Young Ambassadors Visit Ghana Airborne Force

Members of the trailblazing Young Ambassadors Programme decided to take an excursion to the Airborne Force on Friday to acquaint themselves with the work and activities of the force. The trip was powered by Braveaurora to incentivise the hardworking team for the good job done in reaching communities on family-based care over the year.

The decision was reached after carefully considering the relevance of the force in the country's security and disaster response. Happy to welcome the ambassadors, the officers took them through theoretical and practical aspects of their work. 

Some daring ambassadors had the opportunity to go through a number of simulations. They also got to watch the landing of an aircraft and the dynamics involved in parachuting. 

The Force expressed their joy to the ambassadors for their work and extended an open invitation to them anytime they would like to visit. The ambassadors also thanked the officers for their great service to the nation. They parted with joy and content. 

Second Graduation Ceremony

On Thursday the 7th, BA organised a graduation ceremony for the second cohort of the skills training beneficiaries under the theme "alleviating poverty through entrepreneurship". A total of 60 burgeoning entrepreneurs from the fields of weaving, baking, organic gardening and carpentry were inducted into the world of work. These graduates had earlier received their nationally recognised certificates from the National Vocational Training Institute. It was against this backdrop that the regional director of the institute was invited to present the certificates and throw more light on their work.

The ceremony was able to garner the presence of key regional and district level officials in the fields of education and vocational training, social work, and entrepreneurship. These dignitaries were very happy about Braveaurora's role in honing entrepreneurs in the district. They admonished the graduates to see their graduation as a first step as a lot still lies ahead. The graduates were reminded to take their businesses seriously and also work towards scaling and absorbing other idle hands. The District Coordinating Director and District Director of Education of the West Mamprusi District both made passionate appeals to Braveaurora to replicate these development solutions in other areas of the district. They applauded the organisation for the excellent work done in poverty alleviation.

The graduates were very happy to finally receive their certificates after working so hard for it. They expressed their gratitude to Braveaurora foremost, their trainers, family and friends for making it possible for them. They dazzled the crowds with their dance skills. The fresh graduates displayed their colorful products in an exhibition stand for participants to have a feel of their work. They also reiterated their commitment to keep the braveaurora brand alive by joining the other alumni in giving back to their communities. They pledged to make very good use of the skills acquired. 

Braveaurora on the other hand promised to continue its support to the graduates through offering startup capital, business mentoring, venture tie-ups and market linkages. Braveaurora was overjoyed to use the platform to update participants on its recent induction of 120 people from 7 communities into the third cycle of its vocational training programme. 

Braveaurora donates to School and Clinic

Braveaurora during the week donated some trashcans and library books to the Guabuliga Schools and Clinic. This was done in line with the organisation's longstanding aim of supporting partners put an end to the indiscriminate disposal of waste in the community and also to improve learning among students. 

Receiving the items on behalf of the schools, the head teachers expressed their appreciation to Braveaurora for the continuous support to the school. They also promised to put the items into good use. They were excited about the face-lift the trashcans would give the school environment and how much the children would love the new books. 

The nurse in-charge of the Clinic also extended his outfit's profound gratitude to Braveaurora for the kind gesture. He added the clinic's indebtedness to the organisation and stressed that they will put all items donated by Braveaurora to optimal use. 

Expansion of Training Center

Entrepreneurship is a major driver of economies. Its role in lifting people out of poverty and shaping societies cannot be overemphasized. In rural Ghana where there’s little absorption of people by the formal sector, entrepreneurship is tipped to provide self-reliance and employment. Rural folks are more and more using the power of entrepreneurship to hack socio-economic problems.

In the rural community of Guabuliga, Braveaurora works to among other things provide sustainable livelihoods and stem the flow of rural-urban drifts through entrepreneurship and skills training. Our training center, which is home to an array of training programmes, has provided skills training to over 120 rural entrepreneurs. These people are making bold impacts on their families and society through their businesses.

To expand impact, Braveaurora is committed to make our programmes accessible to more communities before the close of the year. We have therefore in this light started the construction of a new training area. Envisaged to complete soon, the new center will house trainings in beads and jewelry design, shoe making, shea processing, inter alia. Recruitment is already underway for the new cohort of trainees. 

