Latest News
Mercy Designers Class of 2019
The Mercy Designers Class of 2019 onboarded on January 14, 2019. Like their predecessors, the girls will learn to design and sew women and kids clothes one year. Each student received a sewing machine, materials, sewing kits, scissors, and other items needed for thier training.
They will also be given monthly allowance based on attendance.
First Mercy Designers' Graduation
Our first students in the Mercy Designers program graduated!!!
Their graduation ceremony was held on December 22, 2018 at the Adzitem Fair Grounds. The chief of the town, Nana Obrempong Asare Andor and representatives from the Gomoa district office attended the graduation to honor our girls. Nana Asare Andor expressed his pride and joy for the girls accomplishment.
The girls were awarded certificates, sewing machines, materials, and cash donations to assist with starting up their trade.
The ocassion featured a fashion parade of dresses, skirts, shorts, and tops the girls made during the course of thier training. Click here to access more photos...
BBQ Fundraiser
A big THANK YOU to all who attended and supported this event.
Our first fundraising event on Saturday June 9th, 2018 was a win for our girls. We had 65 registered patrons in attendance, contributing in cash donations and pledging donations of brand new sewing machines. We also enlisted four volunteers to support our cause after sharing our vision and objectives.
Mercy Designers Launch
Our empowerment program for teenage mothers through learning the skill of clothing design took off December 2, 2017. Ten of the 45 girls who registered in Adzintem, Ghana were enrolled. We hope to increase the number of students to forty next year.
All of the Mercy Designers students received a sewing machine, materials, sewing kits, scissors, and more. The girls also received pairs of jeans, printed polo shirts and T-shirts to be used as uniform during training.
The Chief of Adzintem, Nana Obrempong Asare Andor along with guest speakers Mr. Edem Hini, Vice President of Ghanet, and Mr. Evans Quotey, Gomoa East District Office Representative encouraged the girls to make the most of this opportunity by doing their best for their society. They also used the opportunity to speak against teenage pregnancy as it is "becoming a menace". They also expressed their deep gratitude for being the first to initiate such a program in Adzintem.
Live Radio Show - Asempa FM
As the only female on a panel of five, our founder Mawukoenya Thornhill-Okunor on May 14, 2017 was recognized for Youth Taking Initiatives. While on the show Mawukoenya advocated for fathers to be more involved and supportive of the upbringing and up-keeping of their children. Mawukoenya also used the opportunity to elaborate on the plight of teenage mothers and their children while stressing the need to prevent teenage pregnancy.
Testimony
"Now, I Have Hope..."
My story is a long one. I went through a lot of pain and struggle, but now Crystal Hands Foundation has given me great hope and joy. If it wasn’t for the grace of God, I have no idea how I would have made it through. I started attending school at 11 years old. With no help, it was challenging to keep up and I lost hope. The man who impregnated me travelled and deserted us. He has never seen his child. This was agonizing and I was very troubled.
By God’s grace, I am now encouraged. I am happy and grateful for the opportunity to be trained in clothing design. I pray that God bless all of you. May God bless and replenish what you give to us. May He prosper your occupations. I pray that God also bless us as we are being trained so that we can understand and retain all our lessons and help us be profitable when we complete our training and start our own businesses.
