info@businessghana.com
A comprehensive support project to improve the welfare and resilience of refugees, asylum seekers, returnees, and vulnerable host communities has been launched in the Upper East Region.
The event, held at the Tarikom Refugee Settlement in the Bawku West District last Tuesday, brought together high-ranking officials from ECOWAS, the Ghana Refugee Board (GRB), the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), traditional leaders, and security personnel.
The initiative is under the auspices of the government and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The Executive Secretary of the Ghana Refugee Board (GRB), Tetteh Padi, said a significant component of the project would focus on livelihood support, which would be integrated into the Ghana Refugee Agribusiness Sustainability Programme (GRASP).
He said the project, scheduled to be executed within six months by Right To Be Free, an NGO, would also take into account the water and sanitation situation of persons of concern, including the welfare of the host community.
"This is a strategy that the GRB and the UNHCR have involved the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) in establishing.
“And I can assure you, our benefactors, that the importance of this project is very much in tune with the government’s developmental agenda," Mr Padi said.
He said refugees were not necessarily a burden on society since most of them came with skills, professions and qualifications.
The Director of Humanitarian and Social Affairs at ECOWAS, Dr Sintiki Tarfa Ugbe, underscored the importance of Tarikom as a symbol of regional solidarity.
“Tarikom represents what ECOWAS stands for. When the host community opened its hands to refugees, they not only offered them safety, but also land to farm, dignity and protection. This is true regional integration in action,” she said.
Dr Ugbe said that ECOWAS was committed to “localisation,” working with community-based organisations such as Right To Be Free instead of large international NGOs to ensure that interventions respond directly to the needs of local populations.
The acting Deputy Director of NADMO, Albert Alalzuuga Akuka, pledged NADMO’s continuous support to protect and assist displaced persons.
“Our brothers and sisters here are part of us. The languages they speak--- Gurisa, Moshie, Fulbe — are spoken here too.
They are not strangers; they are part and parcel of us.
“NADMO and the Ghana Refugee Board will work hand in hand to ensure their stay is safe and dignified until reintegration is possible,” he said.
In a speech delivered on behalf of the Upper East Regional Minister, Donatus Akamugri Atanga, he said the project would enhance and promote inclusion and peaceful coexistence between refugees and host communities.
“This is not just a ceremonial event, but a solemn reminder of our shared duty to uphold the rights, dignity and humanity of all people.
Let this project serve as a renewed pledge to protect the vulnerable, empower the displaced, and build a more inclusive society,” the minister added.
The Chief of Tarikom, Naaba Ayoore James, said the presence of asylum seekers in the community had exerted pressure on the limited social amenities such as hospitals and, therefore, appealed for support.
A refugee from Burkina Faso and potential beneficiary of the project, Fatima Yayore, expressed gratitude to their host country for the courtesy and support extended to them.
"We are grateful for the gesture towards us; it is our prayer that this comes to pass.
We sincerely thank the people of Tarikom, the government and its partners for their continued support," she added.
