Adaptation Climate Fund Sub Projects Launched in Bongo

Four Adaptation Climate Fund Sub Projects has been launch in the Bongo District of the Upper East Region. 

The project which is made up of   dry season gardening, Integrated Beekeeping and Environmental Protection IBEP, Fishing and Tree Growing Projects have been launched at the Aliba Community in the Bongo District. 

The one year sub projects are climate change adaptation focused. It is   aimed at empowering women to increase household’s incomes and reduce food insecurity in Bongo and its environs.  

Four Non-Governmental Organizations NGOS such as META Foundation, LINK Ghana, Rural Education and Agriculture Development International READI and the Community Self Reliance Centre COSREC are implementing each sub projects. 

Whilst the  Adaptation Fund Project AFP of  the United Nations Development Programme  UNDP  is  the implementation of the projects , the Ministry of Environment Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI)  through  the Upper East Regional Directorate of  Environmental  Protection Agency EPA is in charge of monitoring and supervision of the projects implementation. 

During the launching, the Bongo District Chief Executive,  Mr. Peter Ayamga Ayinbisa, lauded the projects and stated that the District was one of the hardest hit when it comes to climate change. 

He expressed  confidence that not only would the interventions help empower the communities to adopt to climate change, but would also help contribute to the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals of ending hunger, poverty and Climate Change. 

The Paramount Chief of the Bongo Traditional area and  the Vice President of the Regional House of Chiefs advised the beneficiary communities to embrace the project. 

He added that the selected projects for the District had the greatest potentials of wealth creation. The  Programme Manager of META Foundation, Mr David Amozebega, said  his outfit which is in charge of the dry season gardening project would build the capacity of the communities to  establish seedlings in the areas of  tomatoes, pepper and onions and also support them with modernize agricultural practices to conduct farming  activities on dry season farming. 

He indicated that considering the role of women in food security and household livelihoods interventions, the project have target at least 60% of the beneficiaries to be women and added that the project would consciously work to ensure that the youth and vulnerable groups become an integral part of the project, especially the physically challenged persons.

500 CBE Cycle Five Pupils Graduated in Bawku West District-UE

Some of the beneficiary of the CBE project holding their certificates

About 500 out of school- going-age children in some communities in the Bawku West District of the Upper East Region  who have received basic  numeracy and literacy skills training  are to be enrolled into the formal educational system come  this year September, 2018 academic year.

 The Project dubbed”, Complementary Basic Education (CBEs )”,  is being implemented by  the Link Community Development Ghana ( LCDG) , a local NGO based in the Upper East Region with funding support from the  United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Department For International Development (DFID).

 Under the CBE system, out-of-school children   in the various communities shepherding cattle and other household chores are moped up and trained for nine months in numeracy and literacy skills using their mother tongue and deploy to the formal school system.

The mainstreaming of the 500 out of school- going-age children in the District into the formal education sector this academic year would bring the total of such children to 3750 since the inception of the project in 2014-2015 in the district.

In an interview with GBC online during the graduation ceremony of the beneficiaries at Zebilla in the Bawku West District,  the Desk Officer of  the CBE in charge of  the District, Ms Alhassan Addisah Kuberah,  said the fifth  cycle of the CBE this term was  made up of 20 satellites classes in the respective communities, with an enrollment figure  of 25 pupils mostly 10 boys and 15 girls in each class, handled by one facilitator selected from the community.

She indicated that the, programme has made a lot impact in the district by creating the enabling environment for children who would have been left out of school.

“Such children would have remained in the communities and grow up to become a burden in society”, she emphasized.

In an address read on behalf the District Director  of Education, Mrs  Cecilia Assibi Sumaila, she disclosed that there are still about 2,900  of such children  in the communities who were not in school and needed equal attention.

She, therefore, appealed to the Bawku West District Assembly and all stakeholders to support the programme by bringing those ones on board.

The Project Manager of LCDG, Mr  Joachim Faara, stated that the goal of his outfit  was  to ensure that every vulnerable  child was  in school, hence their effort at supporting the Ghana Education Service to  achieve that objective.

He expressed appreciation to the District Director of Education, the community members and the facilitators especially for the sacrifices they made in the training of  the children.

A bicycle each was given to the 20 twenty facilitators by LCDG for their effort.

Story by: GBC's Emmanuel Akayeti

NCCE Chairman Visits Upper East Region

The chairman of the National Commission for Civic Education NCCE Ms. Josephine Nkrumah has paid a two day working visit to the Upper East Region. 

She was accompanied by the Deputy Chairman in charge of operation Samuel Asare Nkoamoah, together with the internal European Union EU team and some staff of the NCCE. 

Her visits which will cover the three northern regions forms part of an internal evaluation to run off the 2012 EU grant to the commission and to pave way for external evaluation by the EU team from Belgium.  

The EU has been supporting the NCCE in the discharge of her civic responsibility to the citizens of Ghana. 

In an interview with GBConline, she indicated that the 2012 grant was shared to all the Regional and District offices of the NCCE throughout the country, to carry out civic education as part of their core mandate. 

Ms. Josephine stated that under the 2012 grant, the Commission was able to organized both the 2016 Presidential and Parliamentary debate, revived the inter-party dialogue committee, carry out extensive education on district level elections in collaboration with the Electoral Commission EC together with  other civil society organization and capacity building of staff of the Commission, engage activist of the various political party flash points areas and educate them on the use of intemperate language, violence and tempered discussions to tolerance and peace building. 

Ms. Josephine said the evaluation is to help identified the challenges encountered in carrying out the commission’s activities under the grant and to make amends in subsequent ones.  

On a courtesy call of the Upper East Regional Minister Mr. Rockson Ayine Bukari, the chairman of the Commission lauded the Minister’s active role in the activities of NCCE and stressed that the non partisan nature of the commission to be upheld as such.

Story by Emmanuel Akayeti GBC’S Correspondent