Cosmopolitan Widows Empowerment Centre (Guarantors of Grace), under the umbrella of the Cosmopolitan Aid Foundation is established in Ghana as a charitable Trust Deed, duly registered on 21st February, 2014 at the Registrar-General's Department in Accra with the registration number CG089012014. On the 16th January, 2015, the foundation's name was changed from Mawuena Foundation to Cosmopolitan Aid Foundation.
This foundation is formed as a community based strategic group for the empowerment of widows to learn how to make a henceforth independent and gainful living to cater for themselves and their children. Also, provide a voice platform for action on the concerns of widows, social justice, poverty reduction and sustainable development practices.
Widows suffer greatly in the society; they are relegated to the background economically, socially and culturally as a result of the situation in which they find themselves like economic burden, single parenthood and loneliness.
The inspiration came from the manner in which many widows are unjustly and unfairly treated in this part of the world coupled with the increasingly earlier age in which women are becoming widows as a result of accidents, armed conflicts and very dangerous infectious diseases including but not limited to HIV and Ebola, living them to educate their children single-handedly.
Our philosophy is based on the reality that every human being is a unique individual and that we all have a right to good health and basic needs and should access means to a comfortable life in one way or another.
This will be done through training centers and a micro financing agency and a scholarship program for their children to make it to school.
The project involves capacity building and skill development as well as loans to start up a business based on the skill developed. It will also provide awareness on legal rights as well as health and hygiene. We hope to inspire the women we work and to take ownership of their future and earn a sustainable income so they can look after their families and provide for them. By listening to their stories, talking to them and giving them the emotional support they need, we can help these women move forward and look to the future.
Through workshops and training sessions, we hope to help the women develop new skills, whether they be practical skills like tailoring, hair dressing or soft skills, like the art of sales, negotiations and team work. This will help the women become more employable or give them a solid business grounding to make their business succeed and ultimately profitable.
The widows also suffering from the effects of HIV/AIDS will have access to our free HIV/AIDS clinics and free AIDS medicine. Healthy food, vitamins and mosquito nets will be provided for them. Most of these women do not have the strength to grow more and better food, they cannot pay for mosquito nets or vitamin supplements.
Funds for emergency trips to the hospital because women and children suffering from AIDS fall sick more often and more severely than other people. In addition to the cost of transportation, visiting the doctor and getting medicine costs money, money they normally do not have resulting in either debt or death. We will address the issues raised by the members of the HIV/AIDS group and together we will come up with a plan. We will partner with UN Women to bring its advocacy power, technical knowledge and presence on the ground to provide better economic opportunities and enhance the voices of widows.
The Foundation will be calling on governments to fill the gaps in data collection on numbers, ages, lifestyles, needs and roles of widows to include “widows” as a specific category in national action plans, as well as criminalise all actions by state or non-state actors that deprive widows of their rights or coerce them into degrading and life-threatening and harmful traditional practices.
This is done through awareness programmes, radio/TV projects, training/capacity building, advocacy, research, publication, media, networking and consulting services.
This project will lead to sustainability for the single women and their children. When we fully engage people in their own development, in an authentic way they have real ownership and power to change their lives and the lives of the people around them. With this project we will be complimenting government’s efforts towards reducing poverty in the society.
The Board of Trustees of the Cosmopolitan Aid Foundation, led by Dr. Emmanuel Yao Voado, MD., the Founder, will select the Management Committee that will see to the day to day administration of the centre. He is a Ghanaian neurosurgeon trained in Cuba. He was the medical doctor who first opened a neurosurgical service in the country of Belize. He practiced there for 5 years and worked in the United States for 6 years before relocating to Africa in September, 2013. He is working diligently on the cure of Spinal Cord Injuries.
The Cosmopolitan Widows Empowerment Centre will be headquartered in Tsopoli in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area of Ghana.
This foundation is formed as a community based strategic group for the empowerment of widows to learn how to make a henceforth independent and gainful living to cater for themselves and their children. Also, provide a voice platform for action on the concerns of widows, social justice, poverty reduction and sustainable development practices.
Widows suffer greatly in the society; they are relegated to the background economically, socially and culturally as a result of the situation in which they find themselves like economic burden, single parenthood and loneliness.
The inspiration came from the manner in which many widows are unjustly and unfairly treated in this part of the world coupled with the increasingly earlier age in which women are becoming widows as a result of accidents, armed conflicts and very dangerous infectious diseases including but not limited to HIV and Ebola, living them to educate their children single-handedly.
Our philosophy is based on the reality that every human being is a unique individual and that we all have a right to good health and basic needs and should access means to a comfortable life in one way or another.
This will be done through training centers and a micro financing agency and a scholarship program for their children to make it to school.
The project involves capacity building and skill development as well as loans to start up a business based on the skill developed. It will also provide awareness on legal rights as well as health and hygiene. We hope to inspire the women we work and to take ownership of their future and earn a sustainable income so they can look after their families and provide for them. By listening to their stories, talking to them and giving them the emotional support they need, we can help these women move forward and look to the future.
Through workshops and training sessions, we hope to help the women develop new skills, whether they be practical skills like tailoring, hair dressing or soft skills, like the art of sales, negotiations and team work. This will help the women become more employable or give them a solid business grounding to make their business succeed and ultimately profitable.
The widows also suffering from the effects of HIV/AIDS will have access to our free HIV/AIDS clinics and free AIDS medicine. Healthy food, vitamins and mosquito nets will be provided for them. Most of these women do not have the strength to grow more and better food, they cannot pay for mosquito nets or vitamin supplements.
Funds for emergency trips to the hospital because women and children suffering from AIDS fall sick more often and more severely than other people. In addition to the cost of transportation, visiting the doctor and getting medicine costs money, money they normally do not have resulting in either debt or death. We will address the issues raised by the members of the HIV/AIDS group and together we will come up with a plan. We will partner with UN Women to bring its advocacy power, technical knowledge and presence on the ground to provide better economic opportunities and enhance the voices of widows.
The Foundation will be calling on governments to fill the gaps in data collection on numbers, ages, lifestyles, needs and roles of widows to include “widows” as a specific category in national action plans, as well as criminalise all actions by state or non-state actors that deprive widows of their rights or coerce them into degrading and life-threatening and harmful traditional practices.
This is done through awareness programmes, radio/TV projects, training/capacity building, advocacy, research, publication, media, networking and consulting services.
This project will lead to sustainability for the single women and their children. When we fully engage people in their own development, in an authentic way they have real ownership and power to change their lives and the lives of the people around them. With this project we will be complimenting government’s efforts towards reducing poverty in the society.
The Board of Trustees of the Cosmopolitan Aid Foundation, led by Dr. Emmanuel Yao Voado, MD., the Founder, will select the Management Committee that will see to the day to day administration of the centre. He is a Ghanaian neurosurgeon trained in Cuba. He was the medical doctor who first opened a neurosurgical service in the country of Belize. He practiced there for 5 years and worked in the United States for 6 years before relocating to Africa in September, 2013. He is working diligently on the cure of Spinal Cord Injuries.
