US Ambassador inaugurates Monkey Sanctuary at Tafi Atome

Accra, May 27, GNA - Mary Carlin Yates, United States (US) Ambassador to Ghana has inaugurated the Tafi-Atome Monkey Sanctuary's Visitor Centre as part of her visit to the Volta Region.

A statement issued in Accra on Friday by the Public Affairs Section of the US Embassy said Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary was one of 14 community-based Eco-tourism Projects funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

It said Nature Conservation Research Centre (NCRC), a partner organisation of USAID, worked with the people of Tafi-Atome to protect Mona monkeys found in the area.

The statement said Ambassador Yates noted that with USAID support, the sanctuary was able to generate enough money to pay the workers on the project, adding that it was on the path of self-sustenance. It said it was wonderful how the people of Tafi-Atome community were working together to improve the visitor experience at the Sanctuary. USAID since 2002 extended 821,223 dollars assistance to Nature Conservation Research Centre to provide support for the programme. It said USAID also trained the staff on eco-tourism and affiliated services as well as building capacity within the institutional organizations.

The Ambassador later toured the forest after inaugurating the Visitor Centre.

Present at the inauguration ceremony were Mr Owusu Yeboah, Volta Regional Minister, Mr John Mason, Executive Director of NCRC and Torgbui Debrah IV, Chief of Tafi-Atome.