Fighting COVID-19 One Stitch at a Time

At the age of 17, Comfort started sewing clothing after successfully completing her sewing apprenticeship. She named her sewing business Comfort Fashion and operated in Madina, a suburb of Accra, Ghana. 

In 2008, a staff member from Hopeline Institute, an organization in the PW network, approached and encouraged Comfort to be a Hopeline member. Excited for the opportunity, she accepted the invitation – and 12 years later, she hasn’t looked back.  

Throughout her time as a Hopeline member, Comfort has been the recipient of various loans from Hopeline which have been used to expand the infrastructure of her business and the contribute to the acquisition of necessary working tools. Because of these loans, she has been able to add to her sewing business the sale of clothes, materials, soft drinks, and water.  

Comfort has also contributed to creating and sustaining jobs by training 52 apprentices. Currently among her trainees are two people that she is training voluntarily as a way to invest in her community. She has also introduced five of her immediate family members to Hopeline and they have also become committed members benefitting from its programs. 

The impact of COVID-19 is taking its toll on her business, as it has with many others, since people are not attending large events and hence have no need to get new outfits. This is impacting her growth and finances. As a part of her COVID-19 survival strategy she now sews masks in addition to her normal dresses, but with the influx of standardized N95 mask the demand is small. However, in the past 3 months Comfort has concentrated more on selling soft drinks and water to make ends meet, and is determined to do all she can to keep her business alive through this challenging season.