The Cosmopolitan Widows Empowerment Centre will be headquartered in Tsopoli in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area of Ghana.
Cosmopolitan Widows Empowerment Centre (Guarantors of Grace), under the umbrella of the Cosmopolitan Aid Foundation was established in Ghana as a charitable Trust Deed, duly registered on 21st February, 2014 at the Registrar-General's Department in Accra with the registration number CG089012014. On the 16th January, 2015, the foundation's name was changed from Mawuena Foundation to Cosmopolitan Aid Foundation.
We pursue breaking the backbone of generational poverty where the captives of destiny, the marginalised, shall become the frontliners.
The purpose is to form a community based strategic group for the empowerment of widows to learn how to make a henceforth independent and gainful living to cater for themselves and their children. It will also provide a voice platform for action on the concerns of widows, social justice, poverty reduction and sustainable development practices.
The inspiration came from the manner in which many widows are unjustly and unfairly treated in this part of the world coupled with the increasingly earlier age in which women are becoming widows as a result of accidents, armed conflicts and very dangerous infectious diseases including- but not limited to- HIV and Ebola, living them to educate their children single-handedly.
Our philosophy is based on the reality that every human being is a unique individual and that we all have a right to good health and basic needs and should access means to a comfortable life in one way or another.
This will be done through training centers and micro financing agencies and a scholarship program for their children to make it to school.
The widows also suffering from the effects of HIV/AIDS will have access to our free HIV/AIDS clinics and free AIDS medicine. Healthy food, vitamins and mosquito nets will be provided for them. Most of these women do not have the strength to grow more and better food, they cannot pay for mosquito nets or vitamin supplements.
The Board of Trustees of the Cosmopolitan Aid Foundation, led by Dr. Emmanuel Yao Voado, MD., the Founder, will select the Management Committee that will see to the day to day administration of the centre. He is a Ghanaian neurosurgeon trained in Cuba. He was the medical doctor who first opened a neurosurgical service in the country of Belize. He practiced there for 5 years and worked in the United States of America for 6 years before relocating to Africa in September, 2013. He is working diligently on the cure of Spinal Cord Injuries.
The headquarters of the Cosmopolitan Widows Empowerment Centre will be located in Bundase in the Greater Accra Region.
We pursue breaking the backbone of generational poverty where the captives of destiny, the marginalised, shall become the frontliners.
The purpose is to form a community based strategic group for the empowerment of widows to learn how to make a henceforth independent and gainful living to cater for themselves and their children. It will also provide a voice platform for action on the concerns of widows, social justice, poverty reduction and sustainable development practices.
The inspiration came from the manner in which many widows are unjustly and unfairly treated in this part of the world coupled with the increasingly earlier age in which women are becoming widows as a result of accidents, armed conflicts and very dangerous infectious diseases including- but not limited to- HIV and Ebola, living them to educate their children single-handedly.
Our philosophy is based on the reality that every human being is a unique individual and that we all have a right to good health and basic needs and should access means to a comfortable life in one way or another.
This will be done through training centers and micro financing agencies and a scholarship program for their children to make it to school.
The widows also suffering from the effects of HIV/AIDS will have access to our free HIV/AIDS clinics and free AIDS medicine. Healthy food, vitamins and mosquito nets will be provided for them. Most of these women do not have the strength to grow more and better food, they cannot pay for mosquito nets or vitamin supplements.
The Board of Trustees of the Cosmopolitan Aid Foundation, led by Dr. Emmanuel Yao Voado, MD., the Founder, will select the Management Committee that will see to the day to day administration of the centre. He is a Ghanaian neurosurgeon trained in Cuba. He was the medical doctor who first opened a neurosurgical service in the country of Belize. He practiced there for 5 years and worked in the United States of America for 6 years before relocating to Africa in September, 2013. He is working diligently on the cure of Spinal Cord Injuries.
The headquarters of the Cosmopolitan Widows Empowerment Centre will be located in Bundase in the Greater Accra Region.
Ghana is located in Western Africa and borders Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, and Togo. This country occupies a total area of 238,533 square kilometers and has a population of approximately 29,786,408 as of January 5, 2019. The population of West Africa is estimated at 387,246,061 people as of January 8, 2019.
Formed from the merger of the British colony of the Gold Coast and the Togoland trust territory, Ghana in 1957 became the first sub-Saharan country in colonial Africa to gain its independence. Ghana endured a series of coups before Lt. Jerry RAWLINGS took power in 1981 and banned political parties. After approving a new constitution and restoring multiparty politics in 1992, RAWLINGS won presidential elections in 1992 and 1996 but was constitutionally prevented from running for a third term in 2000. John KUFUOR of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) succeeded him and was reelected in 2004. John Atta MILLS of the National Democratic Congress won the 2008 presidential election and took over as head of state, but he died in July 2012 and was constitutionally succeeded by his vice president, John Dramani MAHAMA, who subsequently won the December 2012 presidential election. In 2016, however, Nana Addo Dankwa AKUFO-ADDO of the NPP defeated MAHAMA, marking the third time that the Ghana’s presidency has changed parties since the return to democracy.
Economy:
Ghana has a market-based economy with relatively few policy barriers to trade and investment in comparison with other countries in the region, and Ghana is endowed with natural resources. Ghana's economy was strengthened by a quarter century of relatively sound management, a competitive business environment, and sustained reductions in poverty levels, but in recent years has suffered the consequences of loose fiscal policy, high budget and current account deficits, and a depreciating currency.
Agriculture accounts for about 20% of GDP and employs more than half of the workforce, mainly small landholders. Gold, oil, and cocoa exports, and individual remittances, are major sources of foreign exchange. Expansion of Ghana’s nascent oil industry has boosted economic growth, but the fall in oil prices since 2015 reduced by half Ghana’s oil revenue. Production at Jubilee, Ghana's first commercial offshore oilfield, began in mid-December 2010. Production from two more fields, TEN and Sankofa, started in 2016 and 2017 respectively. The country’s first gas processing plant at Atuabo is also producing natural gas from the Jubilee field, providing power to several of Ghana’s thermal power plants.
As of 2018, key economic concerns facing the government include the lack of affordable electricity, lack of a solid domestic revenue base, and the high debt burden. The AKUFO-ADDO administration has made some progress by committing to fiscal consolidation, but much work is still to be done. Ghana signed a $920 million extended credit facility with the IMF in April 2015 to help it address its growing economic crisis. The IMF fiscal targets require Ghana to reduce the deficit by cutting subsidies, decreasing the bloated public sector wage bill, strengthening revenue administration, boosting tax revenues, and improving the health of Ghana’s banking sector. Priorities for the new administration include rescheduling some of Ghana’s $31 billion debt, stimulating economic growth, reducing inflation, and stabilizing the currency. Prospects for new oil and gas production and follow through on tighter fiscal management are likely to help Ghana’s economy in 2018.
