 |
| Executive Dir. GKS |
The
Gub-Katimali Society (GKS) in Tamale has disbursed GH¢5,000.00 to thirty stabilised persons with
mental illness and epilepsy (PWMIE) and their caregivers at Sagnarigu in the
Sagnarigu District in the Northern Region of Ghana.
The
disbursement, formed part of the implementation of a 5-year DFID project by GKS
in partnership with BasicNeeds-Ghana in all 26 metropolitan, municipal and
district assemblies (MMDAs) in the Northern Region.
According to
Executive Director of GKS, Sheik Yakubu Abdul-Kareem, there were many PWMIE who
as a result of their current state of mental health could no longer do certain
jobs that they used to do prior to falling sick.
“For instance,
a nurse who suffers from extreme mental illness or epilepsy and unable to
recover very well most likely will not be allowed to work in the hospital
again. However, we believe that such a nurse can do certain jobs like rearing
animals, sell groceries or engage in certain skills training to make a living
out of it”, he emphasised.
At the
disbursement of the funds at Sagnarigu, Sheik Abdul-Kareem told Savannahnews, that in order to make PWMIE continue to remain
economically viable and not become totally dependent on their family members, GKS
and BasicNeeds thought it wise to support them through the DFID project.
Each of the 30
Sagnarigu beneficiaries mostly women who belonged to Ngun Pagi Suhi Self-Help
Group of Mentally Ill People, received between GH¢80.00 and GH¢300.00 to do any
business they were capable of doing.
With some of
them engaged in the sale of porridge, millet, corn, rice processing and among
others, they were expected to deposit their individual profits into the
Association’s Bank Account so that when any of them ever run at a lost, they
could be bailed out.
Having successfully implemented a three-year
EU project in seven MMDAs in the Northern Region, GKS went into another partnership
with the UK Department for International Development (DFID) through
BasicNeeds-Ghana to implement another 5-year project. The project began in 2013/14
and expected to end in 2017/18.
 |
| Beneficiaries |
This project is
aimed at supporting the government of Ghana to build a national mental health
system that effectively and efficiently responds to the mental health needs of Ghanaians.
This would reduce the high mental
health treatment gap currently existing in Ghana and would enable men, women,
girls and boys with neuropsychiatric conditions to live and work successfully
in their communities.
The
project targets all 26 MMDAs in the Northern Region and seeks to achieve increased capacity of Ghana's Mental Health
Authority to effectively and efficiently run community based mental health
services whereas 100,000 women, men, girls and boys with mental health needs
access quality mental health services within the proximity of their communities.
According to Sheik Abdul-Kareem, his organisation
had since the implementation of the project met and interacted with an
estimated 853 beneficiaries comprising
of PWMIE and their primary caregivers in 17 communities in four districts.
He also indicated the project, had also
organised training and capacity building workshops for 486 self-help groups in
all four districts.
A representative of BasicNeeds-Ghana Dassah
Kayeli Timothy urged beneficiaries to make prudent investments with the money
given to them. By so doing, he said the money would grow and it would enable
GKS to extend further support to others who also need it to improve upon their
livelihood.
Mr. Dassah recounted success stories of
some PWMIE in the West Mamprusi District who had made significant economic
gains in their dry season farming through a similar support they received some
years ago. “This feat by your colleagues in Walewale should also motivate you
to make gains in whatever you’ll invest your money into”, he stated.
No comments:
Post a Comment