Blog Post #3 ActionAid in Ghana

Krystal Benson
Soc 202-01
September 14, 2011

Actionaid Ghana and Songtaba, both non-government agencies focused on bettering the community, conducted a survey which displayed the affects that young girls experienced because of unequal gender relations. It was discovered that the unequal treatment between boys and girls in social settings such as home, society, and school had a negative impact on the intellectual development of girls. According to Actionaid.org, 70% of the population in the world that is stricken with poverty is women. Therefore, with ActionAid being an organization that focuses on women empowerment, they wanted to do something to help encourage young girls to become motivated to be all they can be and to excel academically to help turn this epidemic around. ActionAid along with Songtaba, decided to implement a 5 day Girls Camp to help build the confidence of girls within the Ghana community. During this camp they instilled in the girls the importance of an education, and also the importance of standing up for themselves in all aspects of human rights. According to the Program Coordinator for Songtaba, Mrs. Adams Lamnatu, this program helped to reduce the high number of teen pregnancies and early marriages that this country was faced with.

This dilemma has arisen in many cases all over the world. Girls being put underneath boys in terms of work, education, and every day instances are common problems that need to be stopped. It is important to have programs like this to help build the self esteem of girls in education and society in general. Here on campus I am a part of an organization called, Girls Reaching Out which focuses on building the confidence of girls and giving them the opportunity to give back to the community. Therefore, this issue is very important to me and it was good to see other countries trying to fight against the issue as well. In the end, I know that it will bring about a change on how women are looked at within Ghana. They will no longer feel the need to be behind a man; instead they will want to be in front doing things for themselves. I can’t wait to see when this can become a worldwide achievement for all women!

http://www.actionaid.org/ghana/what-we-do/womens-rights

http://www.ghananewsagency.org/details/Social/Unequal-gender-relation-affects-girl-s-education-ActionAid/?ci=4&ai=33194