MASO is a five year programme, focused on creating employment opportunities for the youth (aged 18-25) in Ghana’s cocoa communities.
A speech read recently at the MASO Youth in Cocoa Conference by the MASO Network President , Peter Nsiah
I wish you a warm welcome to the 2nd annual youth in cocoa conference. Indeed this has become an event that we the MASO youth look forward to every year.
The MASO youth network came into being in 2016 when the first cohort of youth graduated from the MASO programme. The MASO youth network is an alumni network of MASO.
Currently we are over 5000 members and we are gradually becoming a voice for young people in the cocoa sector. Our main aim is to provide a space for youth to connect, share knowledge and inspire one another. In MASO, we believe that when young people connect and share best practices with one another incredible things happen.
The spirit of togetherness and comradery provided by the network environment goes a long way to inspire and encourage young people to go beyond and above their limitations. In the MASO youth, young cocoa entrepreneurs find the strength they need; the voice they lack and the confidence to confront their challenges and excel in various business and lives as a whole.
MASO Business Graduates
Now let me share the story of Alberta Abochie with you. Alberta is a 24-year-old Senior High School graduate and a single mum from Leklebi Agbesia in the Volta Region. Alberta is a MASO graduate and a member of the Youth Network, but her hope of becoming a cocoa farmer has not materialized because she has not had access to land to fulfil her dream. This challenge faced by Alberta, is one of the numerous impediments such as access to finance, inputs, extension and the lack of recognition that youth in cocoa face.
Our vison as an association, is to support young people to fulfil their dreams by engaging with the right stakeholders like COCOBOD, financial instructions and traditional authorities to develop youth tailored solutions to these challenges. And that, is the reason why we are here today.
To conclude, I will like to leave you with this quote by Martin Luther king:
“if you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk, then crawl but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward”.
Let us keep moving!
Thank you!
