US Government provides grant to Community-based organisations

Tamale, Nov. 30, GNA - Ten Community based organisations (CBOs) in the Northern, Upper East, Upper West and Brong Ahafo Regions have received a 29,000-dollar grant from the United States Embassy to expand their activities and improve the living standards of the people. The grant was provided under the US Ambassador's Special Self-Help in Northern Ghana, which is part of the U.S. Embassy to empower individuals and communities through increased access to education, health, vocational training and sanitation.

Some of the beneficiaries are the "Bakpaba Beekeeping Project", in the Nanumba North District, which had embarked on tree planting and fighting against bushfires and forest degradation received 2,000 dollars.

This would enable the members increase their beehives, purchase solar wax extractor, smoker's suits with veils and Wellington boots. The "Suglo Nyeri Buni Women Grinding Mill Project" located at Kunguri in the Tolon-Kumbungu District where women and children walk about two kilometers to the nearest mill, had 3,000 dollars grant to buy and install grinding mill to save the women time to increase their income and the children to attend school.

"Sandu Women Sheabutter Extraction Project" on the Tamale-Savelugu road where the inhabitants are peasant farmers engaged in processing of sheanuts into butter would add value and create job for the women with the 4,000 dollars it had received from the Embassy.

The "Tulewe Sheabutter Extraction Project" in the West Gonja District that has no access to good roads and the people had to carry the nuts to the Volta Lake and cross with a boat or wait for months during the dry season when trucks were unable to ply the road, would spent the 4,000 dollars to build shelter, provide means of transport for their operations.

In the Upper East Region, the "Gowrie Water and Sanitation Project" in the Bongo District whose inhabitants have inadequate potable water supply and have been suffering from waterborne diseases, such bilharzias, cholera and typhoid.

A local NGO, the "United Front for Development", which has been helping the Gowrie communities to dig wells, would now purchase five water pumps and cement slaps from the 3,000 dollars provided to mechanise the wells to stop the women from drawing the water by stringed containers.

The "Kandiga Widows and Orphans Ministry" in the Kandiga and Dorungo areas near Bolgatanga where most of the women have been thrown out from their matrimonial homes as they refused to marry a close relative of their late husbands as their custom demands, the 3,500 dollar grant would be used to procure and install grinding mill to process sheanuts to enhance their income levels.

Kongo located at the border with Burkina Faso, which has a large market lacked basic facilities including public toilets to serve the numerous sellers and buyers from neighbouring towns and villages, the 3,000 dollars provided for the "Kongo KVIP Latrine Project" would be spent to address the sanitation problems in the communities.

The "Ta-Ampuurum Library" also in the Upper East Region that received 3,000 dollars would utilize the money to purchase cement and roofing materials to complete a library and craft display room attached to enable children study in the evening while the adults practice their trade.

The "Upper West Rural Women Association" in the Lawra District would spend the 4,500 dollars grant to train its members mainly widows in employable skills such as weaving and hair dressing.

Part of the money would also used to complete skills training and workshop centre and purchase sewing machines and weaving looms to enable the members to fend for themselves and raise their living conditions.

The only CBO from the Brong Ahafo Region, the "Amomaso Erosion Control" faced with serious land environmental degradation and severe land erosion would use the 2,500 dollars to improve on their buildings.