My name is Cecilia, I am 42 years old and I come from the Central Region of Ghana. I trained and worked as a hairdresser until the COVID-19 pandemic struck. The pandemic meant that I could no longer earn money as a hairdresser, and I had to resort to being a street vendor, getting up at 4:30 a.m. every day to sell sweets, handkerchiefs and face masks.
In 2021, my life changed abruptly when I met an advisor from the Ghanaian-German Center for Jobs, Migration and Reintegration (GGC). I told her about my dream of becoming a makeup artist as a supplement to my work as a hairdresser.
At another meeting, I told her about my desire to add makeup artistry to my hairdressing job.