International Women Day – Empowering the rural woman

I am pleased to join in celebrating this year’s International Women’s Day as an International Citizen Service volunteer working with rural women who are striving very hard to better their lives. It’s a day to celebrate women and to look beyond their limitations to acknowledge the valuable opportunities they bring about; to present them as empowered agents of change rather than as marginalized groups and, above all, an important occasion in which we reflect on the need to empower women and celebrate the economic, political and social achievements of women in our country and the world over. As we celebrate this day today, I’m reminded of my stay in Tolon and the trips to six of its surrounding village which really revealed how much work is still needed to enhance the situation of women around the rural realm of the world. I am encouraged to note that the theme for every year’s Women’s Day celebration must have been “Empower rural women – end hunger and poverty” and not be changed until a bridge is created to close the in just socio economic gap between women in rural areas and urban centres.

As I reflect on this theme and the necessary steps that need to be taken to empower rural women, I am happy to note that International Citizen Service through our volunteering have made commendable progress in empowering women in Northern Ghana, especially in Tolon, my place of volunteering. International Citizen Service is a UK based NGO that runs humanitarian programmes in seven communities in the Northern and Upper East Regions. We work mainly with women, children and people with disabilities in the areas of education, livelihood, female empowerment, sexual reproductive health and disability rights. Our project partner is a division of the Ministry of Education in Ghana; Non-Formal Education Division is responsible for coordinating literacy activities in the country.

Now allow me to walk you through a phase in a working history of ICS/NFED Tolon and to shine some spotlights on our women’s Income Generating Groups (IGGs) as we happily celebrate this year’s international women’s day. Once Gandhi said that, “a woman is not less than a male in any aspect; be it her mental strength or her intellectual strength or her spiritual strength, she has the potential to work actively in every sphere of the life”. These remarkable women are working to transform their lives and communities. They started off having little or no business experience, but now the women of the IGGs are managing a variety of small businesses in the fields of dressmaking, Shea Butter and Rice production in six communities in the Tolon District namely; Dundo, Dimabi Yepala, Yoggu, Wayamba, Kangbagu and Tolon. I acknowledge the works of our predecessors for making these IGGs firm as it is now. They did a massive job by starting a pipeline process of putting these groups into co-operatives. My team, (cohort 6) after taking over to begin our twelve weeks tenure on the project on 12th January 2017 have ensured a successful project so far, nine weeks into our placement; we have completed the process by getting these groups their certificates from the Department of Co-operative which has now legalized them as functional co–operatives. Also our dressmakers have been richly developed by Mr. Musa, a renowned fashion designer/lecturer from Tamale polytechnic whom we called upon to take them through some series of new fashion designs. Their feedback after the training signified a very fruitful session. We have also succeeded in selling our group’s produce, their success stories and other rising matters to the public in an awareness creation exercise at the Katinga market.  Again, in order to raise extra funds for the groups; we are currently on the verge of acquiring motor tricycles from MASLOC for four of our groups to serve as a secondary source of income to them aside the profits they make from their actual businesses. Over the next few weeks we have planned to organize a durbar for the groups. The purpose of the durbar is to create a forum for bulk buyers and financial personnel to educate the groups on how to optimize the quality of their produce to attract bulk buyers and also to intensify their knowledge in proper financial records keeping and bank transaction. We are still working on a Dagbani manual on rice and Shea butter production and audio visuals of all our Dagbani presentations and trainings. This will serve as reference document to which the groups will refer when the need arises; we hope to finish them before our tenure come to an end.

I’m inspired by the fact that through our volunteering, over 250 women in and around Tolon have been given the opportunity to be creative and optimistic; turning current and past challenges into future opportunities. The knowledge and skills that the sessions contain are for wider female empowerment in Tolon, giving them the independence to keep up their businesses and be responsible for their own futures.

Here in Tolon, we celebrated the Women’s Day at the chief’s palace by inviting our women groups to share their stories and opinions surrounding their businesses. This was followed by presentation of their co-operative certificates and was concluded with inspirational messages from the chief of Tolon and our able team leaders Edward and Caleb.

We at ICS/NFED – Tolon envision a Ghana where women are empowered to realize their social, political and economic potentials and together we can make a difference. As we celebrate International Women’s today 8th March, 2017, I entreat stakeholders responsible for the welfare development of rural areas to have a relook into the redistribution cycle to affect the rural people and urge that we all recommit ourselves and do our utmost as a nation to close the socio economic gap between the urban woman and the rural woman. Parity among women is progress for all!

I wish you a happy International Women’s Day!

By: Enock Dekyi