Our Social Impact
Title: Promoting Citizens Participation in Local Governance to Improve Accountability in revenue mobilization and utilization by the Nsawam - Adoagyiri Municipal Assembly.
The project is being carried out in in the Nsawam Adoagyiri Municipal Assembly within four (4) zones namely Fotobi zone, Adoagyiri zone, Dobro zone and Nsawam zone. The project is aimed at Promoting Citizens Participation in Local Governance to Improve Accountability in revenue mobilization and utilization by the Nsawam - Adoagyiri Municipal Assembly. The objectives of the project include the following;
Some achievements includes the following;
The Nsawam-Adoagyiri Municipal Assembly changing from the old-fashioned style of data-less target setting to a digitized database targeting. Although the process is not complete but the Assembly’s efforts showed that revenue target setting will be based on credible data compiled and produced by the Assembly. This is evident in the deployment of personnel to the field for data collection and the setting up of digitized Google software which is a web-based data system called “ODK Collect” for data input.
The willingness of citizens to pay fees and rates to the Assembly has also improved due to a change in perception regarding payments to the Assembly. Comments from community members and data available at the revenue department of the Municipal Assembly showed that there has been a significant change in rates payments since the project started and a relative increase in revenue from GH₵436,171.67 as of March 2018 to GH₵483,349.21 as of March 2019, constituting 10.82% increase.
On the part of citizens’ responsiveness, our assessment of involvement and participation showed that the trainings of citizens’ groups through SPEFA, the education and sensitization through the media and the formation and targeted training of the advocacy groups have made citizens become very assertive towards accountability issues and they have demonstrated commitment and readiness to work with both the Assembly and ARK Development Organization to ensure that accountability issues are addressed within the municipality.
Another area that experienced a significant change is the organization; the project has really strengthened the internal system of control, the governance structure and has positioned the organization to stand the test of time.
The staff of ARK Development Organization can never be left out of this change story. The capacity of the staff has been significantly developed as a result of capacity building workshops organized by STAR-Ghana. Examples are Financial Essential, Project Management and Reporting, M&E and the Learning and Sharing Session.
Furthermore, another change story worth sharing has to do with the Nsawam Adoagyiri Municipal Assembly’s responsiveness towards citizens’ needs. Formally this was not so but as result of our projects interventions citizens are now testifying positively about the Assembly’s responsiveness towards their developmental needs.
Stop Tuberculosis Project
The TB project was implemented in 24 communities in the Ayensuano District (Aforo Adjei, Dokrokyewa, Amanase, Ayeh Kokooso, Marfokrom, Otoase, Mensakrom, Kyekyerewere, Teacher Mante, Mankrong, Asuboi, Asuboi, Amanase, Aboabo, Kwaboanta, Coaltar 2, Coaltar 3, Beposo, Krobo-Kese, Coalter1, Kraboa Anumapapamu, Yaw Donkor) which are mostly small farming communities with limited access to health care and crowded habitations by families providing inadequate ventilation account greatly to the population being susceptible to high TB infections. Again the high level of illiteracy in these communities fuels stigmatization, the poor road networks had made them hard to reach while lack of basic social amenities such as health centers makes health care accessibility a challenge to these communities.
The project was been implemented to undertake active case finding activities aimed at contributing to the achievement of national notification targets. Contact tracing as a strategy for actively detecting new TB cases has since proven to be the most effective together with other awareness creation activities in this round of funding and mostly given the fact that active case finding strategies and other general case detection in the target district has been low. Whiles Contact Tracing involved the identification and diagnosis of people who may have come into contact with an infected person, awareness creation sought to create awareness on the disease and the need to seek early diagnosis and treatment. Some achievements includes
- Screening 700 contacts of 10 TB index cases in 30 communities for signs and symptoms of TB.
- Referring 100 identified contacts with signs and symptoms of TB in 30 communities to diagnostic centres for examination.
- Detected 10 new cases under Contact Tracing among all screened and put on medication by November
- Putting 10 confirmed TB cases under Community Based Observation Treatment.
MALARIA
The project was implemented to create awareness and also reduce the rising rate malaria disease among the people of Ayesuano District (Aforo Adjei, Dokrokyewa, Amanase, Ayeh Kokooso, Marfokrom, Otoase, Mensakrom, Kyekyerewere, Teacher Mante, Mankrong, Asuboi, Asuboi, Amanase, Aboabo, Kwaboanta, Coaltar 2, Coaltar 3, Beposo, Krobo-Kese, Coalter1, Kraboa Anumapapamu, Yaw Donkor) especially among pregnant women and children under the age five. During the project period, the organization as with previous years undertook some Information, Education and Communication (IE&C) activities in the project communities. These activities were carried out in collaboration with the Ghana Health Service through the District Health Management Team, Health facilities and Health volunteers. All Health talks such as Community Durbars, Community Radio Discussions, Educational Talks, and House To House Education were facilitated by personnel from the DHMT and the Project Team. Some achievements includes
- Building the capacities of Community Volunteers to educate, identify and refer pregnant women for IPTp dose as well as follow up on them.
- Creating awareness on malaria control and prevention particularly among pregnant women in the project communities.
- Creating awareness among pregnant women and the general population on the benefits of pregnant women visiting ANCs and taking the right doses of IPTp/SP.
ARK Development Organization saw the need for sanitation in the Nsawam Adoagyiri Municipality. The Organization realized that, the Municipality is facing a lot of sanitation problems and River Densu is not an exception. Through research the Organization found out that, the Densu River has been turned into a dumping site, people defecate along the river banks, Gutters from homes are being connected to the water, structures are being raised along the river, cutting of trees along the river banks, metal works along the river, washing of slaughtered animals into the river body etc. The organization therefore decided to organize and build the capacity of some concern citizens in the municipality to engage with Nsawam Adoagyiri Municipal Assembly to find solution to the deteriorating state of the Densu River. Below are some pictorial representations of the polluted Densu River.
Ark Development Organization (formerly AMPA Resource Organization) received funding amount of AUS$55,395.00 from the Australian High Commission in Ghana under its Direct AID Program (DAP) to undertake the Kwame Ntow School Development Project. The Project involved the construction of a classroom block, dining hall, toilet, and water supply for the school. The project started in July 2017 and was completed in February, 2018. Main construction works lasted eight months including other facilities. After the completion of the project, a durbar of chiefs and the people of Kwame Ntow community, project partners and key stakeholders were held in March 2018 to commission the facilities and hand over the project to the community. The successful completion of the project has provided a well-resourced educational facility to the Kwame Ntow community, which is serving the educational needs of the children. The school children of Kwame Ntow no longer walk long distances to school as a result of the intervention by Ark Development Organization with funding from the Austrian High Commission’s Direct AID Program.