By Godfred A. Polkuu
Pido (U/W), Nov. 27, GNA – The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), has supported community members at Pido, in the Sissala East Municipality of the Upper West Region skills and equipment to help counter violent extremism.
Pido, a border community, benefitted from a total of 129 each of Wallington boots, hand gloves, raincoats and equipment including two multi thresher to support post-harvest management of maize and other cereals, four drying platforms and four energy saving stoves.
The support as part of the project to enhance capacity and skills of border communities to counter violent extremism through shea and maize value chain, as a sub-project of a bigger project of the UNDP, dubbed: “Preventing and responding to violent extremism in the Atlantic corridor.”
The UNDP with funding from Australia Aid, the Embassy of Denmark, German Cooperation, Norway Government and its implementing partner, the Savannah Women Integrated Development Agency (SWIDA), an NGO, undertook the project, implemented in September 2024.
Speaking at a ceremony to handover the project, Madam Melody Azinim, the Programme Analyst, Peace and Governance of the UNDP, said the project covered five countries, namely; Ghana, Togo, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, and Burkina Faso.
She said the project had different components, and explained that, an aspect is to sensitize community members on threats of violent extremism and factors that influenced people to join violent extremist groups within the sub-region.
“For Ghana and the other neighbouring countries, we want to see how best we can, together ensure that some of these threats do not develop within our communities.
“And so, components of our project look at how to strengthen relationships between the different groups of people that we have in our community,” she said.
Madam Azinim hoped the community would make effective use of the equipment to support themselves, and said, “Let’s make sure that everybody benefits from the machines and drying platforms that have been provided.”
Hajia Alima Sagito Saeed, Executive Director of SWIDA, emphasized that the gesture was to enhance the capacity of women and the youth in the shea and maize value chain in the community while helping them to improve on their businesses, earn more income to sustain their livelihood and prevent them from being susceptible to violent extremist groups.
Hajia Saeed added that as part of the project, community members were trained in shea and maize quality processing, post-harvest loses, financial and record keeping and market linkages.
She encouraged the women to take advantage of the opportunity to undertake business ventures, save money and buy their own equipment in the future to expand.
The Chief of Pido, Pe Wemon Mahama Kudalia, who received the equipment on behalf of the community members, thanked the UNDP and its partners for the support, and appealed for a school and a good road network to the community.
Madam Alimata Mumuni, a community member, expressed gratitude to the UNDP, SWIDA and the funding partners for the support extended to the community, and said processing of cereals would be much easier, and the finished product would be devoid of stones and other foreign materials.
GNA