GDP (purchasing power parity): $134 billion (2017 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate): $47.02 billion (2017 est.) (2017 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 8.4% (2017 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP): $4,700 (2017 est.)
GDP - composition, by end use:
household consumption: 80.1% (2017 est.)
government consumption: 8.6% (2017 est.)
investment in fixed capital: 13.7% (2017 est.)
investment in inventories: 1.1% (2017 est.)
exports of goods and services: 43% (2017 est.)
imports of goods and services: -46.5% (2017 est.)
GDP - composition, by sector of origin:
agriculture: 18.3% (2017 est.)
industry: 24.5% (2017 est.)
services: 57.2% (2017 est.)
Agriculture - products: cocoa, rice, cassava (manioc, tapioca), peanuts, corn, shea nuts, bananas; timber
Industries: mining, lumbering, light manufacturing, aluminum smelting, food processing, cement, small commercial ship building, petroleum
Industrial production growth rate: 16.7% (2017 est.)
Labor force: 12.49 million (2017 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 44.7%
industry: 14.4%
services: 40.9% (2013 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 9.6 % ( July,2018.)
Africa is the second-largest continent about 30.2 million km2 (11.7 million sq. mi), after Asia, in size and population. The continent is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, both the Suez Canal and the Red Sea along the Sinai Peninsula to the northeast, the Indian Ocean to the southeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the west and Europe to the north. The continent includes Madagascar and various archipelagos.
The population of Africa is estimated at 1.30 billion people as of 2018 accounting for about 16.64% of the world's human population. Africa's population is the youngest among all the continents; 50% of Africans are 19 years old or younger. The median age is 19.4 years. 41% of the population is urban. Algeria is Africa's largest country by area and Nigeria is the largest by population.
Africa, particularly central Eastern Africa, is widely accepted as the place of origin of humans and the Hominidae clade (great apes), as evidenced by the discovery of the earliest hominids and their ancestors, as well as later ones that have been dated to around seven million years ago.History:
At about 3300 BC, the historical record opens in Northern Africa with the rise of literacy in the Pharaonic civilization of Ancient Egypt. One of the world's earliest and longest-lasting civilizations, the Egyptian state continued, with varying levels of influence over other areas, until 343 BC.Climate:
Africa straddles the equator and encompasses numerous climate areas; it is the only continent to stretch from the northern temperate to southern temperate zones.
The climate of Africa ranges from tropical to subarctic on its highest peaks. Its northern half is primarily desert, or arid, while its central and southern areas contain both savanna plains and very dense jungle (rainforest) regions. In between, there is a convergence, where vegetation patterns such as Sahel and steppe dominate. Africa is the hottest continent on earth and 60% of the entire land surface consists of dry lands and deserts.Politics:
Today, Africa contains 54 sovereign countries, nine territories and two de facto independent states with limited or no recognition. Connected with the Indian Ocean, the islands of Africa are the Union of the Comoros, Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Seychelles, and Republic of Mauritius. In the Atlantic Ocean we have Republic of Cape Verde, Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe. Others are Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, and Eritrea.
The vast majority of African states are republics that operate under some form of the presidential system of rule. The improved stability and economic reforms have led to a great increase in foreign investment into many African nations, mainly from China, which has spurred quick economic growth in many countries, seemingly ending decades of stagnation and decline.
Some seven African countries are in the top 10 fastest growing economies in the world. If you look at countries like Mozambique, Angola, Ethiopia, Zambia, and Togo – all of those markets have shown exceptional growth and real stability and with that you almost get a new investment climate for these countries. This allows you to have a new emerging middle class and with that comes a very vibrant entrepreneurship culture, businessmen or women who want access to technology and to innovate.Natural Resources:
The continent is believed to hold 90% of the world's cobalt, 90% of its platinum, 50% of its gold, 98% of its chromium, 70% of its tantalite, 64% of its manganese and one-third of its uranium. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has 70% of the world's coltan, a mineral used in the production of tantalum capacitors for electronic devices such as cell phones. The DRC also has more than 30% of the world's diamond reserves. Guinea is the world's largest exporter of bauxite.Economy:
From 1995 to 2005, Africa's rate of economic growth increased, averaging 5% in 2005. Some countries experienced still higher growth rates, notably Angola, Sudan and Equatorial Guinea, all of which had recently begun extracting their petroleum reserves or had expanded their oil extraction capacity.
Several African economies are among the world’s fastest growing as of 2011. As of 2013, these are some of the Africa countries growing by more than 5.0% in real Gross Domestic Product (GDP). These are South Sudan, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Rwanda, Mozambique, Eritrea, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Gabon, Burkina Faso, The Gambia, Mauritania, Niger, Congo, Zambia, Angola, Uganda, Togo, Nigeria, Morocco and Kenya.
Africa really has the ideal conditions for steady economic growth. A skyrocketing population made up of predominantly younger people is the perfect recipe for a booming economy.
In 2018 we continue to see the same trend for population growth. Compared to 2017, African’s overall population has increased by more than 30 million – 1,256,268,025 in 2017 versus 1,287,920,518 in 2018.
The World Bank’s projections for the sub-Saharan Africa area. According to their 2018 projections for the continent: regional GDP growth of 3.2% (compared to 2.4% last year) is expected this year and an even greater increase of 3.5% is forecasted for 2019.
That’s why keeping an eye out for the top African countries with the fastest economic growth in 2018 is a total must for every potential investor. The abundance of natural resources and a young workforce is what has driven the economic surge on the continent in recent years.
A significant number of 2018’s top performers are non-commodity intensive economies. The list is led by Ghana, followed by Ethiopia and Côte d’Ivoire, with Senegal, Tanzania and Djibouti occupying the fourth, fifth and sixth spots respectively. Africa has six of the world’s ten fastest growing economies this year, according to the World Bank.
The latest forecast places East African country, Ethiopia at 8.2 percent with the West African nation, Ghana leading the continent at 8.3 percent. Topping the list from the first to the tenth position are: Ghana, Ethiopia, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Tanzania, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Benin, Rwanda and Niger.
As the growth in Africa has been driven mainly by services and not manufacturing or agriculture, it has been growth without jobs and without reduction in poverty levels.
The population of Africa is estimated at 1.30 billion people as of 2018 accounting for about 16.64% of the world's human population. Africa's population is the youngest among all the continents; 50% of Africans are 19 years old or younger. The median age is 19.4 years. 41% of the population is urban. Algeria is Africa's largest country by area and Nigeria is the largest by population.
