Women with Disabilities nurse trees to combat climate change

By Daniel Adu Darko 

Goaso, Aug. 25, GNA – Fifty women with disabilities and single parents in the Asunafo North Municipality, Ahafo Region, have taken up tree nursing to help combat deforestation and climate change. 

The group, known as Noble Women with Disabilities, is nurturing about 200 seedlings at three sites, including mahogany, emire, mango and orange varieties, for individuals and organisations interested in tree planting. 

Ms Felicia Serwaa, founder of the group told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview that the initiative was also intended to challenge the perception that persons with disabilities (PWDs) depended solely on begging for their livelihoods. 

“We decided to change that narrative by working hard. Our slogan is ‘We can work,’” she said. 

Ms Serwaa said the women believed that disability should not prevent them from making meaningful contributions to their families, communities and the country. 

“For us, we believe we can do everything regardless of the pace or speed with which we have to accomplish the task or work,” she said. 

Ms Serwaa said the group adopted tree nursing as a project to contribute to the restoration of the country’s forest cover while creating an opportunity for the women to become economically 

productive. 

She said the women were concerned about deforestation and the effects of climate change and had therefore joined the tree-planting campaign by nursing seedlings for prospective planters. 

Ms Serwaa said the group was prepared to nurse other tree species based on specific requests from individuals, organisations and institutions. 

However, she said the major challenge confronting the initiative was the lack of buyers for the seedlings. 

Although an NGO was supporting the women with labour costs, it was not purchasing the seedlings, making it difficult for the group to sustain the project, she said. 

“We are appealing to the public that those who have the goodwill to plant trees to support the fight against climate change should come to us to nurse any species of their interest,” she said. 

Ms Serwaa appealed to individuals, businesses, schools, civil society organisations and other institutions to patronise the seedlings, saying such support would not only provide financial assistance but also help advance the group’s environmental objectives. 

“The more people buy our seedlings, the more they support our cause to fight climate change, and we will feel useful to our community and society,” she said. 

The group currently has about 200 seedlings across the three sites and hopes increased patronage will enable it to expand production, nurse more seedlings and develop the initiative into a sustainable enterprise. 

The women also hope the project will encourage other PWDs to pursue productive ventures and contribute to community development. 

GNA 

Edited by Kenneth Sackey 

Reporter: Daniel Adu Darko 

Email: [email protected]