STAR-Ghana Foundation calls for strengthened resilience at border communities

STAR-Ghana Foundation, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), has called on stakeholders to collaborate and strengthen resilience at border communities against radicalisation and violent extremism.It said peace and security were of utmost importance and called for an all-hands-on deck approach by stakeholders to address radicalisation and violent extremism, especially among the youth, the most vulnerable.Mr Frederick Nuuri-Teg, the Projects Manager of STAR Ghana Foundation, made the call in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Pulmakom in the Upper East Region.That was after members of the Community Dialogue Platform and the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) had sensitised residents on radicalisation and violent extremism in four border communities in the Bawku area.The communities were within Pulmakom, Pusiga, Mognori and Kulungugu, which are border towns in the Eastern Corridor of the Upper East Region.The sensitisation, which engaged the public at market centres, bus ter minals and on radio, was in collaboration with STAR Ghana Foundation, with funding from the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).Mr Nuuri-Teg said the engagement was part of a livelihood enhancement and capacity building project in six border communities, expected to end in August.It would be extended to Paga in the Kassena-Nankana West District and Namoo in the Bongo District.'We have seen that with the recent unrest in Burkina Faso, these communities, which have very porous borders, call for the need to beef up the security situation in the communities, get them more informed about what is happening and how people could also take advantage of the situation to either recruit, especially the youth from these communities, to be part of these extremists groups,' he said.'We are trying to use our dialogue platform members, which is an integrated group of community, youth, women, faith-based leaders, and State actors like the security agencies and NCCE to enhance social cohesion in all these six communities.'It also provided livelihood support through mechanized boreholes and fenced gardens at Pulmakom and Namoo to support vulnerable people.Mr Yakubu Seidu, the Pusiga District Director of the NCCE, and his counterpart in the Bawku Municipality, who took turns to sensitize residents to 'say something when they see something', described responses from residents as 'very good.''There have been positive responses and feedback, and that indicates that the people have received the message well. I remember in October last year, community members at Pulmakom identified a stranger with some ammunition and huge sums of money and handed him over to the Immigration officers. This indicates the message is getting down well with the people,' he said.Mr Issaka Seidu, an Executive member of the Okada Riders Association at Pulmakom, commended STAR Ghana Foundation, IOM and the NCCE for the sensitization, and gave the assurance that they would report suspicious characters to Immigration officers for action.Source: Ghana News Agency