Africa, particularly central Eastern Africa, is widely accepted as the place of origin of humans and the Hominidae clade (great apes), as evidenced by the discovery of the earliest hominids and their ancestors, as well as later ones that have been dated to around seven million years ago.History:
At about 3300 BC, the historical record opens in Northern Africa with the rise of literacy in the Pharaonic civilization of Ancient Egypt. One of the world's earliest and longest-lasting civilizations, the Egyptian state continued, with varying levels of influence over other areas, until 343 BC.Climate:
Africa straddles the equator and encompasses numerous climate areas; it is the only continent to stretch from the northern temperate to southern temperate zones.
The climate of Africa ranges from tropical to subarctic on its highest peaks. Its northern half is primarily desert, or arid, while its central and southern areas contain both savanna plains and very dense jungle (rainforest) regions. In between, there is a convergence, where vegetation patterns such as Sahel and steppe dominate. Africa is the hottest continent on earth and 60% of the entire land surface consists of dry lands and deserts.Politics:
Today, Africa contains 54 sovereign countries, nine territories and two de facto independent states with limited or no recognition. Connected with the Indian Ocean, the islands of Africa are the Union of the Comoros, Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Seychelles, and Republic of Mauritius. In the Atlantic Ocean we have Republic of Cape Verde, Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe. Others are Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, and Eritrea.
The vast majority of African states are republics that operate under some form of the presidential system of rule. The improved stability and economic reforms have led to a great increase in foreign investment into many African nations, mainly from China, which has spurred quick economic growth in many countries, seemingly ending decades of stagnation and decline.
Some seven African countries are in the top 10 fastest growing economies in the world. If you look at countries like Mozambique, Angola, Ethiopia, Zambia, and Togo – all of those markets have shown exceptional growth and real stability and with that you almost get a new investment climate for these countries. This allows you to have a new emerging middle class and with that comes a very vibrant entrepreneurship culture, businessmen or women who want access to technology and to innovate.Natural Resources:
The continent is believed to hold 90% of the world's cobalt, 90% of its platinum, 50% of its gold, 98% of its chromium, 70% of its tantalite, 64% of its manganese and one-third of its uranium. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has 70% of the world's coltan, a mineral used in the production of tantalum capacitors for electronic devices such as cell phones. The DRC also has more than 30% of the world's diamond reserves. Guinea is the world's largest exporter of bauxite.Economy:
From 1995 to 2005, Africa's rate of economic growth increased, averaging 5% in 2005. Some countries experienced still higher growth rates, notably Angola, Sudan and Equatorial Guinea, all of which had recently begun extracting their petroleum reserves or had expanded their oil extraction capacity.
Several African economies are among the world’s fastest growing as of 2011. As of 2013, these are some of the Africa countries growing by more than 5.0% in real Gross Domestic Product (GDP). These are South Sudan, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Rwanda, Mozambique, Eritrea, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Gabon, Burkina Faso, The Gambia, Mauritania, Niger, Congo, Zambia, Angola, Uganda, Togo, Nigeria, Morocco and Kenya.
Africa really has the ideal conditions for steady economic growth. A skyrocketing population made up of predominantly younger people is the perfect recipe for a booming economy.
In 2018 we continue to see the same trend for population growth. Compared to 2017, African’s overall population has increased by more than 30 million – 1,256,268,025 in 2017 versus 1,287,920,518 in 2018.
The World Bank’s projections for the sub-Saharan Africa area. According to their 2018 projections for the continent: regional GDP growth of 3.2% (compared to 2.4% last year) is expected this year and an even greater increase of 3.5% is forecasted for 2019.
That’s why keeping an eye out for the top African countries with the fastest economic growth in 2018 is a total must for every potential investor. The abundance of natural resources and a young workforce is what has driven the economic surge on the continent in recent years.
A significant number of 2018’s top performers are non-commodity intensive economies. The list is led by Ghana, followed by Ethiopia and Côte d’Ivoire, with Senegal, Tanzania and Djibouti occupying the fourth, fifth and sixth spots respectively. Africa has six of the world’s ten fastest growing economies this year, according to the World Bank.
The latest forecast places East African country, Ethiopia at 8.2 percent with the West African nation, Ghana leading the continent at 8.3 percent. Topping the list from the first to the tenth position are: Ghana, Ethiopia, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Tanzania, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Benin, Rwanda and Niger.
As the growth in Africa has been driven mainly by services and not manufacturing or agriculture, it has been growth without jobs and without reduction in poverty levels.
Born in 1971 to a Christian family of scarce resources in Tefle, Volta Region, Ghana, he always dreamed of breaking the back bone of poverty through education. At the age of 12, he received a prophecy that he would be going abroad to further his education. In 1985, at age 14, the prophecy was accomplished but not without difficulties. After taking the exams to send students to Cuba, he placed first in his district but was unlawfully replaced by the son of the most powerful politician of the district. A concerned citizen sent him to the office of President Jerry John Rawlings, when he was allowed to participate in the national test in which he became first. This event was indeed a shock to many.
He was in Cuba for 17 years, right from the junior high school to the medical school and subsequently to the postgraduate specialist course of Neurosurgery. While in Cuba as a student, he continued the brilliant academic work; he won many awards including best student in Chemistry at the Cuban National Level Quizzes for 3 consecutive years where students from 35 countries then studied. He wrote an Organic Chemistry book which was meant for the preparation of the high performance students who aspired to participate in the World Olympiad of Chemistry. He was summa cum laude (first) in all the levels of education including the medical school and the Specialty of Neurosurgery. At the end of the neurosurgical training, he wrote another book in the field of Spinal Surgery called Lumbosacral Discopathies.
When he completed the Neurosurgical course in 2001, the people of Belize found him and took him to that country as they needed Neurosurgical Services which they had never had the privilege of enjoying locally. He performed simple and complex surgeries on many people including the elite of Belize with no surgical mortality in his 5 consecutive years of practice. In the USA, under Dr. Robert Grossman, a well-known neurosurgeon, he worked as a Clinical Research Specialist where he was invited by the Congress of Neurological Surgeons of America to present six papers in their international conferences.
He is Belizean and American citizen by naturalization. After 28 years, he has decided to come back to Africa to help his people as he has come to the convincing realization that he is more needed here than in the United States of America.
He was in Cuba for 17 years, right from the junior high school to the medical school and subsequently to the postgraduate specialist course of Neurosurgery. While in Cuba as a student, he continued the brilliant academic work; he won many awards including best student in Chemistry at the Cuban National Level Quizzes for 3 consecutive years where students from 35 countries then studied. He wrote an Organic Chemistry book which was meant for the preparation of the high performance students who aspired to participate in the World Olympiad of Chemistry. He was summa cum laude (first) in all the levels of education including the medical school and the Specialty of Neurosurgery. At the end of the neurosurgical training, he wrote another book in the field of Spinal Surgery called Lumbosacral Discopathies.
