The Savannah Integrated Rural Development Aid popularly known as SIRDA a local not for profit organisation operating in the Northern region of Ghana is making lots of difference in the life of the people.

This came to light during an interaction with some of the beneficiaries of the programmes of the NGO in the Northern regional capital- Tamale. Samata Mahama who benefited from the micro-credit facility of the organisation said: “but for the intervention of SIRDA I would have been a pauper by now”

Madam Samata who is now managing a small scale enterprise in Tamale said she is now able to make some small profit from her business to take care of the educational needs of her children. The children who are two, she explained dropped out of school at a point because she could not take care of them and had to resort to begging to even feed them.

In another development a small scale farmer in Tamale Afa Mahamoud Mohammed has also commended SIRDA for saving his family by the microcredit support they made available to him that went a long way to enable him go into groundnut cultivation which is supporting the livelihood of his entire family.

The executive director of SIRDA Mrs Alima Saagito Saeed explained that, SIRDA was formed in 1998 by a group of young professionals who felt there was the urgent need for an organisation like SIRDA to be around to contribute towards poverty alleviation, human rights and good governance, food security, peace and HIV/AIDs and also in the area of water and Sanitation to improve the lot of the people within its operation area.

Mrs Saeed said she was impressed and happy about the testimonies coming out of the work of SIRDA and said it is itself a source of motivation to let the organisation put in its utmost best for the benefit of the people.