Okudzeto Ablakwa lauds Jackie Appiah for empowering young people in Mepe through vocational skill training

By Dan Lartey On Dec 12, 2023

Award-winning Ghanaian actress Jackie Appiah has received praise for her charitable work in Mepe, a traditional area in the Volta Region of Ghana, from Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the Member of Parliament (MP) for the North Tongu constituency.

The actress provided intensive training in a variety of vocational skills to 120 young people in the community, which recently experienced flooding as a result of the Akosombo Dam Spillage, through her Jackie Appiah Foundation.

The actress celebrated her 40th birthday in Mepe on Tuesday, December 5, 2023. While there, she saw the graduation of these people who have gained vocational skills in hair styling, beauty therapy, welding, cake decorating, tie and dye designing, dressmaking, and soap making.

Speaking at the trainees’ graduation ceremony, Hon. Ablakwa commended Jackie Appiah for her tremendous efforts to ensure these people’s well-being as well as the community at large. Ablakwa has acknowledged the transformative impact of vocational training. He called Jackie’s gesture heartwarming and added that the training would be crucial to the town’s reconstruction after the spill, which resulted in hundreds of people being displaced in some areas of the North Tongu District.

“This is a happy occasion. One person’s dynamism, compassion, kindness, industry, and vision have brought us all together, and that person is someone the nation is extremely proud to have produced. She is regarded as an icon by many, and for those of us with daughters, she continues to be our little girls’ primary role model.

She made a heartfelt gesture. She could have made the easy road decision to come in, donate relief supplies, and leave in less than half an hour, never to be heard from again. By no means am I suggesting that doing so is not valued. No matter how short a visit, we sincerely appreciate everyone who stopped by to give us something. But Jackie decided to do more than just hand out fish to people; she also decided to teach us how to fish. “When you learn how to fish, you do not have to sit around and wait for other people’s kindness to take care of you; you can take action and learn how to fish instead,” he said.

The legislator went on, “Now we have in our community people who are going to be certified today that they can either be dressmakers, tye and dye producers, makeup artists, bakers, welders, and the list is endless.” “Jackie empowered us, and we can also be independent, and we can also begin to put our lives back on track despite the disaster that struck since September 15th,” the lawmaker said.

Jackie Appiah has made it a tradition to give back to society on her birthday every year, as she donated a 10-unit modern public toilet (water closet) and other gift items to the people in her hometown, Ejisu-Abenkro, in the Ashanti Region last year.