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On sustainability and empowerment for women in Ghana

1. What is the WCCCP?

The Women’s Cross Cultural Cooperation Project (WCCCP) is a ground-breaking, grassroots partnership initiative between women in Ghana and partners abroad. It is a unique type of sponsorship program in that it emphasizes empowerment and sustainability. The WCCCP is administered by the Frafra Literacy and Development Project (FRALIDEP) in the Upper East Region of Ghana in partnership with Marla Coulas, the project’s overseas representative and administrator in Canada.

The WCCCP was established in December 2004 in order to:
1) Increase the number of women’s groups who have access to FRALIDEP’s microfinance, literacy, gender promotion, and peacebuilding activities in response to a lack of funding from other external agencies.
2) Heighten rural women’s participation in decision-making processes at the household and community level
3) Promote cross-cultural communication between FRALIDEP’s learners and individuals in other parts of the world, thereby encouraging learners to continue to develop their literacy skills in both English and the local language.

How it works is as follows: Individual donors provide a donation amount of their choice that will provide a rural Ghanaian woman with the necessary capital and business and savings training to establish herself in a sustainable business venture, such as food production, basket weaving, small goods trade, etc. Project administrators work to match donors with a woman whose capital needs match the donation amount. In some cases, more than one beneficiary is partnered with a donor and in other cases, vice versa, depending on donation amounts. 100% of donations will reach partners as I personally cover all administrative expenses with the assistance of some donors who have specified they would like their donation to be used toward admin.

Donations are given as a loan that the women will repay back into the Frafra Literacy and Development Project during a 6-month cycle. The money is then recirculated to new groups year after year or used for gender promotion activities such as International Women’s Day events and educational workshops on issues affecting women in community development, for example, female genital mutilation, widowhood rites, women’s household roles, women’s roles in decision-making in the community and household, etc. The women’s groups themselves decide how the money should be re-used the following year.

By recirculating funds, the project is able to reach far more beneficiaries than most typical partnership initiatives. Furthermore, it emphasizes capacity building and financial independence for the women involved. This way, the project helps “teach a woman to fish,” as the old saying goes, rather than simply “giving her a fish. Further, she then, is “helping other women learn to fish” as well and so on and so on.

As beneficiaries repay their loans to FRALIDEP, they not only learn how to manage their income and expenditure, but also contribute to FRALIDEP’s community development programs in her community. Thus, beneficiaries gain a sense of ownership over the project and become committed to participating in important decision-making processes at both the project and community level.

The loans are given based on the principle of collective responsibility. Women receive individual loans but are members of a group of usually about 10-15 women. If one woman defaults, the other women in the group repay the loan on the defaulters behalf. Individuals are then responsible to their peers, rather than to a faceless institution and are thereby less likely to default. The group structure also affords the sharing of ideas, motivational meetings, opportunities for education and awareness building, collective bargaining power, etc.


2. Why would a woman from Canada feel so drawn to get involved and what exactly was the nature of your involvement with them?

In September 2004, I moved to the village of Zuarungu in Ghana for 6 months to work as a Project Field Officer with the Frafra Literacy and Development Project (FRALIDEP) as part of the Canadian International Development Agency’s International Youth Internship Program. I was “to assist project staff in moving towards independent NGO status” as they were currently under funding from the Ghana Institute of Linguistics, Literacy, and Bible Translation. I was relieved to discover that while the project was funded by a religious organization, FRALIDEP did not bare any religious prejudices. Project activities were open to any community member regardless of religion, gender, or ethnicity.

My expected role with the project was vague. Put simply, I became a part of the FRALIDEP team and assisted in whatever way I could with the administration of literacy, peacebuilding, gender promotion, microfinance, and community empowerment initiatives by sharing my ideas and soaking up as much knowledge and expertise as possible from my incredible colleagues—4 Ghanaian community development professionals with a combined 75 plus years of experience in the field. The WCCCP was born out of our combined frustration over rejected funding proposals from large faceless agencies and our desire to promote international community through real person-to-person partnerships based on principles of mutually beneficial exchange.

Since my return home, I have continued my administrative work with the Women’s Cross Cultural Cooperation Project and have contributed my own funds toward this project. Why am I drawn to do so? I have spent time with these incredible women and am inspired everyday by their level of commitment to one another and to their communities. I trust that these women have the capacities to mobilize themselves to contribute endlessly to the healthy development of their communities. Likewise, I want to continue learning from and being motivated by the expertise and dedication of the FRALIDEP staff. And finally, I believe in the project. I believe that we are entering an era where the notion of global community goes far beyond trade relationships and corporate handouts. I believe that individuals need to get involved and impact the lives of other individuals. And, in turn, have their lives impacted right back with the wealth that that person has to share. I know that this project is unique in that 100% of donations are going directly to the women and they are using these donations to make real differences in their lives. I know that my involvement with this community and this project gives me far more than I could ever give back in terms of my time and money and I suppose, in that sense, I am pretty selfish.


