Hunger Project Ghana hands over epicenter to community | Social

Mr. Samuel Afrane, Country Director of Hunger Project Ghana called on communities to support community development projects with the same zeal as they embrace church building since both have been beneficial to them.

Mr. Samuel Afrane, Country Director of Hunger Project Ghana called on communities to support community development projects with the same zeal as they embrace church building since both have benefited them.

He said the government could not do everything given the vast needs of remote and disadvantaged communities and urged communities to support any project aimed at improving their standard of living.

Mr Afrane, who made the comments during an exit ceremony from Epicenter to Supriso in Suhum Municipality, said there were several instances where community leaders and heads of households had opposed the move. the use of land and space for the provision of necessary facilities such as clinics and schools.

He noted that even in the most remote communities, people helped build churches, based on their faith, and advised communities to show the same commitment to other projects since God was interested in their well-being.

The country director explained that the exit strategy was an approach of the Hunger Project to ensure that beneficiary communities owned the epicenter and provided the necessary support to relevant public institutions such as the Ghana Health Service, the Health Service. Ghana Education and District Assembly to integrate the facility into their operational system.

The epicenter is a comprehensive development enclave that includes a clinic, community bank, library, kindergarten, nursing quarters, food bank, and KVIP toilets that serve approximately five to ten clusters of villages in a radius of 10 kilometers, as a tool to reduce poverty and deprivation of the basic needs of communities, especially women.

The Hunger Project Ghana, primarily responsible for implementing the Epicenter methodology, has approximately 45 such centers across Ghana with 38 of the epicenters established in the eastern region alone.

The Country Director reiterated their commitment and vision to ensure self-reliant communities in which men and women work together to eradicate hunger and poverty through self-initiated projects, using local resources and wherever they are. are not available, having the confidence to access external resources to meet their felt needs.

The epicenter of Surpiso established 13 years ago and composed of ten (10) communities, including Supriso I, Supriso II, Dademanste, Abieteh, Apese, Ampa-Dwae, Oboatumpang, Adidiso, Asarekrom and Zutsunor, however, there are other surrounding communities who also benefited from the intervention.

Mr. James Nyarkotey, head of the Supriso Epicenter noted that before the Hunger Project came with its integrated poverty reduction intervention program in the form of the Epicenter, communities did not have access to health care. health and education and had to travel to Suhum or Koforidua for health care. children could not start school early because of the long distances involved.

He said the Epicenter Clinic has now become a well-structured CHPS complex providing all beneficiary communities with year-round primary health care, coupled with other intervention programs such as the Women’s Empowerment Program ( WEP), the improvement of agriculture and micro-credit facilities have improved. the living conditions of the populations.

Mr. Nyarkotey said the various women’s empowerment programs within Epicenter, such as the microfinance program, have helped to significantly reduce the incidences of gender-based violence since “most of our women are empowered to contribute. to the well-being of the household ”.

He thanked Project Hunger for coming to their aid and thanked the chiefs and community leaders for their varied support in establishing the epicenter and ensured that sustainable plans had been put in place to ensure that as the Hunger Project ended in terms of running the facility, it was functioning and the benefits to the communities would not abate.