Tolon to benefit from E4L Programme

By Albert Futukpor, GNA

Tolon (N/R), July 18, GNA - The Tolon District Assembly in the Northern Region is to benefit from the Empowerment for Life Programme (E4L) to promote quality education, youth empowerment and employment; food security and livelihood in the area.

The E4L, which begins this month in the district and runs for four years, focuses on building organisational, technical and influencing capacities of local groups to be able to mobilise themselves and their communities into action to bring about the change that they desire in their communities.

It is an initiative of the Ghana Development Communities Association (GDCA) and the Youth Empowerment for Life, both non-governmental organisations with funding support from Tzedek, an organisation from the United Kingdom.

An office facility was, therefore, opened at Tolon on Wednesday to ensure the commencement of the programme in the district.

Dr Osman Al-hassan, Board Chairman of GDCA, who spoke during the opening of the office, said “The interest Tzedek has shown in working in the Tolon District based on the E4L model is a demonstration of what the programme has been able to achieve over the past eight years in other districts”.

The GDCA and YEfL with support from DANIDA and Ghana Friends in Denmark have been implementing the E4L programme for over eight years now at five districts in the region including Mion, Savelugu, Karaga, Kumbungu and Saboba.

Tzedek has shown interest in the E4L model, hence supporting the GDCA and YEfL to replicate the programme in the Tolon District.

Dr Alhassan said the goal of E4L was to achieve social justice and equity for all citizens especially socially excluded in society because of their gender, location, education, disability or other form of characteristic, who for no choice of theirs, have been left behind in development as a result of the failures in the delivery by the state apparatus and other mechanisms.

He expressed the conviction that the E4L model is the way to stimulate local ownership and achieve sustainable development in the long run.  

Hajia Balchisu Yakubu, District Chief Executive for Tolon, lauded E4L for its enormous contribution to development in assemblies where it was being implemented commending the partners for replicating it in the district.

Hajia Yakubu assured of the Assembly’s support for the E4L in the district calling for effective collaboration between the implementers and the Assembly to ensure success. 

Mr Charlie Taylor, Country Director of Tzedek, said the organisation is interested in promoting equity and justice, hence supporting GDCA and YEfL to implement the programme in the district to create opportunities for the local people.

The chief of Tolon, who was represented at the event, welcomed the project saying it would help expand the frontiers of development in the area for the benefit of the people.

GNA

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