When he completed the Neurosurgical course in 2001, the people of Belize found him and took him to that country as they needed Neurosurgical Services which they had never had the privilege of enjoying locally. He performed simple and complex surgeries on many people including the elite of Belize with no surgical mortality in his 5 consecutive years of practice. In the USA, under Dr. Robert Grossman, a well-known neurosurgeon, he worked as a Clinical Research Specialist where he was invited by the Congress of Neurological Surgeons of America to present six papers in their international conferences.
He is Belizean and American citizen by naturalization. After 28 years, he has decided to come back to Africa to help his people as he has come to the convincing realization that he is more needed here than in the United States of America.
Dr. Emmanuel Voado, MD., is a Ghanaian neurosurgeon trained in Cuba. He was the medical doctor who first opened a neurosurgical service in the country of Belize. He practiced there for 5 years before going to the United States where he resided with his family for 6 years before relocating to Africa in September, 2013.
In Cuba, he was directly involved in the educational system for 17 years and impacted by their health care delivery for 11 years which can all be emulated by third world countries like Ghana who have more natural resources and foreign exchange earners than Cuba. He saw the Cuban government training thousands of students of foreign nations in different courses at the polytechnic and university levels, who then went to their home countries to contribute to their development.
He lived in Belize where he contributed to the healthcare delivery in that nation. Once in the USA, he was personally impacted by all the good things of the American system. One area is the safety network to cater for the destitute.
He saw the compassionate character of the Americans in the hospitals and churches which were the two environments he worked and worshiped and he saw how the two organizations will selflessly use their vacation days to go about doing good to the impoverished nations giving out their substance and technical knowhow.
He was deeply touched by this spirit of selflessness and all this helped to shape his world view in the subconscious level till he came to the conscious realization that a meaningful life is not being rich, being popular, being highly educated or being prefect...It is about being real, being humble, being able to share ourselves and touch the lives of others. It is only then that we could have a full, happy and contented life. That is the motive why, by divine grace, he had been able to abandon the lucrative and most rewarding jobs in the Diaspora and now back home to give back to his people.
In Cuba, he was directly involved in the educational system for 17 years and impacted by their health care delivery for 11 years which can all be emulated by third world countries like Ghana who have more natural resources and foreign exchange earners than Cuba. He saw the Cuban government training thousands of students of foreign nations in different courses at the polytechnic and university levels, who then went to their home countries to contribute to their development.
He lived in Belize where he contributed to the healthcare delivery in that nation. Once in the USA, he was personally impacted by all the good things of the American system. One area is the safety network to cater for the destitute.
He saw the compassionate character of the Americans in the hospitals and churches which were the two environments he worked and worshiped and he saw how the two organizations will selflessly use their vacation days to go about doing good to the impoverished nations giving out their substance and technical knowhow.
He was deeply touched by this spirit of selflessness and all this helped to shape his world view in the subconscious level till he came to the conscious realization that a meaningful life is not being rich, being popular, being highly educated or being prefect...It is about being real, being humble, being able to share ourselves and touch the lives of others. It is only then that we could have a full, happy and contented life. That is the motive why, by divine grace, he had been able to abandon the lucrative and most rewarding jobs in the Diaspora and now back home to give back to his people.
A widow is a woman whose spouse has died and who has not re-married. By God's design, a wife is to be the special object of her husband's love and care. As "a weaker vessel" she is under his authority and protection. But if a woman loses her husband, she is often left without any means of financial support. Such women are under God's special care. The psalmist said: the Lord is "a defender of widows". Husbands and fathers play an irreplaceable role in a family. When the man is not there, the wife and child can suffer in many ways. The Bible tells us that God Himself steps in to fill the role of protecting and caring for orphans and widows. “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling”. In our world, those who are helpless tend to be taken advantage of by those who think they can get away with it. God's compassion goes out to them because of their difficult situation. God has been known as the defender of widows. "Justice" among God's people was measured in part by the treatment of widows. God's compassion for the widow became the covenant community's responsibility, which the early church naturally took up.
There are an estimated 250 million widows globally. In many countries, widows are victims of multiple discrimination and exclusion. In 2010, it was found that more than 115 million of them lived in devastating poverty, according to a report titled “Invisible Forgotten Sufferers: The Plight of Widows around the World.” Widowhood has been described as the single most likely factor to cause increasing poverty among women across the world. It is the root cause of poverty across the generations.
At the summit of UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) held 2010 in New York, the UN Women, together with other women’s rights organizations, has called for more support for such women, as a step towards the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The CSW is being held on the theme, “Challenges and achievements for women and girls in the post 2015 MDG framework”. Widows suffer greatly in the society; they are relegated to the background economically, socially and culturally as a result of the situation they find themselves. It is because of such experiences that our non-governmental organization (NGO) has come up to defend the rights of these women who have lost their spouses.
6.1 The Current Context of the Widow in Ghana:
Widowhood, which is not by choice or curse is just like any natural phenomenon ordained by God, expressing that widows have not been treated fairly in the traditional set up as well as in modern Ghana.
One of the factors affecting the widows in Ghana is mainly due to the fact that women do not have the same opportunity to education as the men because of cultural hindrances rendering them economically unpowered before the marriage, during the marriage and after the demise of their husbands who have not the left a solid basis of sustainability behind, they are left to suffer with their children.
Moreover, in some regions of Ghana there are obnoxious widowhood rites where the husband's side inherits the estate left behind. The vulnerable women who mostly succumb to obnoxious widowhood rites are the ones whose source of livelihoods are non-existent. There is the fear of hardship, hunger, and fear that the education of their children will be truncated.
The Interstate Succession Act, 1985 (PNDCL 111) applies automatically, subject to the rules of Private International Law, to both foreigners and citizens of Ghana who die leaving assets in Ghana but do not make a will. However, experience shows that many Ghanaian families do not follow the provisions of PNDC Law 111, fearing it would dissipate their property. Most families still rely on the dictates of customary law.
Under the rules of PNDCL 111, in the absence of a will, the entire estate of the deceased devolves to the next of kin. The compulsory beneficiaries are the children, spouse and parents of the deceased. The fraction of the estate distributed to each heir varies according to the numbers and categories of heirs involved in the distribution.
It has proven quite difficult to get rid of some bad widowhood rites because many people still havestrong attachment to all sorts of superstitious beliefs. In addition to these harmful practices, there is also persecution against widows in the region. When the wife dies nobody blames the husband of being responsible for demise of his wife but when the husband dies the accusing finger goes to the wife for killing her husband. When this happens the husband's family abandons her and the children to their fate.
The Government of Ghana had put in place social intervention programmes such as the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty Programme (LEAP), to ensure that vulnerable women were supported to take care of themselves and their immediate families.
Mama Zimbi Widows Foundation, through the Widows Alliance Network (WANE) which is a project for sustainable economic development of widows is aimed at emancipating Ghanaian widows from the social, cultural and economic difficulties brought about by the injustices they face because of their status, is the principal organization working at empowering widows in Ghana with economically viable skills.
