Abura Dunkwa, April 29, GNA - Mr. Saaka Ibrahim, Deputy District Coordinating Director for Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese, has observed that efforts to reduce poverty in the country could be successful if women were empowered to enable them to contribute meaningfully to national development. He was speaking at the launch of the Network for Rural women Enterprise Resources (NEERWERS), a local non-governmental organization (NGO), at Abura Dunkwa in the Central Region on Tuesday. Mr. Ibrahim said the objectives of the NGO were in line with the Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese District Assembly's plans to make women the focus of development.

Mr. Aban-Baidoo, a former employee of the District Assembly and Central Region Development commission (CEDECOM), said he was moved by the poverty level of the people during his tour of the district. He said he was supported by his wife to form the NGO to solicit funds to enable them initiate programmes to improve the living conditions of the people when he went to the U.S.A. Mr. Abban-Baidoo, who is the Executive Director of NEERWERS, said even though the NGO was committed to investing in women for sustainable poverty reduction, men would be beneficiaries of its programmes. He said " We decided to make the NGO women-centred because the world's attention is now on empowering women and that would easily assist us get support for our programmes".

Mr. Abban-Baidoo said provision of micro-credit and business management skills, promoting food crops production and agro processing, vocational training, employable skills training and the promotion of environmental sanitation formed part of the NGO's programme. Mr. Ben Narh, in-charge of the District Social Welfare Department, said the unit would support the NGO to implement its policies. Mr. Collins Owusu, national workshop manager of GRATIS Foundation, said because the unit was committed to transferring technology, it would assist the NGO to acquire equipment and machinery needed for its work. Mr. Kenneth Osei Karikari, head of Micro-finance and Enterprise Development Department of CEDECOM, who is project consultant to the NGO, assured the people that CEDECOM would offer training in business management and record keeping to enable them to utilise judiciously the micro-credit that would be given them. Nana Osam Kwesi V11, chief of the town and member of the board of directors of the NGO, commended Mr. Baidoo and his wife for their concern for the people and asked other citizens of the area living abroad to emulate the couple.