*Pro-link partners World Education Incorporated (WEI) on the STAGE project funded by DFID in Nkwanta North
Municipality*
*Introduction*
The Strategic Approaches to Girls’ Education (STAGE) project is led by World Education, Inc. (WEI), funded by the Department for International Development (DFID, UK) and will combine two mutually supportive tracks for highly marginalized girls - formal school and informal learning - to bring a holistic approach to the education of girls and lower the barriers that they face at the individual, community, school, and system levels.
The STAGE project will specifically target areas of Ghana where high levels of extreme poverty, in combination with deep-seated traditional and social norms exist, resulting in negative impacts on women and girls. STAGE targets girls in these areas are highly vulnerable and systematically marginalized due to factors such as early marriage, pregnancies, disabilities, and others.
Under the STAGE project, a consortium led by WEI with experienced downstream local NGO partners, which include Pro-Link Organization will work together to improve LEARNING outcomes in numeracy, literacy, and life skills, and establish relevant and appropriate partnerships and pathways for the successful transition of 20,100 girl beneficiaries between 10 and 19 years old.
The program aims to leverage the experience of its partners, utilize lessons from previous projects, and engage stakeholders at all levels to improve the lives of these highly marginalized girls.
In pursuit of these objectives, an extensive workshop was organized in the Nkwanta South Municipality to train facilitators who will intern assist the girls on the above project. The training is geared towards unearthing the potentials of marginalized and hard to reach girls who have either been forced into early marriages, physically challenged or have dropped out of school in our communities with emphasis on the local language Likpakpaln.
It's a five (5) year DFID/World Education Incorporated (WEI)/Pro-Link-partnership. This project cut across 4 assemblies in the Oti Region namely;
1. Nkwanta North
2. Nkwanta South 3.Krachi East
4.Kadjebi
It covers 625 marginalised hard to reach Girls and 400 physically challenged Girls per District . It also covers 25 communities per District and 25 Girls in each Community.
The project collaborates with the Non-Formal Education Division, Ghana Education Service and Social Welfare in identifying the Girls. The Non-Formal Education Division plays a unique role on the project because of the Non- Formal Component (Adult Education component on the Project).
The Non Formal and the Ghana Education Service have language Experts and Master Trainers who were trained by WEI to come and train facilitators.
Thirty (30) facilitators for Nkwanta North were trained to go and help the Girls in Numeracy and Literacy using Lipkakpaln language.
As part of the project, 625 Girls will go through Accelerated Learning Programme (ALP). They will learn some skills alongside numeracy and Literacy under Master Craft Men and Women. These skills include;
1. Dressmaking
2. Hairdressing
3. Liquid Soap Making
4. Batik (Tyre and Die) for six months.
At the end of the Training, they will be given seed monies to establish and begin to earn a living which they could not do previously. For sustainability, Community members have been identified as Community Oversight Committee (COCs) to continue Encouraging, Directing, Supervising, Advising, Coaching and making sure the Girls benefits from the project.
The workshop which spanned nine (9) days was very participatory for the hardworking facilitators who have expressed their readiness to reach out to the target group in the communities. The Hon. Deputy Minister for the Oti region could not hide his joy when he was invited to close the workshop. He expressed his gratitude to DFID, WEI and Pro-Link for thinking about the girls and bringing such an initiative to his region.
He promised his support for the project to ensure success.
