Story By: Rahamatu-Lahi Zakaria || Sanatu Zambang
HERPol Africa has trained over 80 participants to be engaged as community volunteers for the second phase of their Covid-19 intervention project on Friday 8th October 2021. The second phase is in partnership with MasterCard Foundation and consultation with Stratcomm Africa.
The participants were taken through the manual of HERPol Africa community engagement procedure and what they are expected to do as volunteers. As community volunteers, some of their duty is to collect data from the communities they will be visiting.
This data will help the organization to structure the kind of assistant that each community needs. The community volunteers are also going to be Covid-19 ambassadors, thus sensitizing community members to observe all the protocols of Covid-19 and also get them vaccinated.
The second phase of HERPol Africa Covid-19 intervention project will target 36 communities both in the Nanton district and Tamale metropolis. Women in these communities would be trained to make liquid soap while others trained on how to sew nose masks. Previously trained women will be hired to produce liquid soap and nose masks for distribution back into their respective communities.
Some communities would also be supplied with water to aid in the fight against the pandemic since water is essential to the fight. This intervention became necessary because some of the communities that were targeted in the first phase had no water hence derailing the communities from observing the handwashing protocol.
Water is essential in every household. The water situation was slowing down the economic activities of some of the residents. One of the key things in this project is to economically empower women and the youth in these communities.
Speaking at the event, the Cofounder of HERPol Africa, Dr Osman Dufailu said the organization was founded with the aim of Promoting sustainable community development in Ghana and beyond by Inspiring, educating and empowering individuals, and Informing policy decisions. This includes Educational and Health Projects. The organization which is a non for profit also works around mental health awareness creation.
