Norsaac invests GHc2.3 million in youth development initiatives

Norsaac, a civil society organisation, has committed GHc2.3 million to youth-led organisations as part of the Youth Initiative Small Grants (YISG) to champion community development activities in the country.Mr Mohammed Awal Alhassan, the Executive Director of Norsaac, who announced this at a two-day event to launch the third cohort of the YISG in Tamale, said the support was tailored towards intensifying advocacy against child marriages, unintended pregnancies, and harmful cultural practices.The YISG, under the Power to Youth Programme, is being implemented by a consortium of three partners; Sogabe, Ghana SRHR Alliance for Young People, and Norsaac, serving as the lead implementing partner with funding support from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.The two-day event was to review and provide guidelines for the third cohort of YISG beneficiaries in financial reporting, understanding community engagement strategies, building networks and movements, visibility and branding to enable them to successfull y execute their projects.The third cohort of beneficiaries is Sawla Model Girls Alumni, Visionary Buluk Organization, Centre for Evaluation and Entrepreneurship and Development, Girls to Women Foundation, Centre for Contemporary Pan-Africanism and the Chereponi Youth Connect.Mr Alhassan said the six organisations had identified their initiatives, adding the support for the various groups over the years was part of efforts to catalyse the actions of young people by providing the enabling environment for them to champion positive change in their communities.Madam Matilda Ayamga, the National Programme Coordinator of the Power to Youth Programme, said the support sought to encourage meaningful youth participation emphasising the need for young people to lead change in their communities.Mr Abukari Mohammed, Senior Grants Manager at Norsaac, said each of the groups would receive funding support ranging from GHc30,000.00 to GHc45,000.00 to implement their projects within a period of four months.The grants would be released periodically based on the group's commitment and compliance towards presenting monthly reports of their activities and interventions, he said.Miss Abdul Salam Faa-ika, President, of Sawla Model Girls Alumi, expressed gratitude to Norsaac and partners for the support saying it would help them in their advocacy against unintended pregnancies.It would also educate women and young girls on their reproductive health rights and access to quality healthcare services.Source : Ghana News Agency