Adaklu’s Grow Your Dream Foundation (GYDF) co-operates with German NGO HITA for a new 11-month project, from which communities across the District will benefit considerably. The project, which commenced on February 1st 2021, is based on prior work by GYDF and focuses on strengthening gender equality and its role in social development. GYDF already runs several Fathers, Mothers and Adolescent Clubs in communities across Adaklu, to which every interested community member is invited to participate in a discussion about gender roles, the division of responsibilities between men and women and overcoming traditional barriers that prevent women from participating in decision-making processes. Other topics include sexual and reproductive rights, new ways of generating income, women’s access to micro-credit and – since March 2020 – preventing the spread of COVID-19.
The new project aims to make these activities more effective and efficient through a “train-the-trainer” programme and by harnessing the potential of digital tools. Club leaders from at least 10 communities will receive training to enable them to take a pro-active role in promoting gender equality and social development in their community. Monthly club meetings are made more effective through the use of handouts and other printed materials as well as materials in digital format (available on tablet). Groups are set up on online social networks such as WhatsApp so that club leaders can use their own smartphones to network and share content across locations. An impact analysis in the affected communities will be carried out by means of focus groups, supplemented by questionnaire interviews where necessary.
These activities will create the basis for the subsequent expansion of Fathers, Mothers and Adolescent Clubs to the entire District. Adaklu is one of the poorest Districts in the whole of Ghana and is lagging behind in development, as evidenced by the high maternal and newborn mortality rates and the number of teenage pregnancies.
The project is funded by a German donor organisation, the Schmitz Stiftungen, and GYDF partner HITA. For more information about the project, please get in contact!