The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) in partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Ghana Refugee Board has organised a ‘product fair’ for refugees in the Western Region.

The exhibition, held last Tuesday at Aiyinase, was to create a market for products and services of refugees and enable them to become self-reliant, following their skills acquisition in agriculture and agro-processing, handicraft, petty trading, among others.

Themed “Providing Customer Experience: The Work of the Refugee,” the fair brought together about 16 participants from the Ampian and Krisan refugee camps who displayed variety of consumables and provided other services.

According to the organisers although a number of refuges had acquired skills, they were still unable to “penetrate local markets” due to language barriers, lack of effective marketing skills and limited spaces at the markets.

It is for this reason that the fair sought to create opportunities for the asylum seekers to strengthen their relationship with the local traders and clients and make their products more visible to the public.

The participants prepared and served local dishes at the Aiyinase Market, one of the biggest markets in the Western Region, while displaying other items such as cucumber, fresh eggs, chicken, sandwiches, which were patronised by the public.

Mr. Edward Acquah-Imbeah, Marketing Officer UNHCR-ADRA Livelihood Project, expressing satisfaction about the event, said the fair would be organised quarterly to help more refugees to exhibit their creativity.

He said other activities would be organised regularly to increase social interaction between the refugees and the host communities. 

Ms. Christiana Badoo, UNHCR Livelihood Associate, also said more refugees would be supported so they could continue to live meaningful lives in various communities, and called on other stakeholders to support the self-reliance activities of refugees.

By Spectator Reporter