They cannot do this work alone as there are many more widows in Ghana that are crying to be reached with similar and different strategies of approach responding to their empowerment to make a henceforth meaningful and independent living to cater for themselves and their children.
There are an estimated 250 million widows globally. In many countries, widows are victims of multiple discrimination and exclusion. In 2010, it was found that more than 115 million of them lived in devastating poverty, according to a report titled “Invisible Forgotten Sufferers: The Plight of Widows around the World.” Widowhood has been described as the single most likely factor to cause increasing poverty among women across the world. It is the root cause of poverty across the generations.
At the summit of UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) held 2010 in New York, the UN Women, together with other women’s rights organizations, has called for more support for such women, as a step towards the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The CSW is being held on the theme, “Challenges and achievements for women and girls in the post 2015 MDG framework”. Widows suffer greatly in the society; they are relegated to the background economically, socially and culturally as a result of the situation they find themselves. It is because of such experiences that our non-governmental organization (NGO) has come up to defend the rights of these women who have lost their spouses.
6.1 The Current Context of the Widow in Ghana:
Widowhood, which is not by choice or curse is just like any natural phenomenon ordained by God, expressing that widows have not been treated fairly in the traditional set up as well as in modern Ghana.
One of the factors affecting the widows in Ghana is mainly due to the fact that women do not have the same opportunity to education as the men because of cultural hindrances rendering them economically unpowered before the marriage, during the marriage and after the demise of their husbands who have not the left a solid basis of sustainability behind, they are left to suffer with their children.
Moreover, in some regions of Ghana there are obnoxious widowhood rites where the husband's side inherits the estate left behind. The vulnerable women who mostly succumb to obnoxious widowhood rites are the ones whose source of livelihoods are non-existent. There is the fear of hardship, hunger, and fear that the education of their children will be truncated.
The Interstate Succession Act, 1985 (PNDCL 111) applies automatically, subject to the rules of Private International Law, to both foreigners and citizens of Ghana who die leaving assets in Ghana but do not make a will. However, experience shows that many Ghanaian families do not follow the provisions of PNDC Law 111, fearing it would dissipate their property. Most families still rely on the dictates of customary law.
Under the rules of PNDCL 111, in the absence of a will, the entire estate of the deceased devolves to the next of kin. The compulsory beneficiaries are the children, spouse and parents of the deceased. The fraction of the estate distributed to each heir varies according to the numbers and categories of heirs involved in the distribution.
It has proven quite difficult to get rid of some bad widowhood rites because many people still havestrong attachment to all sorts of superstitious beliefs. In addition to these harmful practices, there is also persecution against widows in the region. When the wife dies nobody blames the husband of being responsible for demise of his wife but when the husband dies the accusing finger goes to the wife for killing her husband. When this happens the husband's family abandons her and the children to their fate.
The Government of Ghana had put in place social intervention programmes such as the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty Programme (LEAP), to ensure that vulnerable women were supported to take care of themselves and their immediate families.
Mama Zimbi Widows Foundation, through the Widows Alliance Network (WANE) which is a project for sustainable economic development of widows is aimed at emancipating Ghanaian widows from the social, cultural and economic difficulties brought about by the injustices they face because of their status, is the principal organization working at empowering widows in Ghana with economically viable skills.
They cannot do this work alone as there are many more widows in Ghana that are crying to be reached with similar and different strategies of approach responding to their empowerment to make a henceforth meaningful and independent living to cater for themselves and their children.
Widows suffer greatly in the society. They are relegated to the background economically, socially and culturally as a result of the situation they find themselves. It is because of such experiences that our non-governmental organisation has come out to defend the rights of these women who have lost their spouses.
Widowhood brought a lot of challenges like economic burden, single parenthood and loneliness and so Ghana ought to help its widows and widowers to grow in self-confidence in order to lead a normal life as every other human being. It would not be fruitful if widows were only given money without any training.
Education through advocacy and the provision of employable skills should be the most appreciable long-term solution to these problems plaguing our society. We know what it takes to raise a family, and if widows are not economically-empowered, then they would not be able to take care of their families, especially by giving their children qualitative education.
God commands us to care for orphans and widows. When He gave the Law to Moses and the Israelites, He gave instructions for how to treat the orphans and widows among them—with harsh consequences promised if they failed in their responsibility. In the New Testament, James says that taking care of the needs of orphans and widows is part of religion “pure and faultless”. Caring for those in distress is not optional for followers of Christ.
Therefore, there is the need for an institution that will serve;
• the widows to make a henceforth independent and gainful living to cater for widows and the children left behind by their deceased husbands.
• to empower widows and reduce their dependence and helplessness.
• to emancipate the widows from the social, cultural and economic difficulties brought about by the injustices they face because of their status.
• to use the power of enterprise and community engagement to improve the quality of life and standard of living of the widows and children.
• to assist in generating attention to the needs of widows in our midst. It will open areas of neglect in our provision of social justice and main streaming among policy makers.
• to promote the welfare and economic empowerment of disadvantaged widows and education of their children.
• to promote the fundamental freedoms and human rights of widows and their children around the world through advocacy.
Widowhood brought a lot of challenges like economic burden, single parenthood and loneliness and so Ghana ought to help its widows and widowers to grow in self-confidence in order to lead a normal life as every other human being. It would not be fruitful if widows were only given money without any training.
Education through advocacy and the provision of employable skills should be the most appreciable long-term solution to these problems plaguing our society. We know what it takes to raise a family, and if widows are not economically-empowered, then they would not be able to take care of their families, especially by giving their children qualitative education.
God commands us to care for orphans and widows. When He gave the Law to Moses and the Israelites, He gave instructions for how to treat the orphans and widows among them—with harsh consequences promised if they failed in their responsibility. In the New Testament, James says that taking care of the needs of orphans and widows is part of religion “pure and faultless”. Caring for those in distress is not optional for followers of Christ.
Therefore, there is the need for an institution that will serve;
• the widows to make a henceforth independent and gainful living to cater for widows and the children left behind by their deceased husbands.
• to empower widows and reduce their dependence and helplessness.
• to emancipate the widows from the social, cultural and economic difficulties brought about by the injustices they face because of their status.
• to use the power of enterprise and community engagement to improve the quality of life and standard of living of the widows and children.
• to assist in generating attention to the needs of widows in our midst. It will open areas of neglect in our provision of social justice and main streaming among policy makers.
• to promote the welfare and economic empowerment of disadvantaged widows and education of their children.
• to promote the fundamental freedoms and human rights of widows and their children around the world through advocacy.
This will be done through training centres and a micro-financing agency and a scholarship program for their children to make it to school.
1) Creation of sustainable income sources for the widows helping them set up their own business so that they can earn enough money to provide for themselves and their families.
