The Christian Children’s Fund of Canada (CCFC), a non-governmental organization has spent 17.5 million Canadian dollars in community development in areas to help improve the standard of living for rural poor.

Mrs. Gifty Akosua Baka, the Country Director of the CCFC who disclosed this on Wednesday during a press briefing, said the NGO since 2003, had been implementing various projects in education, health, sanitation, child sponsorships and micro credit facilities, with funding from its donors.

The CCFC programmes covers 15 districts in the Northern Region with 79 communities while expanding its activities to the Brong Ahafo and the Upper East Regions.

She expressed worry that the global economic crisis had created a donor fatigue causing many benevolent individuals to move out of their sponsorship programmes and thereby affecting activities of NGOs.

Mrs Baka said despite the above challenges, the CCFC was strategizing to raise funds both locally and internationally to attract more donors to ensure the continuation of its programmes.

She said the organization would be more open in order to gain more support to fund its projects expressing the hope that through Child Fund Alliance, where it is a member, it would be able to raise some support to assist children’s interest.

She said though the country was on track in achieving most of the MDGs by 2015 challenges still exist with the 100 per cent attainment of targets for improved sanitation and reduction in under 5 mortality rate especially in deprived communities.

Mrs Baka called on stakeholders to close the gap in sanitation where only 13 percent of Ghanaians had access and the 30 percent of the children who were out of school saying ‘these are serious issues for us to work harder’.

Mr William Anim-Dankwa, the Communications Manger of the CCFC, said the NGO is an internationally development organization addressing the needs of children in economically poor areas and started its activities in Ghana since 1996 and has supported 1,242 needy children to have access to higher education.

He said 120 volunteer teachers have also been supported to become professionally trained teachers while over 17,139 pupils had been enrolled in CCFC community schools and these are in addition to other diverse ways seeking to improve the standard of living of many in the rural communities.