Sustainable farming in Guabuliga

Overuse, monocultures and a high input of chemically-synthesized pesticides start showing its drawbacks globally. The project-team of Braveaurora takes action to fight these difficulties and their negative outcomes, considering the fact that farming is the essential base of cash- and food-income in Guabuliga.

Consequences of erosion and infertile land can not be solved with a higher input of chemicals on a long term base, neither ecologically nor financially. For this cause Braveaurora initiated a close cooperation with Asiribisi Self-help Initiative, a community based organisation focused on ecological farming. They train people in Guabuliga on sustainable and organic gardening. Besides proper crop planting to avoid nutrient-poor soil through monocultures, they produce self-made pesticides based on organic substances. Another focus is on the cross-breeding for more successful harvesting.

Enthusiastic about the trainings, I joined the group and took them through the Austrian method of compost construction. The group collected the material in no time and with the help of a skilled carpenter, previously trained by Braveaurora, the compost was done within two days. 

Standing with the trainees in front of their creation, I asked about the purpose of the exercise. And their answers made me outrageously happy: 

„Organic waste will turn within some months into an organic fertilizer. We put it on the soil of the vegetables and fruits so they grow better. Like this we can give more nutritious foods to our families and we will stay healthy. We will have a good harvest without buying expensive chemicals.“ 

Thanks to the great cooperation with a motivated gardening team and the translations and expert-knowledge of Asiribisi Self-help Initiative, the organic garden will provide self-produced organic and nutritious fertilizer.

This transferred knowledge aims to help making use of compost in larger scale for their own farms, to be independent of expensive chemically-synthesized products. Since I unfortunately need to leave Guabuliga soon, for a longer or hopefully shorter period, the supervision will be conducted by the trainees.  

Bugum - Celebrating ancient traditions in the north of Ghana

As I arrived in Guabuliga four weeks ago to do research for my master-thesis in nutritional sciences for the University of Vienna, I had no idea about the intriguing and compelling society awaiting me. If I would have known, I would have come years earlier!

It is easily witnessed, that proselytization also reached remote areas in all Northern Ghana as everyday-life is embossed by regular religious ceremonies. However, the ancient flame never lost its fire, as I was able to experience on my own in the previous week.  

The Fire festival, or Bugum Chugu as it is called locally, takes place annually for over 800 years in some communities and cities of Northern Ghana like Guabuliga. After dusk, the Elders are summoned through drumming at the Chiefs Palace where traditional dances are initiated, torches of dried wood are lighted up and a procession through the village starts. After some time, the Chief circles his head seven times with an illuminated torch, gives signs to open the gunfire and after the first gun is shot, the whole Guabuliga is brightened up by children, women and men carrying their fires and running joyfully through streets  celebrating until late night.

As children told me and online research proved them right, the roots of the Bugum Chugu lies in a King, whose son went out to play and did not return back home. The King desperately sent the whole village to search after his dear son. After nightfall he ordered to continue the search with torches, with which they found the child sleeping under a tree. This tree was accused from the king to have hidden his son from him and therefore they threw torches on it to cast away the evil, which still can be seen nowadays in some communities. 

If you should ever be around Northern Ghana in the beginning of October, be sure to be part of this unique night. It engages you in the pulse of a traditional relict and will surely leave you stunned. 

Review Meeting

On Friday the 6th of October, Braveaurora organised a review meeting in collaboration with the Department of Social Welfare on the Unicef powered Social History and Post-reunification Stories project. The onus of the meeting was to present findings from the assessments so far and to discuss key findings with the various stakeholders. It was a platform to get participants' understanding of the project and to get them to unearth their experiences during the exercise.

As part of the objectives of the meeting, participants were tasked to dilate, in groups, on the provision of  a structured support package to reunited children and the benefits thereof. They also came up with vital components of a support package.

Interestingly, most outcomes of the meeting, went further to solidify the knowledge we already have concerning the reunification of children. Family based care is the best for all children and placement into institutions should be seen as the last resort. Exciting new learnings were also recorded from the assessments.

Putting this behind us, the team is now poised to start assessments in the West Mamprusi District. Both DSW and BA teams are prepared to hit the ground running. Pictures of the Review Meeting are shared below: