Over the past years, Norsaac has gained a good reputation as one of the best Non-Governmental organization in the area of empowerment for change organization.
The organization has over 15 years of working experience in the area of creating a better and safe place for young people to develop and live their dreams. They work in the northern region and some parts of the upper west and upper east region.
Basically, they work to empower women and young people. Mariam Pagnaa was joined by Nancy, an officer at Norsaac in the studios of Sanatu Zambang to discuss the work of Norsaac, their success stories and also highlight some of their past projects and ongoing projects.
Nancy mentioned that Norsaac is a non-governmental organization that is dedicated to championing an improved quality of life for empowered women, youth, and marginalized group in asserting their rights. The organization works closely with communities, policymakers in four thematic areas, thus; education, gender and governance, sexual reproductive health and they also work to empower young people in livelihood and entrepreneurship development.
These thematic areas are intertwined. Under the gender and governance department of the organization, they work on a lot of issues like gender equality and equity. Under governance, they also work with a state institution, relevant stakeholders to as much as possible influence state policies.
Norsaac empowers citizens and gives them the needed knowledge to understand some of the system, policies, and laws. It equips them to be able to speak up and influence policies. With gender, they work with females, males, and young girls, basically to empower them. In the past, they have collaborated with UNICEF in the area of ending child marriage and any form of abuse you can think of.
Currently, they have secured funding from UNFPA to fight child marriage in the region. The Gender and Governance Program Area is currently working on 4 projects; Let the Girl Smile: Say No to Child Marriage (LEGS) Young Urban Women: Life Choices and Livelihood (YUW) Inclusive Governance in Sustaining Marginalized Livelihoods (ISMAL) Ghana Strengthening Accountability Mechanism (GSAM) Young Female Parliament (YFP) Reduce maternal, neonatal, child mortality and morbidity through improved and informed practices, Increase the safety of sexual practices by providing knowledge and education of Sexual Reproductive Health Right.
In the area of sexual reproductive health, Norsaac does a little bit of advocacy, on contraceptives, that means prevention of pregnancy and all that has to do with practicing safe sex among young girls. They have also worked in the past on maternal health issues.
Currently, the NGO is working on maternal health issues in their show project in Kariga and Mamprugu Muduri district. Under this unit, they sometimes work around WASH.
Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights is currently working on 6 projects; Innovative Sexuality Education Project III (ISEPIII) Youth Empowerment for Access and Service (YEAS) Preventing Maternal Deaths due to Unwanted Pregnancy (PMDUP) Youth Activism For Enhanced SRHR Service & Access (Enhanced SRHR) Strengthening Health Outcomes for Women and Children (SHOW) Get Up Speak Out (GUSO) When it comes to the Livelihoods and Entrepreneurial Development theme, Norsaac tries to curtail the gender job stereotype and try to bridge that gap.
The organization under this area have also trained men and women in phone repair, bicycle repair, etc. They have also trained girls in the sewing of our local cloth. They provide financial literacy for young people as well. Livelihoods and Entrepreneurial Development is currently working on two projects; the Sustainable Livelihood Initiative Project (SLIP) and Livelihood Support Initiative (LSI).
The last is education. Under this module, they target three main areas; leadership, teaching methods, and social barriers to education; while also seeking to enhance the use of participatory training methods. The program area encourages the empowerment of young women and addresses the important issue of gender disparity at all levels of education.
This disparity comes as a result of teacher and community beliefs favoring male education over female education. Increased access to empowering, quality, basic education for children of school going age, increased educational attainment for girls, Enhanced school governance and management
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