Upper East RCC, Rotary explore partnership to expand community development projects
The Upper East Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) and Rotary International are exploring stronger collaboration to expand development interventions in the Region, particularly in the area of water, sanitation, education, healthcare and community development.
The District Governor of Rotary International, Dr Jack Andrews Dotsey, made the proposal during a courtesy call on the Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Akamugri Donatus Atanga, in Bolgatanga.
Dr Dotsey said Rotary, a global volunteer organisation with approximately 1.2 million members, was committed to improving lives and addressing community needs through its guiding principle of Service Above Self.
He explained that the organisation’s interventions covered community and economic development, disease prevention, peacebuilding, education and literacy, maternal and child health, and environmental protection.
He also highlighted Rotary’s contribution to the global fight against polio, noting that the organisation had helped achieve more than 99 per cent progress towards its eradication since committing to the campaign in 1978.
In Ghana, he said, “Rotary had approximately 2,100 members operating through 71 clubs, including the Bolgatanga Goodwill Rotary Club”.
Dr Dotsey said the organisation had worked with communities and institutions to implement development projects and was seeking a stronger partnership with the RCC to extend its interventions to more communities.
He also proposed the establishment of a Rotary Club within the RCC to encourage staff participation in volunteer activities and community development.
The President of the Bolgatanga Goodwill Rotary Club, Dr Benjamin Apam, outlined some of the club’s interventions since it began operating in the region in 2011.
He disclosed that the club had distributed more than 200 desks to schools, constructed over 70 boreholes, including 10 mechanised boreholes, and provided 300 micro-flush toilets in communities.
The club had also supported healthcare delivery through the provision of medical supplies to medical stores.
Dr Apam said the club based its interventions on needs assessments to ensure that projects responded to the actual challenges facing beneficiary communities.
Responding, the Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Akamugri Donatus Atanga, commended Rotary for its contributions to national development, particularly its role in efforts to eradicate polio and Guinea worm in northern Ghana.
He identified sanitation as a major government priority and said Rotary’s micro-flush toilet technology could support efforts by Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to address sanitation challenges, particularly in schools without adequate toilet facilities.
The Minister expressed the RCC’s interest in Rotary’s activities and ongoing projects, adding that the Council’s technical team would engage the organisation to identify areas where its interventions could complement Government’s PEARL programme.
He urged Rotary to develop bankable projects capable of attracting funding and delivering sustainable improvements in the living conditions of people in the region.
Faustina Naa Ayele Johnson, ISD
