A community durbar has been held at Wamoldo in the Kpandai District to celebrate this year’s International Women’s Day (IWD) to reiterate the need to support educationally marginalized girls to improve on their lives.

The event was also used to reiterate the objectives of the Strategic Approaches to Girls’ Education (STAGE) project and how its overall goal fed into the IWD 2020 theme, which was “An Equal world is an enabled world”.

It was organised by the Regional Advisory Information and Network Systems (RAINS), an NGO, as part of its STAGE project, and brought together members from neighbouring communities including; opinion leaders, community elders, community oversight committee members, beneficiaries of the STAGE project amongst other stakeholders.

The STAGE project seeks to support educationally marginalized girls to improve on their lives through education by achieving and acquiring literacy and numeracy skills, relevant knowledge, skills and attitudes needed for life and work.

It is a five-year project with a target of 20,100 marginalized girls, and is being funded by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) under the “Leave No Girl Behind (LNGB)” programme of its Girls’ Education Challenge window II.

The lead implementing NGO is World Education Incorporated (WEI), and working with seven local NGOs including; RAINS and Afrikids, with RAINS implementing the project in 23 communities in the Nanumba South and Kpandai Districts with an annual target of 575 marginalized girls and 2,300 girls over the five-year period.

Madam Ragadahu Abdul Wahab, Safeguarding and Child Protection Officer of RAINS, who spoke during the durbar, mentioned some women, who contributed to the political, cultural, economic and social development of the country and challenged girls in the area to emulate them.

Madam Abdul Wahab urged all stakeholders in the area to support efforts at realising an equal world for women, and encouraged young ladies in the area to be earnest in their quest for greatness.

Mr Yaw Sarfo, Nanumba South District Director of Education, who was represented at the durbar, urged the audience to reflect on the importance of women in their lives and called on residents to give women equal opportunities as men in all aspects of life.

Madam Rose Gbande, Kpandai District Girl-Child Education Officer, spoke on the need for men to support women in the upbringing of children in their homes and the challenges faced by girls in schools from childhood to adolescence through to adulthood, and entreated the people to support their women to ensure the general well-being of their families.

Mr John Issifu Joseph, Kpandai District Director of the Department of Social Welfare, urged members of the communities in the area to prioritise the education of their girls and said they would eventually develop into womanhood to support their families.

Wamol Kabuja, Chief of Wamoldo, expressed gratitude to RAINS for celebrating the IWD at the community, and expressing hope that it was the beginning of more interventions in the area to promote the welfare of the people.

The IWD is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women on March 08 every year.