The “Optimized After 24 Years – Policy Prioritization as a Factor” Project has taken off fully, with its second activity taking place in the two new target communities; Fushila and Dakpemyili, both within the Jantong Electoral area in the Salaga North District of the Savannah Region.
The activity; community entry, provided opportunity for WUZDA Ghana to introduce the project to the various stakeholders in development in the target communities, to get a buy – in into the project from the entire community.
The community entry activity, also provided a platform for the project staff to encourage the residents to take ownership of the project, as it comes to help empower them to lead in the development of the communities.
The team which visited the communities for the activity consisted the Program Manager, Training Coordinator, Gender Desk Officer, Media and Communications Officer and the officer Driver Assistant.
The project team met with the Chiefs and people of the two communities on separate days, as they explained how the project will use more of ‘software’ approach in this intervention to enlighten them on the various sectors of development and what their contributions are required to be, for the possible betterment of their livelihoods.
Explaining the project objective to the chiefs and opinion leaders of the communities, Program Manager of WUZDA Ghana, Mr. Abdul Karim Ziblim related the issues of overall development in the communities with the poor commitment of the community members to sending their children to school.
He said many of the children in the communities have potentials of bright future but due to the ignorance or negligence of their parents and guardians, they are likely not to reach those potentials.
Mr. Karim therefore encouraged the community members to prioritize the education of the children especially that of the girl child, to allow for them to become what they are destined to, to enable them return to the community to help in the development drive.
The “Optimized After 24 Years – Policy Prioritization as a Factor” Project, has an overall objective of following up to influencing implementation of the National strategic Framework on Ending Child Marriage, through collaborations with three (3) administrative structures in Northern and Savannah Regions, ensuring 180 girls and boys gain access to future employable skills, by December 2021.
The other objectives of the project includes empowering members of the target communities to support the girl child’s growth, by sending her to, and allowing her stay in school or learn a skill until she is fully matured in the various sectors of human development before she is given out for marriage, after being allowed to make her own choice of a man.
All these efforts required of the community members and stakeholders, are expected to help in achieving one main objective of helping end Child Marriages in the rural communities.
Efforts on ending Child Marriages especially in our rural communities, cannot yield any positive results, without the involvement of basic schools in the target communities.
Teachers of the basic schools in the two communities were fully involved in the community entry exercise of the project, where their representatives made pledges of their utmost support to help in the achievement of the project’s objectives.
The Assemblyman for the Jentong Electoral Area, Inusah Hamzah Lansah, who was involved in the activities in both communities, expressed gratitude for the intervention by WUZDA Ghana, particularly for the choice of Fushila and Dakpemyili as direct beneficiaries.
According to him, the two communities have been deprived of some basic amenities in development which have contributed over the years to girls’ school dropout rates rising, encouraging early marriages.
The chiefs and people of the Fushila and Dakpemyili communities pledged their full support and commitment for the project activities, since it has come to help them take the lead to solving some of the development problems they face, particularly with developing their children, especially the girl child.
The “Optimized After 24 Years – Policy Prioritization as a Factor” project is a year – long project being implemented in three MMDAs; Tamale Metropolitan, Sagnarigu Municipal and Salaga North District.
The “Optimized After 24 Years – Policy Prioritization as a Factor” project is funded by Mundo Cooperante.
WUZDA Ghana 