Obenyemi (E/R)-Ghana, Dec. 12, GNA – Members of the Obeynemi Epicentre in the Yilo Krobo District have praised The Hunger Project Ghana and its European partners for providing them with a clinic equipped with medical equipment and social intervention services.
The multipurpose structure, which included a conference hall, clinic with nurses’ quarters, community bank, nursery school, and food bank, serves nine towns that are collectively combat hunger and poverty.
During an official handover ceremony of the building to the communities, Mr. Darkey Christian Kwabla, Chairman, Obenyemic Epicentre, presented a brief overview of the project and expressed gratitude to The Hunger Project Ghana’s European partners who contributed to establishing the centre.
He said members of the centre have undergone several trainings in various disciplines such as HIV/AIDS, agriculture, and vision commitment and action, including a change of mindset from “I can’t do it to I can do it.”
He also said the communities received a large sum of money from their European partners to help them invest in income-generating livelihood initiatives.
However, he expressed concern that some members who took the money, which is expected to be a revolving fund, as soft loans with only a 15 percent interest rate, have defaulted, threatening the survival of the community bank.
Mr. Kwabla also commended the project partners for their assistance with social intervention activities such as providing 200 chairs, canopies, office equipment, a tricycle, and a Yamaha motorcycle.
They also equipped the clinic with operating beds, equipment and supplies, a vaccine refrigerator, and a variety of other logistics to improve healthcare delivery.
“In fact, these generous gesture of support by our European brothers and sisters are worth commending,” he said.
Mr. Isaac Olesu-Adjei, The Hunger Project’s Director of Partnership Building and Resource Mobilization, said now that the communities have been declared self-reliant, it is critical to protect the investment and not to allow any form of deterioration in a few years’ time.
He also challenged the relevant agencies in the Yilo Krobo Municipal Assembly to ensure that the centre functions to improve the living conditions of all the communities.
Mr. Eric Hini, Coordinating Director, Yilo Krobo Municipal Assembly, urged communities to tackle hunger and poverty as their common enemies.
He said that the assembly would ensure that all departments work to provide services to the centre but also suggested that communities adopt a preventative maintenance culture to help sustain the facility.
Korm Bredom, Korm Tonse, Agordjor, Abertina, Pahionya, Blam, Abotia Manao, Obenyemi, and Onumaku are among the nine communities that make up the centre.
A commemorative inscription was unveiled, and a coconut seedling was planted at the centre to symbolise that the communities were now self-reliant.