2) The establishment of an “Entrepreneurial Academy” will further our work with many widows and women-led households. It will be a place where the widows can learn business ideas, be arranged into groups and sell their products. As the Academy expands, it will aim to further entrepreneurship by giving the necessary guidance and support to make business ideas a reality.
3) The Academy will focus on the children of the widows by giving those scholarships and those who failed to get into university, we shall transform them into the business leaders of the future.
The project involves capacity building and skill development as well as loans to start up a business based on the skill developed. It will also provide awareness on legal rights as well as health and hygiene. This project will lead to sustainability for the single women and their children.
However, providing these vulnerable widows with vocational education without any relevance to their immediate community, adequate tools to work with and initial capital resources, will not bring the needed results. This can only be achieved through providing them with adequate vocational and adult literacy informal education, and also make resources and funds available for them to start up.
We hope to inspire the women to work and to take ownership of their future and earn a sustainable income so they can look after their families and provide for them. By listening to their stories, talking to them and giving them the emotional support they need, we can help these women move forward and look to the future.
Through workshops and training sessions, we hope to help the women develop new skills, whether they are practical skills like tailoring, hair dressing or soft skills, like the art of sales, negotiations and team work. This will help the women become more employable or give them a solid business grounding to make their business succeed and ultimately profitable.
For example, the Cosmopolitan Widows Empowerment Centre can organise a three-day Widows Economic Empowerment Programme on poultry keeping or piggery, where beneficiaries are trained on how to set up these businesses, even with minimum financial resources. Our experts will explain why it is important for them to develop a passion for the business, as it is something that could make them economically-independent. These programmes will help widows start their businesses with little money so that they can take care of their children.
The women of the rural areas can be thought the high techniques of farming providing them with the appropriate seeds, pesticides and fertilisers and they can also participate in the grain processing business.
The widows also suffering from the effects of HIV/AIDS will have access to our free HIV/AIDS clinics and free AIDS medicine. Healthy food, vitamins and mosquito nets will be provided for them. Most of these women do not have the strength to grow more and better food, they cannot pay for mosquito nets or vitamin supplements. Money to cater for transportation, visiting the doctor or formedicine purposes is not available resulting in debt or death.
Some who live nearer can be employed in our hospitals, the orphanage and the schools for the orphans, the blinds and the deaf of the Cosmopolitan Aid Foundation.
We will establish modern Entrepreneurial Academy which will be a Centre for Technical, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Training as a permanent place to provide vocational training, human rights education, reproductive health and social integration programs for women.
Mini trade fairs will be organised with activities for their entertainment including singing and dancing. We will set up micro-financing agency which will have the objective of empowering widows and othermarginalised women by supporting their self-employment and entrepreneurial ventures.
The institution, named as Micro-financing Agency for Widow Development, will formulate schemes aimed at generating a large number of employment opportunities for widows, their wards and other helpless women through various schemes and entrepreneurship programmes.
The first branch of the micro-financing agency would come up at The Kingdom City and more branches would be opened in other parts of the country in the course of time. Capital will be raised and major shares shall be taken by the Cosmopolitan Centre for the Empowerment of the Widow members and also other members of widow’s alliances around the world.
Widows are one of the most marginalised sections in the society who need special care and backing. The Micro-financing Agency is an attempt by widows to support them. Apart from normal banking functions, it would also extend credit support to self-employment and entrepreneurial ventures. Widow-friendly programmes to be taken up by the bank include disbursal of low-interest housing loans, conduct of chit ("susu") funds and small saving and deposit schemes for women. Widows' self-employment initiatives would get financial assistance. The bank would also help them findmarket for their products.
A shop providing pesticide-free vegetables and fruits, door-to-door delivery of household articles in flats and residential apartments, delivery of packed meals in construction sites and job training programmes shall also be cards under the Micro-financing Agency.
Cosmopolitan Widows Empowerment Centre has plans to open more branches of micro-financing agencies in other parts of the country where our members are concentrated and form a regional-level apex body to regulate all their activities.
We will partner with UN Women to bring its advocacy power, technical knowledge and presence on the ground to provide better economic opportunities and enhance the voices of widows.
The Foundation will be calling on governments to fill the gaps in data collection on numbers, ages, lifestyles, needs and roles of widows to include “widows” as a specific category in national action plans, as well as criminalise all actions by state or non-state actors that deprive widows of their rights or coerce them into degrading and life-threatening and harmful traditional practices.
This is done through awareness programmes, radio/TV projects, training/capacity building, advocacy, research, publication, networking, media and consulting services.
1) Creation of sustainable income sources for the widows helping them set up their own business so that they can earn enough money to provide for themselves and their families.
2) The establishment of an “Entrepreneurial Academy” will further our work with many widows and women-led households. It will be a place where the widows can learn business ideas, be arranged into groups and sell their products. As the Academy expands, it will aim to further entrepreneurship by giving the necessary guidance and support to make business ideas a reality.
3) The Academy will focus on the children of the widows by giving those scholarships and those who failed to get into university, we shall transform them into the business leaders of the future.
The project involves capacity building and skill development as well as loans to start up a business based on the skill developed. It will also provide awareness on legal rights as well as health and hygiene. This project will lead to sustainability for the single women and their children.
However, providing these vulnerable widows with vocational education without any relevance to their immediate community, adequate tools to work with and initial capital resources, will not bring the needed results. This can only be achieved through providing them with adequate vocational and adult literacy informal education, and also make resources and funds available for them to start up.
We hope to inspire the women to work and to take ownership of their future and earn a sustainable income so they can look after their families and provide for them. By listening to their stories, talking to them and giving them the emotional support they need, we can help these women move forward and look to the future.
Through workshops and training sessions, we hope to help the women develop new skills, whether they are practical skills like tailoring, hair dressing or soft skills, like the art of sales, negotiations and team work. This will help the women become more employable or give them a solid business grounding to make their business succeed and ultimately profitable.
For example, the Cosmopolitan Widows Empowerment Centre can organise a three-day Widows Economic Empowerment Programme on poultry keeping or piggery, where beneficiaries are trained on how to set up these businesses, even with minimum financial resources. Our experts will explain why it is important for them to develop a passion for the business, as it is something that could make them economically-independent. These programmes will help widows start their businesses with little money so that they can take care of their children.
The women of the rural areas can be thought the high techniques of farming providing them with the appropriate seeds, pesticides and fertilisers and they can also participate in the grain processing business.
The widows also suffering from the effects of HIV/AIDS will have access to our free HIV/AIDS clinics and free AIDS medicine. Healthy food, vitamins and mosquito nets will be provided for them. Most of these women do not have the strength to grow more and better food, they cannot pay for mosquito nets or vitamin supplements. Money to cater for transportation, visiting the doctor or formedicine purposes is not available resulting in debt or death.
