Kaleo (UW) Aug. 15, GNA - Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA), has provided financial support to nine communities in the Nadowli District of the Upper West Region, to enable women undertake agricultural projects and other income generation activities. The beneficiary communities included Jang, Bussie, Owlo, Loho, Takpo, Issa and Kanyini and women groups were given donkeys and carts to cultivate crops and cart their produce home apart from the financial assistance.

Madam Miyuki Tan, Co-ordinator of Community Empowerment Programme of JICA, announced this at a day's evaluation workshop of the scheme at Kaleo at the Weekend.

She said the women were also given training in reproductive health, animal traction and literacy programmes, which had enhanced their skills.

She said the assistance that was made through Kaleo Baptist Women Development Project (KBWDP), was designed to alleviate poverty among women in conformity with the Government's Poverty Reduction Strategy Policy.

Madam Tan also said it was aimed at empowering women financially, and to enable them to upgrade their skills in animal traction, reproductive health and to promote literacy programmes.

She said women in the beneficiary communities could read and write, use donkeys to cultivate crops, and were abreast with family planning and personal hygiene methods and developed the habit of savings. Madam Tan requested KBWDP to source funds from the District Assemblies Poverty Reduction Fund and other sources to enable members to engage in economic activities.

She said the project could be extended to other communities depending on the final report on the pilot projects in the beneficiary communities.

Mr John Bagonhuri, Executive Director of KBWDP, said the project had assisted women to save amount arranging from A2300,000 to =A22,000,000.00 at the Banks. Women could also raise animals for sale, a venture, which was the preserve of men.