Update from MAD HQ: Wawaso Primary School

The village of Wawaso is reached by dirt track and is a small rural community set at the foot of a mountain.For this project, Mad had teamed up with the international NGO, Action Aid. Action Aid operates in over 44 countries worldwide. Their mission is "…to work with the poor and excluded people to eradicate poverty by overcoming the injustice and inequality that cause it."

Action Aid began working in Ghana in 1990 and alongside local community groups and organisations they focus on supporting the rights of the poor. Broadly speaking they work in the following areas: Agriculture, Education, Water and Sanitation, Health (Aids and HIV) and Gender Equity.

A lot of their work focuses on changing the minds of both the rich and the poor in order to empower those less fortunate. They make persons aware of their rights, trying to improve their access to services and information by lobbying government bodies. They look at sustainable programmes, with lifelong lasting effects. They tackle gender issues looking into womens rights and empowerment, providing them with skills and confidence suitable for employment.

They run workshops and out-reach programmes encouraging communities to take responsibility and control of their own development which has proven to be a much more successful approach.Action aid with assistance from a local NGO Sankofa, and together with the community of Wawaso, and our volunteers, constructed of a three-roomed Upper Primary classroom block.

An additional single roomed building will act as a staff room, community hall and also the local regional meeting house for NOCID. NOCID is a committee formed by representatives from the 12 local communities around Kadjebi (the District Capitol). Under the management and careful watch of Action Aid, they have formed their own local NGO that sees to the development of their communities.

So, with guidance and training by Action Aid, this group of people are responsible for promoting development of their communities through such things like: National Health Insurance, Aids awareness days, hygiene and health talks, advances in farming techniques, women's rights and self development workshops etc.