Some who live nearer can be employed in our hospitals, the orphanage and the schools for the orphans, the blinds and the deaf of the Cosmopolitan Aid Foundation.
We will establish modern Entrepreneurial Academy which will be a Centre for Technical, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Training as a permanent place to provide vocational training, human rights education, reproductive health and social integration programs for women.
Mini trade fairs will be organised with activities for their entertainment including singing and dancing. We will set up micro-financing agency which will have the objective of empowering widows and othermarginalised women by supporting their self-employment and entrepreneurial ventures.
The institution, named as Micro-financing Agency for Widow Development, will formulate schemes aimed at generating a large number of employment opportunities for widows, their wards and other helpless women through various schemes and entrepreneurship programmes.
The first branch of the micro-financing agency would come up at The Kingdom City and more branches would be opened in other parts of the country in the course of time. Capital will be raised and major shares shall be taken by the Cosmopolitan Centre for the Empowerment of the Widow members and also other members of widow’s alliances around the world.
Widows are one of the most marginalised sections in the society who need special care and backing. The Micro-financing Agency is an attempt by widows to support them. Apart from normal banking functions, it would also extend credit support to self-employment and entrepreneurial ventures. Widow-friendly programmes to be taken up by the bank include disbursal of low-interest housing loans, conduct of chit ("susu") funds and small saving and deposit schemes for women. Widows' self-employment initiatives would get financial assistance. The bank would also help them findmarket for their products.
A shop providing pesticide-free vegetables and fruits, door-to-door delivery of household articles in flats and residential apartments, delivery of packed meals in construction sites and job training programmes shall also be cards under the Micro-financing Agency.
Cosmopolitan Widows Empowerment Centre has plans to open more branches of micro-financing agencies in other parts of the country where our members are concentrated and form a regional-level apex body to regulate all their activities.
We will partner with UN Women to bring its advocacy power, technical knowledge and presence on the ground to provide better economic opportunities and enhance the voices of widows.
The Foundation will be calling on governments to fill the gaps in data collection on numbers, ages, lifestyles, needs and roles of widows to include “widows” as a specific category in national action plans, as well as criminalise all actions by state or non-state actors that deprive widows of their rights or coerce them into degrading and life-threatening and harmful traditional practices.
This is done through awareness programmes, radio/TV projects, training/capacity building, advocacy, research, publication, networking, media and consulting services.
Widows who are vulnerable and their children.
Accra, the capital of Ghana, is furthermore the anchor of a larger metropolitan area, the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA), which is home to about 4 million people, making it the largest metropolitan conglomeration in Ghana by population, and the eleventh-largest metropolitan area in Africa.
The headquarters of the Cosmopolitan Aid Foundation will be located in Bundase in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. This is going to be the site for the new international airport which will become the center of West Africa to the world in the travel and pleasure industry. Apart from this huge international airport, there will be an Airport City with skyscrapers of the Dubai style, the seat of the government and all the ministries, an Olympic Stadium among other infrastructures.
We are acquiring 25, 000 acres of land extending from the Volta River to an area behind the new International Airport in Bundase, to build The Kingdom City which will englobe all the structures of the Cosmopolitan Aid Foundation. As coalition builders, in the effort of making our projects become auto-sustainable in the future, we will work co-operatively with all individuals and groups, for profit and not for profit corporations and organisations, with government agencies and international bodies committed to the fight to extend help to the needy, subject only to the policies and priorities set by our governing bodies.
The headquarters of the Cosmopolitan Aid Foundation will be located in Bundase in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. This is going to be the site for the new international airport which will become the center of West Africa to the world in the travel and pleasure industry. Apart from this huge international airport, there will be an Airport City with skyscrapers of the Dubai style, the seat of the government and all the ministries, an Olympic Stadium among other infrastructures.
We are acquiring 25, 000 acres of land extending from the Volta River to an area behind the new International Airport in Bundase, to build The Kingdom City which will englobe all the structures of the Cosmopolitan Aid Foundation. As coalition builders, in the effort of making our projects become auto-sustainable in the future, we will work co-operatively with all individuals and groups, for profit and not for profit corporations and organisations, with government agencies and international bodies committed to the fight to extend help to the needy, subject only to the policies and priorities set by our governing bodies.
We are grounded on the values of Integrity, Compassion, Accountability, Respect and Excellence (I CARE) principle. We want to be an organisation at the forefront of fighting the cause of widows in Ghana and from Ghana to the International stage. We strive for equality for all, rights and dignity for all, stewardship and respect for international initiatives and national policies to take care and give support to orphans and vulnerable children, widows and their children, physically and mentally disabled, elderly, patients, students and disadvantaged people, fight poverty, ignorance and diseases such as Diabetes, Hypertension, Cancer, Malaria, Immunisable diseases and AIDS.
With your collaboration, we both seek to achieve the following results:
• This project will lead to sustainability for the widows and their children. This will help build confidence in them as well as raise their living standards. In the long term, it will prevent their children from the streets or engaging in any kind of child labour.
• These vulnerable women can achieve sustainable socio-economic independence and also properly take care of their children by providing them with the basic necessities of life and formal education.
• What we have seen is that as the people that are receiving help become empowered and theyrealise their potential to not only take control of their own situations but that they can impact others positively. They begin to want to reach out and help others, in this way they helped become the helpers.
• The end goal is to help these women move from emotional frailty to becoming successful passionate business owners and to help them create a better future for themselves and their families. We hope to see as many businesses as possible flourish across the country of Ghana and the world at large and most importantly of all, to see these businesses become both profitable and sustainable!
• With this project we will be complimenting government’s efforts towards reducing poverty in the society.
• Provide a voice platform for action on the concerns of widows, social justice, poverty reductionand sustainable development practices.
With your collaboration, we both seek to achieve the following results:
• This project will lead to sustainability for the widows and their children. This will help build confidence in them as well as raise their living standards. In the long term, it will prevent their children from the streets or engaging in any kind of child labour.
• These vulnerable women can achieve sustainable socio-economic independence and also properly take care of their children by providing them with the basic necessities of life and formal education.
• What we have seen is that as the people that are receiving help become empowered and theyrealise their potential to not only take control of their own situations but that they can impact others positively. They begin to want to reach out and help others, in this way they helped become the helpers.
• The end goal is to help these women move from emotional frailty to becoming successful passionate business owners and to help them create a better future for themselves and their families. We hope to see as many businesses as possible flourish across the country of Ghana and the world at large and most importantly of all, to see these businesses become both profitable and sustainable!
• With this project we will be complimenting government’s efforts towards reducing poverty in the society.
• Provide a voice platform for action on the concerns of widows, social justice, poverty reductionand sustainable development practices.
As a matter of fact the finances are coming from our own sources but as the vision progresses we hope to get both local and international donors to help us accomplish the full extension of the programmes we have envisaged.