By Rosemary Wayo
Tamale, Dec 29, GNA – Norsaac, a civil society organisation (CSO), has climaxed its 20th anniversary celebration with a dinner and awards in Tamale.
The ceremony was attended by people from all walks of life, including CSOs and institutions where awards, in the form of citations, were given to individuals and organisations for their commitment to improving society.
Mr Alhassan Mohammed Awal, Executive Director of Norsaac, speaking on the 20-year journey of Norsaac, said it began in 2002 as Northern Schools AIDS Action Clubs, a school-based club and had grown to a national organisation that had contributed immensely to the country’s progress in diverse fields.
Mr Awal expressed gratitude to BasicNeeds-Ghana, IBIS, ActionAid and Children Believe, who were the pioneer donors to Norsaac, adding the organisation had worked in over 6,000 communities in the northern part of the country and had 35 donors within the two decades of service.
He noted that the organisation operated without a strategic plan for the first four years but developed the Norsaac Strategic Papers in subsequent years on sexual and reproductive health rights, women’s rights and governance, education, livelihood and entrepreneurial development as well as the movement for active citizenship.
Mr Awal, highlighting some successes chalked by Norsaac, said the organisation launched the Northern Region Assembly Women Caucus on Good Governance in 2008, which contributed to women representation and participation in decision-making as it was recognised as leading actors on women, children and youth in the country.
He said, “Norsaac has reached out to over 100,000 young people and women directly on reproductive health issues, sexual and gender-based violence and the participation of women in decision-making processes.
We partnered the Ghana Education Service to pilot and scale up gender friendly leadership structure that made most schools to introduce structures that allowed all sexes to compete for positions in Seniors High Schools.”
Alhaji Shani Alhassan Saibu, Northern Regional Minister, who was the guest of honour, said Norsaac had played its collaborative role with government very well over the years in pursuing the development agenda of the north by collaborating with relevant actors including Ministries, Departments and Agencies, Regional Coordinating Councils, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies and like-minded organisations to deliver programmes that positively affected the lives of the marginalised and vulnerable in society.
He said Norsaac, in the past 20 years, played critical roles, which included empowering and building the capacity of women groups, youth networks, and school children by giving them requisite training and skills, adding the organisation had worked closely with different education sector stakeholders at both regional and district levels to carry out programmes.
He said, “It is a known fact that there are many harmful social and cultural practices that impede development in Northern Ghana, especially in the area of education including child marriages but Norsaac in the last two decades has worked with multiple stakeholders to eliminate these inimical practices.”
Alhaji Saibu lauded Norsaac for its contribution to the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, saying the organisation supported government’s efforts in a number of ways, including the provision of personal protective equipment to schools and vulnerable groups in communities in the region, and sensitised people on the outbreak and how to protect themselves against the virus.
He said, “The attainment of peace in Dagbon is another major achievement we all take pride in. The journey and the processes were long and frustrating but due to the dedication and commitment of several actors and stakeholders, including Norsaac, success was attained.”
GNA