Roundtable Discussion Highlights 2005 Successes

By Kristen Gallagher

Global Mamas Receive Fair Trade Certification at Annual Meeting

Make way for more fair trade! The women of the Global Mamas Cooperative in Cape Coast came together at the Cape Coast Hotel this April to address current progress, challenges, and upcoming projects. The highlight of the day was an “awards ceremony” to present Fair Trade Certifications to the 17 women whom have earned them.

Global Mamas’ internal Fair Trade Certification was put into practice to ensure that fair trade principles are being embraced at the grassroots level of each of the member enterprises in the Cooperative. The Fair Trade Certification ensures that the business owners are providing fair wages to their employees, offering hygienic working conditions, taking care of the environment, providing opportunities for male and female employees within the business, and maintaining transparency in the financial practices of the business. In order to receive the certification, the women are interviewed, quizzed and observed in their business practices by Global Mamas’ staff and trained volunteers.

The following women proudly accepted becoming a Global Mamas certified fair trade employer: Aggie Cole Arthur, Alice Horsah, Bessie “Adwaa” Cramer, Betty Cato Cudjoe Charlotte Bart-Plange Eli Amphia and Emma Myers, Florence Thompson, Giffty Saah, Grace “Araba” Koufi, Judith Arthur, Kate “Aba” Tay, Lydia Write, Molly Linda Gyan, Opheeia “Kukwa” Arthur, Rebecca Odoom, and Victoria “Obayaa” Koufi. The women gleamed with smiles and were cheered by colleagues as they were presented with their certifications.

Volunteers are helping to roll out the Global Mamas internal Fair Trade Certification Program in Krobo, where the Cooperative concentrates on bead making and product assembly. McKenzie Coffee, Kate Franks, and Meredith Ryder-Rude are 3 volunteers currently staying in Krobo and proceeding to help the women understand the value and necessity of fair trade practices. “If you consider the working conditions in a place like Ghana, you can really appreciate those who strive to treat their employees as well as they can in such conditions,” tells WIP’s Peace Corps volunteer Meredith “Murph” Ryder-Rude.

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