SALKAN Christ Foundation, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) dedicated to the welfare of widows, the aged and under-privileged children, has been inaugurated at Koforidua.
The NGO together with its sister organisation, Christian Friends of Democracy, also promotes good governance, conflict resolution, crusade against HIV/AIDS and helps the unemployed in the New Juaben Municipality to be engaged in income-generating ventures.
At the inaugural ceremony at the weekend, the Executive Director of Salkan Christ Foundation, Mrs Sarah Okantey, who is also the Project Director of Christian Friends of Democracy, said the two Koforidua-based organisations would continue to tackle problems militating against women, especially widows, venerable children and the aged.
She said most widows had to go through some inhuman, outmoded traditional rites and some children through no fault of theirs, faced a lot of challenges.
Mrs Okantey said while the women, especially widows could not take any action against such inhuman treatments meted out to them either due to ignorance and poverty, the venerable children could also not tackle their own problems because of their ages.
She stated that it was in that respect that the two organisations were formed to help address such problems.
“Although we came to the scene last year, we managed to assist eight women made up of widows and single mothers in diverse ways, especially counselling and empowerment to fight for their rights or make a living,” she said.
“We are now handling 200 desperate, rejected, dejected and miserable women some of who were at the point of taking their own lives because they could not by themselves overcome their challenges,” Mrs Okantey stated.
She gave the assurance that the two organisations would not relent in their efforts in addressing the challenges of the oppressed and the needy.
The Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo commended the foundation for achieving a lot within a period of one year.
He mentioned some of the achievements of the foundation as the provision of 22 boreholes for 22 communities, scholarships for 736 pupils and students in junior and senior high schools, teacher training colleges as well as tertiary educational institutions.
Mr Ofosu Ampofo added that the foundation had also been negotiating for the release of Ghanaian prisoners illegally incarcerated in prisons in La’ Cote d’Ivoire.
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