ADANU:Supporting underprivileged is a calling
Sixteen years ago, a young man in Ho came up with an idea that later turned out to have a positive impact on the lives of a good number of people in the Volta Region, particularly rural dwellers and the disadvantaged.
Advertisement
As vague as his thoughts might have seemed at the time to people with experience in humanitarian work, he persevered and held on to the vision, which culminated in the formation of a non-governmental organisation called Disaster Volunteers of Ghana (DIVOG).
The name may sound a little deceptive as it is supposed to announce the premise on which the organisation stands. That is to bring to mind the imagery of destruction caused by natural occurences for which the word ‘disaster’ falls in place.
Disaster re-defined
But Mr Richard Yinkah, the founder of DIVOG, explains that ‘disaster’ is more than an occurrence of calamity of unimaginable consequence to human beings.
“You may be wondering why I chose the title disaster, when in Ghana there has been very few fatal tragedies brought on by windstorm, earthquakes and floods and man-made disasters like genocides and political turmoils.
“I strongly believe however that the countless socio-economic disasters that plague rural Ghanaian communities like lack of potable water, improper sanitation systems, inadequate educational facilities and orphanages that cannot meet the basic needs of the underprivileged orphans in their care need to be tackled,” he said.
He said recognising the problems of society, he decided to work to address them.
International volunteerism
For nearly a decade, DIVOG and a team of international volunteers had been working to make a sustainable difference. So far, he has brought down about a 1000 volunteers who partner him to undertake development projects in rural areas in the Volta Region.
Other Trending Stories
According to Mr Yinkah, DIVOG believes in empowering people instead of providing them with charity.
“We believe that many programmes based on giving out hand-outs though well-intended, would in the long run make little impact. Our programmes are rooted in the idea of community ownership and participation. Local stakeholders volunteer their time alongside international volunteers who offer their expertise and labour to ensure sustainability of efforts. The benefits of encouraging the involvement of communities in their own development is monumental,” he said.
Rural accomplishments
He said experiencing life in a rural Ghanaian community as an active volunteer and not just an observer, is a feeling that stayed with every volunteer. He said many volunteers had set up their own non-profit organisations after their experiences in Ghana while a good number also returned to work with DIVOG regularly.
Since its establishment a little over a decade ago, DIVOG has undertaken quite a number of projects in the Volta Region. Among the projects are three-unit classroom blocks with offices and stores for 27 rural communities, four toilet facilities, two libraries and 48 urinals. Other projects are four computer laboratories, 235 classroom desks and a community radio project, which is currently ongoing at Adaklu-Waya.
In addition, 70 needy brilliant students have been assisted with scholarships to enable them to continue with their education.
From ‘DIVOG’ to ‘Adanu’
Some years ago Mr Yinkah came up with another idea that saw a name change from DIVOG to ‘Adanu’.
Six years ago, he said, he met Madam Shelly Morse, her husband and daughter who are from the United States and were in the country on a volunteer trip and that led to a partnership between the Morses and his organisation, formerly called “DIVOG.”
“Last year, knowing that we would never be able to progress without an active presence in North America, where most of our volunteers and supporters are from, my team and I decided to take a risk. We ended our years-long partnership with Globe Aware and established ‘American Friends of DIVOG’ in the United States. We then asked Shelly to be our Development Director to help us advance our mission and establish our global fundraising and volunteer programme”, he said.
Mr Yinkah said deciding that the name of an organisation should “embody the soul of that organisation” , we chose our new name from Ewe even though the official language in Ghana is English .
Wise collaboration
He said the new name, ‘Adanu’, in Ewe means ‘wise collaboration’.
Adanu, he said, represents hope, energy and community development, stressing that the NGO was built on the core belief that collaborating wisely with local communities was key to sustainable development.
“Our mission is to empower the people in the communities we serve to initiate and achieve change for themselves,” he added.
Advertisement
• Writer’s email: victor.kwawukume@graphic.com.gh