We celebrate International Day of the Girl 2020

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ON 11 OCTOBER THE GROW YOUR DREAM FOUNDATION JOINED FORCES WITH COMMUNITIES IN ADAKLU TO CELEBRATE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE GIRL 2020.

The international observance day was declared by the United Nations in 2012 and is celebrated each year. This year’s theme was “My Voice: Our Equal future” seized the opportunity to reimagine a better world to inspire adolescent girl. It focused on demands to live free from gender based violence, harmful practices and HIV/AIDS.

In Adaklu, the Grow Your Dream Foundation is using community based information centres to reach out to thousands of this girl. Pertinent issues affecting the lives of these girls generate discussions and help find ways to remedy them. Our Community Volunteer Groups formed a year ago were also encouraged to strengthen and maintain fruitful discussion on this year’s theme to gain proper attention in their various communities.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and lack of funds to organise mini durbar and community meetings, we redirected our strategy by using this medium to reach thousands of Ghanaian in this part of the Volta Region. Community Health Nurses in several villages around Adaklu used the occasion to focus on engagement around the HIV/AIDS topic; they provided detailed information to many girls in our target audience.

Grow Your Dream Foundation as an organization is looking forward to ensuring children in deprived areas or from marginalised groups of the society in Ghana are equipped and supported with adequate tools and information to ensure their health and well-being. We have already inspired thousands with programmes which tailored to advance their safety and development.

Helping Adaklu schoolkids protect against COVID-19

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DONATION OF PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT TO SEVERAL SCHOOLS IN ADAKLU DISTRICT

In August 2020 Grow Your Dream Foundation, with the financial support from a German NGO, donated 330 nose masks to Junior High Schools in Adaklu Helekpe.

Final year students in both Junior and Senior schools in Ghana resumed school to prepare for their final examination earlier in the year, while all other students were asked to remain at home. The Ghana government is committed to supply every school children with 3 nose masks, but our observations at schools across Adaklu and Ho suggest that most children received only one mask, if at all. Because experts emphasize that students need to wear nose masks on school campuses to help avoid a further spread of the virus in Adaklu communities, the GYDF team entered into discussions with HITA, a German NGO with a focus on health education in Ghana and beyond, on how to obtain additional nose masks. Shipping personal protective equipment from Europe is prohibitively expensive and would take many weeks. The best solution, therefore, is sourcing masks in Ghana. Because of the Volta Region’s long tradition in textile manufacturing, finding tailors capable to produce large numbers of nose masks from local fabrics presented no problems. Based on our investigations a decision was taken to use Calico as the best suited fabric for the purpose of producing masks protecting against the spread of COVID-19.

Once the masks were at hand, we approached Junior and Senior schools across Adaklu to find out who is in most need of nose masks. The following schools were selected: Goefe JHS, Helepke JHS, Kpetsu JHS, Abunda Boso JHS, Meyikpo Community School, Adaklu Sikama JHS.

At Helepke JHS (see photos below) Mr Jacob Ahiave, the founder of GYDF presented the items to the school a brief ceremony. He underscored the need for observing COVID-19 prevention measures, and also wished the student success in their final Examinations due in September. The Headmaster thanked the foundation for the donation and pledged to make good use of them. Mr Agama Johnson, The Education specialist of GYDF, also reiterated the need for observing examination rules and regulations adopted by Ghana Education Service to avoid cancellation and withholding of their certificates.