By Mba Afa Yahaya Yakubu, Youth Chief of Nandundo, before the Installation

On behalf of the Women of Nandundo, I am honoured to read this statement. Since 2014, our mothers and sisters have witnessed real transformation through the work of SWIDA Ghana under the dedicated leadership of Hajia Sagito Alima Sa-eed.

What began with only two VSLA groups has grown into many strong and sustainable VSLAs involving hundreds of women, strengthening savings, access to credit, and household livelihoods.

The women have benefited from agribusiness training, leadership and advocacy support, and social cohesion initiatives.

Recently, the construction of energy-saving stoves and the supply of PPEs have reduced drudgery and health risks in shea butter and rice processing.

In deep appreciation of her selfless service, the women honour her as Queen of Development, Ugnati I. After the process, a pure white dove was presented as a symbol of peace, gratitude, and lasting partnership.

SWIDA Ghana, under the UCARE Project, continues has been monitoring the monthly neighbourhood meetings with Gender Model Family (GMF) households in the Savannah Region, to track progress and address challenges in the implementation of their GMF Action Plans.

During the recent meetings, families reported encouraging progress, particularly in the redistribution of household chores. This shows a growing commitment to shared responsibilities within homes. However, some challenges were also highlighted including;

Some adolescents shared concerns about limited involvement in family decision-making. Some men also mentioned the lack of energy-saving equipment such as bicycles and motorbikes in supporting to reduce household workload.

In response, families committed to actively involving adolescents in household decision-making processes. Men were also encouraged to continue supporting their families by finding practical ways, within their means, to help reduce the burden of domestic workload.

SWIDA Ghana remains committed to promoting inclusive, supportive, and gender-responsive family systems that foster harmony and shared responsibility.

As part of our continued commitment to supporting survivors and individuals navigating abuse and exploitation, the KASA! Project Safe Spaces funded by African Women’s Development Fund are now fully operational.

Five spaces have been established, with four stationed in Tamale and one in Walewale, with each of them having trained staff who provide confidential support, guidance, referrals, with compassionate listening ears.

Prior to their operationalization, SWIDA Ghana organized comprehensive training for Safe Space Coordinators and selected service providers.

The training focused on survivor-centered approaches, Psychological First Aid (PFA), confidentiality and ethical standards, disability inclusion, referral pathways, documentation procedures, and Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) response mechanisms.

This capacity-building initiative has strengthened the ability of coordinators to respond effectively and sensitively to survivors’ needs.

This month, SWIDA Ghana’s monitoring team visited four of the safe spaces; Bilpiela Health Center, ToLEC Ghana, Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana, and Choggu Health Center, to assess utilization, provide supportive supervision, and gather feedback from service providers.

It was encouraging to observe that the spaces are functional and gradually gaining visibility within their communities.

Feedback from service providers

-“The Safe Space has improved privacy and confidentiality for survivors. Clients feel more comfortable opening up compared to before.”

-“The training equipped us with practical skills to handle sensitive cases professionally. We now feel more confident supporting survivors and making appropriate referrals.”

The service providers shared suggestions of increased community awareness creation and additional informational materials to boost the utilization of the spaces.

In response, we supplied additional pull-up banners to improve visibility and enhance the comfort and identity of each space.

Together, we can build communities where everyone feels safe, heard, protected, and empowered.