By Philip Tengzu
Wa, (UW/R), Oct. 30, GNA – The She Leads project implementation partners in the Upper West Region have taken steps to consolidate the gains made through the project implementation towards creating a gender-sensitive and inclusive society for all.
The project aimed to “increase sustained influence of Girls and Young Women (GYW) on decision-making and the transformation of gender norms in formal and informal institutions.”
It was being implemented by the Community Aid for Rural Development (CARD) Ghana in the Upper West Region in partnership with Plan International Ghana in five communities and six Senior High Schools (SHSs) in the Wa Municipality.
As part of the steps to consolidate the gains, the project implementing partners held a capacity-building session for the project facilitators and key stakeholders at project communities and schools on a mentorship manual to guide the She Leads School Clubs patrons in their interactive sessions.
Speaking at the dissemination and capacity-building mentorship session in Wa, Ms. Joyce Obenewaa Darko, Acting Project Manager for the She Leads Project at Plan International Ghana, said the manual was also to serve as a resource for measuring the clubs’ progress and impact.
She observed that the impact of the She Leads project was strongly felt in the Upper West Region by influencing girls in Senior High Schools to take up male-dominated leadership positions.
She added that it had also built a network of “great champions of change”, consisting of elders and traditional and religious leaders who were leading the charge in transforming negative gender norms and roles within the communities.
On the sustainability measures, Ms. Darko indicated that they were strengthening the project’s existing structures at the schools and communities to sustain its influence.
“In the schools, we want to continue to strengthen the clubs we have formed and strengthen the capacity of patrons so that they can continue to empower the girls.
We want to continue to support work plans of champions of change so that they can continue to impact and change negative gender norms within the communities”, she explained.
Mr. Abudu Fuseini, Guidance and Counseling Coordinator at the Wa Islamic SHS, emphasised the need to expand the Club’s membership to enable more girls benefit from the project.
He said increasing the number of girls involved in Clubs’ activities would deepen the impact of the initiative, especially in the school environments where peer influence was high.
Ms. Ernestina Biney, Acting Executive Director of CARD-Ghana, indicated that the Clubs had been influential and impactful on the girls including building their capacities and confidence levels.
She acknowledged the need to expand the membership of the Clubs but said they would work with the Club patrons to develop criteria for admitting more members to sustain its viability.
The participants included the She Leads Club patrons and Guidance and Counseling Coordinators at the project SHSs, champions of change and representatives from the Wa Municipal Education Directorate among others.
The She Leads project would contribute to attaining the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 on achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls by 2030.
GNA
