By Michael Kofi Kenetey
The Family Strengthening FS Programme of SOS Children’s Villages, Ghana, under the supervision of the local branch, SOS Asiakwa Children’s Villages, has economically empowered 423 caregivers to earn a living and income to provide basic survival needs of 1,323 children in the Abuakwa North Municipality of the Eastern Region.
Over one thousand four hundred children have also benefited from the activities of 10 Child Right Clubs formed in some community schools in the municipality.
These were revealed during the five-year End of Project Durbar held at SOS Asiakwa Children’s Villages at New Tafo in the Abuakwa North Municipality.
The Family Strengthening Programme of SOS Children’s Villages, Ghana, commenced their five-year project in the Abuakwa North Municipality in 2018 aimed at empowering lives, families, and communities.
The various communities, such as New Tafo, Old Tafo, Kukurantumi, Obodanase, and its environs, have fully collaborated with the FS Project to implement their projects to economically empower the lives of families and youth in the area.
The SOS Children’s Villages Programme Director, Josephine Afrawuah, noted that for the past five years, the FS Project has been able to set up 15 village savings and loan associations in Kukurantumi, New Tafo, and Old Tafo, which aim to provide financial advice to people to develop the habit of saving for their future.
The project has also supported 250 teachers in the municipality through in-service training, which has impacted the lives of over seven thousand pupils in the municipality.
The Abuakwa North Municipal Education Director, Abena Gyamera, noted that the efforts of the SOS FS Project have not only enriched the individual lives of people but have also contributed to the reshaping of the various communities.
She mentioned that the efforts and education provided by the project have helped improve the performance of the pupils in the BECE results as well as reduce teenage pregnancy in the Municipality.
The Abuakwa North Municipal Chief Executive, Alhaji Omar Babs Bodinga, commended the SOS Children’s Villages, Ghana, for taking up the responsibility of helping to build sanitary facilities for schools, boreholes for communities, supporting the youth with start-ups, and supporting the lives of residents in the Municipality.
Some of the beneficiaries of the SOS Family Strengthening Programme speaking to the GBC NEWS showed their appreciation to SOS Children’s Villages Ghana for coming to their aid to support them with start-up services as beauticians and fashion designers.