Practising what you preach for sustainable development

By Gloria Makafui Dovoh, 1st year MDP student

In my first blog, I made mention of the usefulness of considering both the context and culture of a community in understanding cultural practices as well as building relationships and having an open mind.  During my field placement with the Regional Advisory and Information Network Systems (RAINS), I realized these tools early enough to assist with my twelve-week journey.  At the end of the three months experience in the field, I have no doubt this placement was a good fit. I have personally enjoyed the journey of growth during this placement.

Gloria (R) with a student during a project evaluation session

Even though I come from Ghana (Southern Ghana), I have been blinded to the diversity of cultures in the Northern part of the country all this while. The Northern part of Ghana, where RAINS is located has a mind-blowing diversity in languages, dances, cuisine and dressing.  I was fortunately gifted with a beautiful Northern outfit called the “smock” at the end of my placement.

Aside from the organization’s work with rural communities in Northern Ghana, RAINS manages a day crèche to support working mothers, both staff and from the general public, which they seek to expand in future. The saying “Practice what you preach” is very evident with the organization. Staff also engage in Village Savings and Loans Association (VSLA), (a livelihood intervention for a group of people who collectively support a structured process of saving money and collecting loans at a local level) to have practical experience of the saving and loans framework that has been adopted in many rural communities to build reliable sources of capital for women’s small businesses.

I am thankful to the Regional Advisory and Information Network Systems (RAINS) and Master’s in Development Practice: Indigenous Development (MDP), the University of Winnipeg for this adventurous and meaningful experience. I have learnt a lot and I am grateful for this opportunity of a lifetime. I had the opportunity of improving both my professional and personal skills. In the nutshell, I experienced hands-on learning and training in a field setting, an experience I have been looking forward to since the inception of my journey to the MDP.

Group photo on Gloria's last day in placement

 

The Classroom Experience vs the Field Experience

By Gloria Makafui Dovoh, 1st year MDP student

One of my greatest aspirations in my academic career is to apply my classroom knowledge to practical experiences. I consider this an essential background to suggest sustainable interventions for issues related to gender and education. I embarked on a journey to experience practical learning with the Regional Advisory and Information Systems (RAINS) in Ghana.

RAINS is a non-governmental organization that works with communities and development partners to improve the quality of life for vulnerable groups such as children, women, girls and people with disabilities. RAINS strengthens local structures to take actions to promote and ensure fairness for all people in society. The organization envisions a just society that is based on equity with equal opportunities for all and respect for diversity. 

RAINS logo - two interlocking horns

The interesting thing about RAINS is the variety of projects available, ranging from; alternative approaches to education, women and girls empowerment programs and supporting smallholder farmers’ adaptive capacities to climate change. Interestingly, all of these project activities have gender issues cutting across. My work here is simple - To participate and learn from the various activities the organization is undertaking with various communities in Northern Ghana.    

From interactions with some community members and project officers, the issue of female migration has been reported to be exceptionally difficult to tackle. Young females migrate independently of their families to urban and/or peri-urban areas in search of greener pastures. These young females are usually vulnerable since they have a low economic capacity, low education or training among other structural vulnerabilities. This practice of young girls migrating down south happens to be deeply rooted in the conventions of the people for many decades and seems too complex to eliminate.

Children at African Union Day of the African Child 

Based on this experiential learning, I realized the importance of considering the context and cultural principles of the said community in order to understand these practices. Relationship building and open-mindedness are also useful tools for working with community members. 

A striking report on the dynamics of migration explains how social status is gained as a result of migration. “Girls who return from urban areas are perceived to have higher social status than girls who have not migrated. Additionally, migrant females are more likely to be empowered and confident in comparison to their non-migrant counterparts.” - Female community member.   

"Also in some communities, returnee female migrants have higher bride prices as compared to their non-migrant counterparts.” - RAINS Project Officer.             

Tamale – Empowering a people … preserving heritage

By Barbara Gardner, 2nd year MDP student

Women attending 1st aid training - Nanton-Kurugu

Working with the officers and the various local communities around Tamale is proving to be quite rewarding. By attending training sessions and workshops it has become clearer that women, while respecting their heritage, are becoming more empowered through the training provided by RAINS. For example, health information training with women was critical in highlighting unsafe  practices of first aid care for their children.  

I also had the privilege of assisting with the preparation of a project proposal aimed at improving use of essential health services including comprehensive family planning.  If funding is granted, it will target women and girls of reproductive age as well as children up to 5 years.

 

Camp counselor, Barbara (far right)

While my primary focus was working at Regional Advisory Information and Network Systems (RAINS), I did find some time to volunteer at an annual Kids Camp in Tamale.  The children came from all over the Northern region of Tamale and for the first time they catered to Muslim as well as non-Muslim children who are housed at a lodge and chaperoned by adults over a five day period. The main aim of the camp is to foster togetherness despite religious beliefs. They are engaged in craft, dancing and sporting activities as well as participating in spiritual activities. It was encouraging to see children of all backgrounds interacting and forming bonds of friendships during the course of the week as well as learning from each other.

