World Vision empowers Muslim faith leaders to contribute to community development

World Vision Ghana (WVG) has held a three-day training programme for Muslim faith leaders to equip them to make meaningful contributions to their communities.WVG, through its Empowered World View (EWV) programme, has trained community leaders over the years to spearhead transformation in education, health, climate change, and issues associated with child protection.This year's training programme held in Accra included leaders from Ahmadiyya, Sunni, and other Muslim groups.Mr. Benjamin Sarbah, the Faith and Development Manager at WVG, stated during the training programme that empowering these faith leaders might be a game-changer in addressing societal issues.'We decided to bring these Muslim faith leaders together to build their capacities by identifying the challenges within their communities and giving them the skills to solve them.'So through the EWV, they will be able to examine their faith in the context of their holy scriptures and be able to do things for themselves in addition to addressing challenges in communities.Mr Sarbah added that training these Muslim faith leaders in the EVW programme would broaden their wider perspective about the environment in which they live and help them find ways to make it a better place for all.'So the EVW programme enables them to find resources around them to address these challenges they face and not rely solely on the government to solve their needs.'We expect them to put their ideas into use in their respective communities, especially as representatives of Allah, so that issues affecting the development of their communities will be addressed effectively and efficiently,' he said.Abubakar Sadik, Secretary at the Office of the National Chief Imam, stated in an interview with the Ghana News Agency that the knowledge acquired during the training would help in effective decision-making.'We have learned about some useful tools that will be beneficial for the community. The knowledge from this training will help in my decision-making to achieve a particul ar goal.'My ambition is to see the Muslim community grow, and I deem it necessary to transfer the knowledge I have learned here to the people living in Zongos. It is also very important to team with others from other faiths so that we can develop the community,' he said.Madam Aisha Balogun Tagoe, Women Fellowship at Ghana Muslim Mission, said the training taught her how to empower the community with the little resources around them and understand one another.'Passing on what I have learned from this training to my children will be very crucial in their daily lives. Hopefully, they can also spread the news to their friends in the communities, so that it will be beneficial to the whole community,' she said.Source: Ghana News Agency