WOMEN EMPOWERMENT
Despite progress in Ghana's development, there are still significant disparities in income, education, and food security in the Nkwanta South Municipality, which is primarily agricultural in Ghana's Oti Region. Nkwanta South Municipal is one of the poorest places, with over half of families experiencing food insecurity and more than 23% living below the national poverty line (less than USD 0.70 per day). It also has one of the lowest literacy rates, with 85% of the population being illiterate. Poverty, food insecurity, and poor literacy rates disproportionately affect women and children in the region.
Approximately 79% of women in the communities in the Nkwanta South Municipal Assembly engage in subsistence farming with obsolete farming techniques. They lack a fundamental understanding of how to boost their output and revenue. Production trends for main food crops such as maize, cassava, rice, and sorghum reveal that on-farm productivity has stalled. Inadequate use of productivity-enhancing technology such as better variety of seeds and fertilizer, a lack of trained extension services for these farmers, and inadequate market connections all limit increases in on-farm production. Furthermore, because they lack entrepreneurial abilities, women remain inactive at their separate residences beyond the peak farming season.
WASH
Vulnerable Aid Organisations strive to solve Ghana's lack of water and sanitation systems, particularly in rural communities.This is because water is an essential component of life. Unfortunately, not all water is suitable for human consumption. Water from polluted sources causes a variety of ailments and premature mortality. Humans rely on water for survival and often drink from polluted sources, leading to the spread of water-borne diseases.
Ghana's drinking water supply and sanitation industry has several issues, including relatively limited access to sanitation, irregular supply, substantial water losses, and poor water pressure. According to studies, around 29% of all rural boreholes are fractured, with the remaining 69% marginally functional. This contributes to water shortage in the country, necessitating creative measures from all stakeholders to secure long-term water supply.
Rural populations in Ghana still rely on surface water for drinking and are vulnerable to a variety of illnesses. The Vulnerable Aid organisation, together with its partners, is aiming to provide aid to such communities. We are committed to finding long-term solutions to the local water challenges.
We provide the following water and sanitation service​
1. Borehole repair and construction
2. Rain water harvesting scheme training
3. Irrigation system development
4. WASH education
OUR HYGIENE EDUCATION STRATEGY
Capacity building of borehole committees
With the ever increasing breakdown of rural hand pumps, VAO seeks to capacitate borehole committees with skills for sustainable water supply. Our training program covers a wide range of topics with special emphasis on hardware repair that enables to gain employable skills.
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Monthly coalition meetings
Vulnerable Aid Organization organize meetings with other stakeholders with a view to forming pressure groups to advocate for the good sanitation and community cleanliness in the beneficiary municipality. These meetings make other key participants in advocacy work aware of the activities projects we implement
Formation and training of advocacy groups in communities
Depending on the capacity of the beneficiary municipality, advocacy groups are formed and they receive training on advocacy techniques and sanitation in the community.
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Refresher training
Refresher trainings are organized in the last month of every WASH project we implement. This training is to give more information on modern advocacy and sanitation techniques. This training also include more details on basic issues such as rights awareness; source of funds most especially the 3% disability fund in local government offices and how to apply for them and human rights provisions. The aim of these trainings are two-fold: a) to inform/remind the community inhabitants of their existing rights and how to enforce these; and b) to educate/refresh the minds of Ghanaians about how to keep their community and surroundings clean, and encourage them to lobby for other developmental projects into their communities.
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DISABILITY
Before the promulgation of Persons with Disability Act (Law/Act 715 of 206) Ghana which seeks to champion the cause of persons living with disabilities (PWDs), the traditional perception about the physically challenged has been very unusual and negative among the people of Ghana. Anything about disability connotes, witchcraft, ill-luck and demonic by our culture. Access to basic human needs, food, cloth and shelter sometimes becomes a bane to the physically challenged.
Education, health and access to public places of events are not encouraging, thus making life for the vulnerable very tedious and uncomfortable.
Most children with disabilities are kept in dark rooms and are treated with scorn. Participation in decision making become a hoax even where the disabled has tried to reach the higher academic level that allows him to take up an appointment or be a member of a reputable organization.
Stigma in respect of persons with disability cut across the whole social structure of Ghanaians both the elite and non-literates have bad perception about disability. Traditional authorities are the worst offenders where they have couched for themselves numerous myths and speculations about disabilities. In some extreme instances a child with a disability is instantly killed after delivery. An adult person with disability could be denied taking part in any social gathering or family meeting. This calls for a holistic approach to address the pandemic.​
In collaboration with stakeholders, VAO advocates for the rights of Person with Disabilities (PWDs). The organization also sensitizes communities on the adverse effect of stigmatization and ill treatment of PWDs.
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CORE PROGRAMMES UNDER DISABILITY
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Education oriented programme. Education is a human right for each child whether able or disable. Under no circumstance should a child be denied of his/her right to education due to disability. We see education as the means to empower these vulnerable to have quality life and self dependent. We hope to provide the following:
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Promoting access to quality basic education for children with disabilities
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Skills training
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Human Rights Education
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Community sensitization and advocacy programmes
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Empowerment of PWDs. We seek to empower PWDs by building their capacity in advocacy work to mount pressure on government and other agencies for their rights. Through this initiative, PWDs are able to access their share of the 3% MP common fund at the district assembly's office of economic activities.
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Health Intervention. We provide medical support to children/persons living with epilepsy.