By Albert Futukpor, GNA
Lewuriyiri (S/R), Aug 03, GNA – A community stakeholders’ engagement has been held to introduce the Promoting Rural Opportunities for the Vulnerable and Excluded (PROVE) for Sustainable Development project to various stakeholders at Lewuniyiri in the Sawla-Tuna-Kalba District.
The engagement sought to strengthen local ownership for the project, clarify the project’s objectives and expected outcomes and gather input from the various stakeholders in the Lewuniyiri community towards inclusive implementation of the project.
Participants, numbering at least 85, included 60 women, youth, persons with disabilities, traditional leaders, members of the Fulbe community and representatives of the Sawla-Tuna-Kalba District Assembly amongst others.
The project is being implemented by the Centre for Social and Development Reform (CSD Reform) under the Governance, Rule of Law, and Peacebuilding for Sustainable Development Flagship Programme (Funding Windows) in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme and funded by the Governments of Denmark, Luxembourg and South Korea.
Mr David Yiridong Issaka, the Executive Director, CSD Reform, speaking during the engagement, highlighted the project’s commitment to addressing poverty, social exclusion and environmental challenges through community-driven interventions.
The six month-long (June 2026 to November 2026) project, combines technical and vocational skills training, green technologies and structured community dialogue to reduce economic vulnerability, environmental degradation and social exclusion amongst women and young people.
It also seeks to improve household incomes, strengthen peaceful coexistence and build community resilience at Lewuniyiri, a border community in the Savannah Region.
The project targets over 100 vulnerable people with women constituting the majority of beneficiaries engaged in smallholder farming, shea butter processing, petty trading and other micro-enterprises, female-headed households, women involved in environmentally harmful activities such as charcoal production, and young and elderly women, who are often excluded from development interventions.
Household members, especially children and elderly dependents are expected to benefit indirectly through improved household incomes and better access to basic services while the wider community is expected to gain from enhanced social cohesion, reduced environmental degradation and stronger conflict prevention mechanisms.
Key interventions under the project include vocational training in soap making, dairy value addition and shea butter processing, financial literacy and business management training with mentorship, construction and use of improved cook stoves, a revolving livestock grant supported by veterinary services, provision of a community tricycle to improve market access and emergency referrals, establishment of a community Project Management Committee, and inclusive dialogue sessions to strengthen peaceful coexistence between Fulbe pastoralists and Brifor farming communities.
Mr Issaka said the project placed communities at the centre of decision-making to ensure sustainable development outcomes, adding that strengthening livelihoods alongside peacebuilding initiatives would contribute to improved stability in the border community.
Lewuniyiri is located about 2.5 kilometres from the Black Volta along the Ghana-Côte d’Ivoire border, and it faces widespread poverty, declining agricultural productivity, environmental degradation caused by activities such as charcoal production, limited access to water and recurring conflicts between farmers and herders.
The community also faces cross-border security risks and limited livelihood opportunities, especially for women and young people, hence its selection for the project.
Mr Maurice Kuudenie, the Assemblyman for Saru Electoral Area in the district, who represented the District Assembly, pledged its support for the implementation of the project.
Participants lauded the project saying it would improve livelihoods and create opportunities for vulnerable households.
Earlier, CSD Reform engaged district-level stakeholders on the project, including representatives of the Savannah Regional Peace Council, the Sawla-Tuna-Kalba District Assembly, the Ghana Enterprise Agency, the Department of Social Welfare and Community Development, the Association of Persons with Disabilities, and the Veterinary Services Directorate, to strengthen collaboration and define roles for effective implementation of the project.
GNA
Edited by Eric K Amoh/Benjamin Mensah
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