Through these interactions, I have learnt so much more than I ever could from reading books which depicts the happenings both culturally as well as sustainable development within Ghana. It also reaffirmed for me, that while my ancestors may have been from Africa, the Caribbean and Western experience, which has shaped my development, is very different from anything observed during this placement. 

 

A gathering of the more than 400 children

Meet The Women Who Are Toiling Hard To Secure The Future Of Their Children And Community

By Nana Araba Asaam, 1st year MDP student

“No matter how you measure it, women and children bear the brunt of poverty. But it’s also clear that women are our greatest hope for ending it. I have long believed that if you change the life of a girl or woman, you don’t just change that individual, you change her family and then her community.” Dr. Helene Gayle, President/CEO of Care USA.

Giving out cash to women farmers at Zoosali for purchasing certified seeds

I have come back to my roots but this time to a different region and with a different purpose: to help create a world in which women are empowered to secure the future of their children and community. My first field placement is with the Regional Advisory Information and Network Systems (RAINS) in the Northern Region of Ghana. I have the opportunity to be working on the Integrated Community Empowerment (INCOME) program, funded by Canadian Feed the Children (CFTC), whose intended outcome is that children in vibrant, sustainable communities in northern Ghana have foundations to build a prosperous future. 

Since it is generally believed that women are the primary caregivers of children, the program to a large extent targets women in the rural communities to effectively address issues confronting children. The program directly supports over 1,000 school children by providing tuition fees, uniforms, learning materials and interventions to improve the learning environment. In recognition of their primary caregiver role, the program also supports women’s livelihood activities, such as crop and animal farming, and beekeeping. It also provides training for Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLA) among the women to boost their household income status and financial decision making capacity. 

VSLA group at Sang after distribution of share saving and profit

 The above-mentioned activities are intended to increase food security and the economic status of the women as well as enhance their participation in decision making processes, thereby putting them in a better standing to protect their children. This also ensures that women are better able to generate and use their earnings to feed their families, send their children to school and keep them there.

I have been incredibly impressed by the hard work done by most women in the Northern Region despite the many challenges they face. Besides issues of cultural and male dominance and gender inequality, the women labor under numerous daily tasks such as walking long distances to farm, collect firewood, cook, clean, get water, care for children and more. Whereas, the men only weed farm lands seasonally, and most of the days sit under trees to play board games with friends. It has become quite obvious to me that there is a long way to go toward achieving equal task distribution and gender equality in the rural communities of the Northern Region. It is however comforting to realize that the INCOME program among other intervention programs undertaken by RAINS are steps in the right direction. My hope is that with time and the ongoing economic empowerment of women, a way will be found for more equal distribution of labour at household and community levels.

Beneficiary of INCOME program proudly showing off her farm land

I have spent a lot of time in the Zoosali, Bidima, Kpachilo and Sang rural communities and walked many miles to visit farm lands and beehives of the women farmers. I must admit that I am highly impressed and inspired by their strength, selflessness, continuous persistence, hard work and resilience to lay a better foundation for the future of their children and communities. 

I am happy and grateful to be contributing to this program, learning from the RAINS team and my women friends whom I have formed beautiful relationships with. I pray and hope for the day when the children will thrive and be free from poverty and my friends will be totally empowered.

Tamale: A Mix of Modernity and Pastoral Life

By Barbara Gardner, 2nd year MDP student

My field placement this summer is in Tamale, a predominately Muslim city in northern Ghana, working with the organization Regional Advisory Information and Network Systems (RAINS).  The sights, sounds and smells of history and pastoral living is vibrant and ever present all around me. Witnessing the mix of modernity and traditional pastoral life coexisting side-by-side has been eye-opening for me.

Bob N-Nya Yaa (Unity is strength) Women’s Group, Nanton-Kurugu

The primary focus of RAINS is empowering and educating girls and women. I have had the privilege of meeting and interacting with women who, with the assistance of RAINS, have been formed themselves into a small entrepreneurship group.  They have developed a sense of pride in what they have been able to accomplish, assisting each other to both mentor and nurture their children, while embracing this new collective “voice” to advocate for themselves.

Community Coordinator & Animator of the children after school programme, Nanton-Kurugu

I also visited and worked with the children and community organizers who are a part of the Childhood Regained Project (CRP), which seeks to assist school age children, both in school and out of school, by providing additional teaching support after the regular school day has ended.  This includes homework, explaining things taught in school and extracurricular activities; for those not a part of the formal school system, help to improve literacy in their native language and support them to enter the formal system.    

So far, it has been an eye opening experience in human rights (country and/vs customary) and seeing first-hand what goes into empowering the poor! I look forward to attending advocacy meetings and learning more from the community personnel about how they envisage the future through improved partnerships with NGOs and the community leaders.