Empowering disadvantaged women in Ghana

Do Wo Yonko Foundation is a Non-Governmental organization whose main aim is to support the education of the needy and disadvantaged in the society. The beneficiaries of the project are mostly from remote areas and their social and family background is very problematic. The project has been trying to support such people to help resolve some of the problems they face to make it possible for them to at least have some basic form of education or training. Do Wo Yonko Foundation runs three main projects: the School Going Project,the Skills Training Project and a training center for girls.

Still a high number of young girls are getting pregnant at their teen age. This situation  hinders their education and training and is rather worsening their poverty situation. These girls have no other option to make a living than small farming or petty trading which does not fetch them much (less than a dollar a day) in the rural community set-ups. Most of these young girls have low self-esteem due to a lack of education and enlightenment . They feel inferior which will affect their entire life. These girls mostly depend on men to provide them with their basic needs – which often results in further  unwanted pregnancies.

The project wants to reduce teenage pregnancy to the minimum level in deprived communities, to build the youngsters’ self esteem in rural communities, to change ideas and perception of rural dwellers regarding family planning and to empower especially girls through education and training. Family planning is one of the most important advances in health care in the last century. If women can decide how many children they have in life, unwanted pregnancies and poverty risks can be reduced. Access to family planning creates more educational and economic opportunities for women and leads to healthier families and communities.

In a second part of the project, Do Wo Yonko Foundation concentrates on the girls who already have a child and thus had no chance to complete their school or learn a trade. These girls should be empowered in a special program and will be supported to start into a training.