25 young people in the Upper East Region have been trained on solar electric fencing organised by the Gambibgo Ghana Project with support from the Friends of Christopher in the Netherlands. Gambibgo Ghana Project is a community-based Non-Governmental Organization based in the Upper East Region that is embarking on an initiative to plant 200 trees yearly to combat desertification, promote environmental sustainability, and create awareness about the importance of tree conservation.
The Chief Executive Officer of the ‘Gambibgo Ghana Project’ Sadik Ayine Inusah said his outfit came up with a model to train youth in solar electric fencing to fence the trees planted to prevent them from being grazed by free-range animals.
“You know here, our animals roam freely so in the dry season, it is always difficult to protect our animals. So, we came out with a module to fence the trees by using solar electricity”
According to Mr. Ayine, the training aimed to equip the youth with technical skills in solar electric installation and maintenance that would also enable the beneficiaries to start their businesses or seek employment opportunities in the solar electric industry. Aside from the Friends of Christopher, the Gambibgo Ghana Project which started in the year 2004 also has funding from Wilde Ganzen Foundation, and the West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI).
The CEO of Gambibgo Ghana Project was speaking to the media at the Gambigo Senior High School after the training exercise. Mr. Ayine mentioned that the project currently has 11 centres in communities such as Kandiga, Nabango, Mirigu, Nyongo, Atiyorum, Kurugu, and Gambibgo while providing support to women groups such as the Sirigu Indigenous Traditional Real Art (SITRA) in the Sirigu community to enhance their skills in pottery art and basket weaving, while the women group in the Natugnia community are supported in shea butter processing and irrigation system.
Head of Capacity Development with the West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI), Charles Kojo Vandyck said, unlike the usual way of supporting NGOs with funding and training, his outfit assists the NGOs in mobilising funding to execute their projects.
“We are doing something that is called match funding. We challenge you to mobilise some money. Let’s say you mobilise 30 thousand and then we match it with another 30 thousand to support your effort. It is a way of encouraging people to look within their communities for resources and solutions to the problems. Usually, many NGOs, CBOs, and others look outside for either philanthropists or traditional donors. That’s fine but we cannot depend on them that is why we are encouraging them to use what we have”
He commended the CEO of Gambibgo Ghana Project for making good use of the match funding to mobilise resources to train the youth in solar electric fencing.
The training included theoretical and practical sessions on basic principles of solar energy, including how to harness and utilise solar power. The training which was facilitated by Pumping is Life enabled the participants to install a solar electric fence at the Gambibgo community after the training.
Chief Executive Officer of Pumping is Life, Yussif Abdul-Rahaman indicated that the solar electric fence is cost-effective considering the high cost of electricity in the country. He allayed some fears saying that the application his outfit uses in the electric fencing is modernised and does not harm animals or humans when they come in contact with the fence.
“It gives out a pulse every second, meaning the current comes and goes. It is not a direct flow of current into the body of the animal or human. It is nasty for human beings but for animals, it will run away and never come back”
At the end of the training, the participants were awarded certificates of completion with Ayaaba Gilbert emerging as the Overall Best Trainee. The trainees expressed their gratitude to the Gambibgo Ghana Project and its partners for providing them with valuable skills and knowledge.
Source: A1Radioonline.com|101.1Mhz|Joshua Asaah|Gambibgo|Ghana