3. What results have you seen from the work thus far in terms of the women you worked with and yourself as a result of contributing?

According to economist Jeffrey Sachs, microfinance initiatives based on the Grameen model of collective responsibility are at the forefront of community empowerment—providing a developing or underdeveloped community with the tools “to place its foot on the first rung of the ladder of development” (The End of Poverty, 14).

In terms of economics, the WCCCP has provided with increased purchasing power during times of plenty (the rainy season) which translates into increased selling power during the dry season when raw material resources are scarce and expensive. They are able to invest in technology that increases their overall product output. They develop positive trade relationships with other women in the group and share their combined resources and expertise. In some cases, participants first use their loan money to remove immediate threats to their families’ well-being—escaping what Sachs calls “the poverty trap” and “economic stagnation” (56) so that they can focus their efforts on expanding their businesses and improving their families’ economic circumstances.

Participants have been able to improve their families’ quality of life and amass savings. The following stories from participants in the WCCCP pilot group that were collected from regular monitoring and motivational visits by Ghanaian project administrators will help illustrate the real-life impact of these women’s success in the program.

“Atiama indicated that from the loan she succeeded in covering her room with roofing sheets. The room was built three years before when her husband was alive but it was too difficult for the family to roof it at that time. After participating in the WCCCP, she has roofed the room and has paid off the loan without any problem. ‘I am now safe and happy with my children in our room,’ reports Atiama.”

“The loan allowed Selina to pay her child’s school fees in September. The child passed for senior secondary school this year. However, her husband had a stroke and was unable to help provide the tuition. With the WCCCP loan, Selina was able to put her child through school. ‘Where else could I have gone to borrow the money to pay the fees?’ Selina said.”

Fifty percent of the pilot project participants reported that they were able to amass significant savings after the final loan repayment, which has increased their working capital. One hundred percent of the participants paid back their loans without defaulting by the end of the loan period.

In terms of its social impact, the WCCCP has been a huge success. The women in the pilot group have been regularly attending group literacy classes two days a week and have been meeting once every two weeks to encourage each other and share information on the market situation. Their literacy skills have improved as they were all able to resign their names on their applications for recirculation of funds—an act of incredible empowerment.

The WCCCP women were extremely active at International Women’s Day events—using group savings from the WCCCP to pay their own lorry fare to the rural community where the event was held. They created a group presentation to speak out for women’s rights and performed in front of over 300 community members. WCCCP women have also been involved in a dialogue with the project and community about development initiatives in the area, thereby increasing their accessibility to community decision-making structures.
These results reported here are consistent with those of other microfinance initiatives around the world and will likely lead to more widesweeping socioeconomic improvements over the long term—increased access to formal education; higher literacy rates of girls and women; improved nutrition and health; reduced rates of child mortality; lower birth rates; improved infrastructure in communities; increased access to decision-making structures; improved community solidarity; and a new spirit of women’s rights, independence, and empowerment.


4. How might people get involved on various levels?

1. SPREAD THE WORD: Right now, we are embarking on the third year of project fundraising. Our goal is to raise approximately $4000.00 Canadian by fall 2006 to provide loans to two additional groups of 15 women. Thus, we desperately need donors!

2. DONATE: Typically, loan amounts are $100, $150, or $200 but that does not mean we need people to give those amounts individually. Many donors get a few friends or family members together to chip in and sponsor a woman—after all, this project is all about promoting community. We also work hard to combine donors who give smaller amounts and match them to a recipient.

3. EMPOWER OTHERS TO DONATE: Put on a benefit show, organize a car wash, have a tip donation day at the restaurant where you work, sell lemonade on the street corner, organize a “wear jeans and give” day at the office, have a bake sale, have an all night dance party, have a garage sale…we have plenty of fun fundraising ideas! People sometimes need to be motivated to give to a worthy cause and these types of events are a great way to raise awareness!

4. HELP ME WITH ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT: The project desperately needs a website. If you are computer savvy and interested in taking on the job, send an email our way. Of course, funds for administrative expenses like postage and printing are always helpful too. If anyone has the resources to produce promotional materials like pamphlets, stickers, buttons, etc. and would like to donate “in-kind” that would be much appreciated.

5. SHARE YOUR IDEAS: We would love to hear any ideas people have about improving the project.

CONTACT INFO:

Email: fralidep@hotmail.com

Mailing: Marla Coulas
FRALIDEP Overseas Representative
21345 Allard Cres.
Langley, BC
V1M 3H8
CANADA


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