The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), a Non-Governmental Organization, has supported community members at Pido in the Sissala East Municipality of the Upper West Region, with skills and equipment to help in countering violent extremism.
Pido, the border community, received a total of 129 wellington boots, hand gloves, raincoats, and other equipment including two multi threshers to support in post-harvest activities relating to maize and other cereals. They also received four drying platforms and four energy saving stoves.
The support, as part of the project, is meant to enhance the capacity and skills of residents in the border communities to counter violent extremism through the shea and maize value chains, as a sub-project under the project titled “Preventing and Responding to Violent Extremism in the Atlantic Corridor”.
The UNDP with its implementing partner, SWIDA-Ghana, implemented the project, with funding from Australia Aid, the Embassy of Denmark, German Cooperation, and Norway Government and its implementing partner.
Speaking at a ceremony to hand over the project, Programme Analyst, Peace and Governance at UNDP, Madam Melody Azinim said the project covers five countries which are Ghana, Togo, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, and Burkina Faso.
She added that the project has different components, and was quick to mention that there is an aspect to sensitize community members on the threats of violent extremism and factors that influenced people to join violent extremist groups within the sub-region.
“For Ghana and the other neighboring countries, we want to see how best we can, together, ensure that some of these threats do not develop within our countries. And so, components of our project look at how to strengthen relationships between the different groups of people that we have in our community,” she said.
Madam Azimi hoped that the community would make use of the equipment to support themselves, as she encourages that “let’s make sure that everybody benefits from the machines and drying platforms that have been provided.”
For her part, the Executive Director for SWIDA-Ghana, Hajia Alima Sagito-Saeed encouraged the women to take advantage of the opportunity to engage in business, save money and buy their own equipment in the future to expand.
According to Hajia Alima, the intervention is meant to enhance the capacity of women and the youth in the shea and maize value chains in the community, while helping them to improve on their businesses, earn more income to sustain their livelihood, as they are prevented from being susceptible to violent extremist groups.
The SWIDA-Ghana Director added that as part of the project activities, community members were trained in shea and maize quality processing, post-harvest losses, financial record keeping, and creating market linkages.
The Chief of Pido, Pe Wemon Mahama Kudalia who received the equipment on behalf of the community members, thanked the UNDP and its partners for the support, as he appealed for a school and a good road network in the community.
Speaking and expressing gratitude on behalf of the community members, Madam Alimata Mumuni thanked the UNDP and SWIDA-Ghana, and their partners for the support extended to them, adding that the processing of cereals would be easier and the finished product would be devoid of stones and other foreign materials, with the intervention by the project.
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