Over 4,000 women and girls in the Pokuase community in the Greater Accra Region have benefited from scholarships, adult literacy programmes and vocational skills training provided by WomensTrust NGO.
Established in 2003, the WomensTrust Scholars Programme has supported academically promising, needy girls in basic schools by paying for their tuition and providing them with uniforms, school supplies and footwear.
Some of these basic school beneficiaries have received further assistance from the Trust to go through senior high school, and some others have proceeded to the tertiary level.
Beneficiaries in tertiary institutions receive additional support for accommodation and are provided with laptops during their freshman year.
20th Anniversary
Speaking at an event to mark the 20th Anniversary Celebration of WomensTrust NGO, the Board Chair, who is a former Dean of Social Science at the University of Cape Coast, Professor Mansah Prah, noted that financial resources are crucial to ensuring the sustainability and widened impact of organisations like WomensTrust.
According to her, investing in such organisations that work to advance empowerment and equality yields long-term benefits and creates a ripple effect that will resonate for generations to come.
Speaking on the theme “20 years of Impact: Empowering Generations, Celebrating Progress and Investing in the Future”, the keynote speaker, Brigitte Dzogbenuku, a 2020 Presidential Candidate for the Progressive Peoples Party, noted that empowered women share power by reinvesting in their children, families and communities.
As such, she charged the beneficiaries to pay forward their experiences and learnings into the lives of others after them and utilise their opportunities for the benefit of their community.
Ms. Dzogbenuku, also the founder of Mentoring Women Ghana, further called on women to step up to the plate and influence the spaces in decision-making at the local, district or national level.
Investment in women and girls
The Executive Director of WomensTrust NGO, Willibald Kafui Duho, noted that the power of WomensTrust lies in its community-driven approach which is rooted in collaboration, dialogue and the unwavering commitment of the Pokuase community.
He said the organisation was committed to a continued investment in women and girls to advocate for gender equality and create a world where every woman and girl has the opportunity to lead, succeed and contribute to her community and society.
So far, 26 beneficiaries have graduated from various tertiary institutions while 21 in tertiary, 180 in basic and high school are still receiving support at their various institutions.
Also, over 2,000 women entrepreneurs have been supported, leading to increased household incomes.
Ernestina Boampong, a 2022 graduate of the University of Cape Coast, noted that “WomensTrust saw me through my basic, high school and tertiary education by providing me with the essentials needed for smooth sailing through school”.
SOURCE: GraphicOnline
