Pantang (G/R) May 24, GNA- Hope For Rural Women Foundation Ghana on Wednesday appealed to the Government to rush to the aid of the Kotoku community in the Ga-North District to rescue the people from the tight grip of poverty.

Rev. Suzan Asiamah, Executive Director of the non-governmental organisation (NGO) said the outreach programme of the Foundation at the village has unearthed massive deprivation and human suffering that needed urgent attention.

Making the appeal during a media encounter at Pantang in the Greater Accra Region, she said: "Only one woman is decently employed in the village where infertile lands is frustrating efforts of the mainly farming community to etch out a living."

Rev. Asiamah said efforts by the NGO to empower women and other vulnerable groups in the village had been hampered by lack of funds and called on the Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs to facilitate such efforts.

The Foundation, started three years ago with 15 trainees had so far provided vocational and other skill training to 400 women between the ages of 18 and 45, who would graduate on June 1, 2006. "The self-funded Foundation spends 25 million cedis on each training session and will therefore require 500 million cedis to train more women within the next one year.

" I am therefore appealing to public-spirited individuals and organisations to help support the graduates with seed money and logistics and the corps of volunteer trainers". 24 May 06