By Albert Futukpor
Zagyuri (N/R), Dec 18, GNA – Markaz Al Bishara Child Development Programme (MABCDP) has ended its operations at Zagyuri in the Sagnarigu Municipality after 19 years of implementing various interventions in the area to ensure the welfare of children.
The MABCDP, with support from Children Believe, an international NGO, during the period, implemented interventions focusing on provision of educational support (infrastructure, learning materials and capacity building), health and nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), sustainable livelihoods development and strengthening institutions and community organisations.
Mr Kweku Asare, Director of MABCDP, speaking at the ceremony at Zagyuri to officially end MABCDP and Children Believe partnership operations at Zagyuri community, said a lot had been achieved in the area, hence need to move to other areas that equally needed the support.
The ceremony was attended by key stakeholders in the municipality in the Northern Region, including parents, community members, traditional and religious leaders, among others.
Students and pupils performed drama on the importance of education as well as shared their testimonies and appreciation of the impact of the MABCDP’s interventions on their lives.
Mr Asare enumerated MABCDP’s projects in the area, which included the construction of a three-unit kindergarten block with office and store for the Zagyuri Anglican Primary School, provision of over 284 dual desks, 12 teacher tables, 11 teacher chairs, a cardboard, 170 kindergarten plastic chairs, 36 kindergarten wooden chairs, six wooden roundtables, appropriate furniture for both early childhood development and primary and Child Welfare Centre, and a four-unit urinal for the school.
The others were a three-unit classroom block with office and store for the primary school, completed additional three-unit classroom block initiated by the community, and the provision of a 10,000-litre water storage tank for the kindergarten amongst others.
He said in the area of WASH, MABCDP constructed over 20 household latrines, about 17 soak ways and several quantities of sanitation materials, which included wheelbarrows, rakes, cutlasses, wellington boots, including Disaster Risk Reduction fighting materials and facilitated campaigns on WASH and the environment in the schools and community.
While some were the provision of a community weighing centre with office and store, two-unit urinal facility, three tables, four chairs, 20 benches and a cardboard to improve health delivery in the community.
Mr Asare said, “As we mark the graduation of MABCDP from the Zagyuri community, we reaffirm our commitment to continuing our life-changing work. We will continue to empower communities, support vulnerable children and advocate for their rights.”
Madam Esenam Kavi De Souza, Country Director, Children Believe, said the successes and impact of the interventions in the area had been a shared responsibility between the community, and stakeholders.
She urged community members to take good care of the facilities to help improve their livelihoods.
Mr Mahmud Osman, Sagnarigu Municipal Coordinating Director, who was represented at the event, commended MABCDP for its impact on the overall development of education in the area.
He said, “Your impact resonates not just in the individual successes of our young learners but in the strength and resilience of the entire community.”
He said the construction of Early Childhood Development Centres, the donation of dual desks and teachers tables to some of our schools, the organisation of quiz programmes to widen the knowledge base of the learners and boost their confidence level, and the capacity building programmes for educators have all significantly enriched the educational landscape in the communities.
Mr Abukari Tia, Chairman, School Management Committee, Zagyuri Anglican Primary School, also thanked MABCDP for its interventions over the years, saying “Your immeasurable interventions have been impactful on effective teaching and learning. They have created a conducive environment and enhanced enrollment and learning.”
Miss Shawana Abdulai, a beneficiary of the interventions, on behalf of the past and present sponsored children in the Zagyuri community, expressed gratitude to MABCDP and its partners for their support, saying “Your sponsorship has transformed our lives. Your investment to the growth of the community is more than enough.”
GNA