamic and enthusiastic women of Accra are keen to use Transaid’s transport management system to operate their businesses properly and to fund the purchase of further vehicles. It is hoped that by extending into other parts of the region, thousands of other female market traders will also benefit from this powerful new programme.
More news to follow very shortly…
Nine (9) executive members of the Accra Women Transport Cooperatives joined the TO on the first day of the training for 5-day training in Transport Management for the newly recruited TO for the cooperatives in Accra in January 2008.
The newly recruited TO for the Accra Market Women Transport Cooperative is undergoing 2-month attachment at the Transport Unit of the MoH in Accra after her TM training. The attachment which started in Feb. 1, 2008 is expected to afford the TO on-hand experience in transport management.
Six (6) ladies are undergoing a 3-week express training in basic driving skills at the TopTech Drive Consult in Accra. The training started in February 18, and ending on March 7, 2008. The best 3 female drivers will join 3 male drivers in a specialised training to be conducted by driver instructors from Wincanton, Ceva Logistics and Clipper to equip them with defensive skills to be able to driver effectively, efficiently and safely the vans donated by IVECO to the market cooperative in Accra through Transaid.
