About 600 families who have subscribed to SEND Ghana’s Gender Model Family concept being implemented in the Eastern Corridor of the Northern Region, have participated in a two-day summit organized in Salaga.
The participants took advantage of the event and shared the positive impact of the adaptation of the Gender Model Family concept aimed at promoting gender equality.
As a component of the Food Security Through Cooperatives in Northern Ghana (FOSTERING) programme, the Gender Model project is funded by the Global Affairs Canada.
Chief Executive Officer of SEND Ghana, Siapha Kamara, said his outfit in 2003 initiated the Gender Model Family concept to promote the principle of gender equality in some selected communities in three districts of the Eastern Corridor.
He revealed that the first phase targeted about 2,000 families in East Gonja, Nanumba North and Kpandai Districts.
According to him, the beneficiaries are supported with refundable soft loans to improve their families’ investment in line with the goal of SEND Ghana’s farmer-based cooperatives.
Siapha Kamara underscored the need for parents to deconstruct social barriers which continued to affect girl child growth.
He said women who consecutively played their multiple roles in society deserved equal participation in the decision making processes.
On girl child education, Siapha Kamara implored parents to desist from only educating their male children whiles the girls are neglected.
He anticipated that educating the girl child could decrease the stereotype associated with women who are largely victims of gender discrimination.
The SEND Ghana CEO encouraged the beneficiaries to deepen their peaceful co-existence. He gave the assurance that the Gender Model Family project would be sustained to improve family nutrition, harmony and unity.
Director of SEND Ghana’s FOSTERING project, Raymond Wekem Avatim, explained the objective of the summit saying, “The summit will be an opportunity for the GMF to share their experiences and solicit commitments of support from stakeholders in order to promote gender equity among families in the Eastern Corridor.”
He added, “The GMF programme is enabling families to redistribute household chores equitably among members to ease the work load on women and girls and improve family relations.”
District Chief Executives for Chereponi and East Gonja commended SEND Ghana for the initiative.
Both Hajia Mary Nakobo for Chereponi and Mohammed Aminu Lukman of East Gonja pledged their administrations’ support to sustain the project.
They however recommended that the project should be up-scaled to cover more districts. Hajia Nakobo narrated how she benefited from similar projects and urged family heads to subscribe to the Gender Model Family concept.
There were solidarity messages from the Canadian Cooperative Association (CCA), the Credit Unions Association of Ghana (CUA) among others.
–
By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/citifmonline.com/Ghana