By Patience Gbeze
Accra, Feb. 02, GNA – The Presbyterian Relief Services and Development (PRESED), an agency of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, has provided cash support to 1000 individuals; approximately 5,383 households in the Volta Region, to alleviate the plight of victims of the Akosombo Dam spillage.
The multipurpose cash transfer, funded by the ACT Alliance, is for the beneficiaries to procure basic needs to relieve them of their plight and enable them to bounce back to life.
Mr Emmanuel Nyarko Ankamah, the Ghana Forum Coordinator of the Alliance and National Coordinator for PRESED, said the Alliance was touched by the plight of the affected persons, hence the support from the Rapid Response Fund to help reduce their plight.
He, therefore, called on all relief agencies to come together to implement livelihood enhancement programmes to assist the affected persons and their communities.
Mrs Rebecca Sabah, the National Director for Development and Social Services, Presbyterian Church of Ghana, said the Church, as part of its social witnessing, had commiserated with the affected persons and their families since the unfortunate incident happened.
It had provided numerous supports, including distribution of relief items and water supply to Mepe, Tokpo, Tefle, Battor, Sogakope, Ada, Sokpoe, Adidome and Akuse.
“The Church is planning more support such as the provision of potable water and distribution of educational materials in Mepe and surrounding communities,” she said, and expressed the Church’s appreciation to the ACT Alliance for the gesture.
The Act Alliance is a global faith-based coalition operating in more than 120 countries with more than 140 members.
The alliance works on humanitarian aid, gender and climate justice, migration and displacement, and peace and security to support local communities.
Its goal is to promote a locally led and coordinated approach to advocacy, humanitarian and developmental issues.
The beneficiaries expressed gratitude to the Church and development partners for the kind gesture.
Ms Yayra Grace, a single mother resident in Sogakope, said she would use the money to repair her damaged house.
Ms Doris Amehlor from Mepe, on her part, said she would use her share to start a business.
The Volta River Authority (VRA) began the controlled water spillage from the Akosombo and Kpong Dams on September 15, 2023, due to the consistent rise in the inflow pattern and water level in the Akosombo reservoir.
The total number of persons affected was approximately 36,000 in nine districts (NADMO, 2023).
The increased numbers widened the unmet basic needs in sectors such as food, WASH, health, education and livelihoods.
Based on the humanitarian gaps identified during needs assessment, the Presbyterian Relief Services and Development decided to provide the multipurpose cash for 1000 households through mobile cash transfer based on community consultation of their unmet needs.
In addition to the cash, the response will support 200 most affected farmers replacing their seeds and tools lost to the floods.
GNA