A STAR-Ghana Foundation (SGF) Giving for Change (GfC) programme that seeks to promote domestic resource mobilization for development is gaining grounds in some communities in Tamale and Wa, in the Northern and Upper West regions respectively.

Indeed, 12 rural and urban communities in the Sissala West district and Wa Municipalities have accepted local philanthropy to raise funds for public goods and services such as clinics, schools, and clean water, among others.

The GfC programme is a five-year project that aims to do development differently from a mindset that the citizenry is responsible for their own development.

With funding from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the GfC is anchored on the recognition that domestic resources are important in increasing local ownership of projects and influence civic actions for inclusive development.

The Community Development Alliance (CDA), located in Wa is an implementing partner of the SGF’s GfC project, and has through its project dubbed, “Catalyzing Local Philanthropy for Development (CLPD), implemented a series of participatory behaviour-led initiatives that empowered women, youth, and leaders of the 12 local communities who gained agency, prioritized their needs, and self-mobilized locally and are working to address their challenges.

During a team visit by STAR-Ghana Foundation to Wa, the Executive Director of CDA, Salifu Issifu Kanton, said their partnership with the STAR-Ghana Foundation essentially focused on opening the civic space, ensuring that our communities have a voice, they appreciate their own development, and they can self-mobilize and contribute to improving development outcomes in their local communities.

He said the decision to embrace local philanthropy is a major shift in mindset.

“Prior to the giving for change intervention, some of these community members expressed reservation and doubts as to how poor people can self-mobilize to address their needs. But the mind-set of receiving and not giving is fast changing. Communities are now recognizing and appreciating that there is inherent power in giving,” he said.

Community projects

For the communities that have embraced local philanthropy, they do not only mobilize resources (fiscal cash and raw materials) to support development projects, but also offer their skills to fix some of the challenges they face.

Already, the Kusali community has completed the construction of a community clinic, popularly referred to as Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compound and ready for use while the Bouti Community in the Sissala West District have also self-mobilized resources and currently constructing a CHPS compound to increase access to primary health for the indigenes.

The Dondoli community in the WA municipality has made firm commitments to construct a Youth Information, Communication, and Technology (ICT) centre to for the youth to develop their skills.

The Konzokala community in the Daffiama Busie Issa (DBI) district in the Upper West region, led by the assembly member for the area, Nicholas Yengsoba, is constructing a delivery room in the existing CHPS compound to facilitate safe deliveries in the area.

Nicholas Yengsoba, Assembly Member for Konzokala community in the Daffiama Busie Issa (DBI) district in the Upper West region

 Mr Yengsoba said the intervention by the CDA with support from STAR-Ghana Foundation has helped to bring to bear the idea of a delivery room they conceived years ago.

“We had that in mind but how to start was the issue. They motivated us. Very soon we may not need to transport our women by tricycle to about an hour drive facility to deliver, with its attendant challenges,” he said.

The Project supervisor, Jacob Dordaa, said contributions for the project come in piecemeal - some think they are old and cannot take part, many of the youth have migrated down south, and some argue that previous contributions of such nature did not yield results.

“They are supportive though. This is the first time we are doing such a project in the community through CDA with support from STAR-Ghana Foundation. What we need is constant supervision and facilitation because the name CDA brings everyone on board,” he said.

Jacob Dordaa, Project supervisor

A resident mid-wife at the CHPS Compound, Theodora Tarma, said that currently, the outpatient department (OPD) serves all purpose and so makes it difficult to accept labour cases at the facility.

“I am very happy that the community is putting up a delivery room. I can only appeal to the members in the community to try and support the initiative so the issue of referring labour cases to other communities will be a thing of the past,” she said.

Theodora Tarma, resident mid-wife at the CHPS Compound

At Fian, also in the DBI district, plans are far advanced by the community development committee members towards the construction of kindergarten (KG) block to avoid children in the area having to travel long distances to acquire education.

The Fian Peace Camp, a youth group in the area is leading the project. In an interview, the Secretary of the group, Gilbert Kapaala, said that the GfC initiative has enlightened them on the need to promote and lead community development.

“We must give all credit to CDA in partnership with STAR-Ghana Foundation for bringing out this great initiative GfC. We recognize that all infrastructure in this community were put up by government or some other people. We never knew we could mobilize to do more than what government can give us,” he said.

Gilbert Kapaala, Secretary to Fian Peace Camp

SGF-CDA partnership

According to the Executive Director of CDA, Salifu Issifu Kanton, after a year of implementation, the GfC project greatly impacted how the organization perceive and do things.

“The GfC has inspired our programming process and has influenced us to look more towards sustainable ways of fostering community development. We are now focusing more on strengthening the capacities of local communities to lead their own development, to own their development and to be responsible for their own development, to be actively involved in their development,” he said.

He added, “we do not have to tell them what to do but basically facilitate the processes for them to explore their own possibilities of making life much better. Our thinking, our advocacy strategies, our programming strategies, our relationships with communities has been significantly shaped through the methodology that we have used under this project. Now, other projects are beginning to have co-benefits of the lessons that have evolved from this GfC project.”

Fact sheet

- The Giving for Change Project is implemented through an alliance and covers eight countries in Africa, Asia, and South America.

- The project is over a five-year period and funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

- STAR-Ghana Foundation is the anchor Institution for Ghana, with the West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI) as a strategic partner.

Ensuring sustainability

The Project Manager at CDA, Mercy Dakogri, said that through the GfC project, the communities are empowered to explore local mechanisms of supporting their development.

“The GfC project has generally been very good, and the community members have accepted it. It has been a very insightful thing for me because mostly, NGOs go into communities and do things for them that they do not even want.”

“But the GfC gives them room to do what they think is affecting them in terms of development, so they can develop their communities using their own resources. They are now aware they can help themselves without waiting for any politician to come to their aide,” she said.

Miss Dakogri said because CDA will not always be present to facilitate, there exist committee members who help to mobilize and oversee the use of the resources for the good of the community.