Global Reach: Grantee Partners

Songtaba - Women’s Rights Coalition

Context:

Most of the people in Nanumba North, Nanumba South, Yendi and Tamale where most of the communities Songtaba work with are located, make a living in subsistence agriculture. In recent years, erratic rainfall, increased incidence of bushfires and indiscriminate felling of wild trees such as shea-nut, dawadawa, etc., have substantially impaired people’s capacity to cope with shocks and their ability to store value in animals. Fewer livelihood opportunities force young people (54% of the region’s population) to consider migration to Kumasi and Accra, often ending up as head porters living in abject poverty and hazardous conditions.

Organization:

Songtaba is a small non-governmental organisation working to advance the rights of women and girls in Ghana’s Northern Region. It was established in 2005 as a coalition of gender-minded organisations to identify and address the root causes of women’s and girls’ poverty. Songtaba works with a range of formal and informal groups, government agencies and community structures to deliver services, strengthen women’s leadership skills and develop livelihood opportunities. It runs programs on education, governance, domestic violence and agricultural livelihoods (rice processing cooperatives; livestock rearing; etc.). Songtaba’s Executive Director, Lamnatu Adam, is a social worker, educator and women’s rights activists with considerable experience in development work in the region. She is assisted by Kasiru Shani, Head of Programmes and Policy.

Current Grant:

EMpower's sixth grant to Songtaba will help continue both its e-commerce and business development programme for 100 young people (60 women and 40 men) and its programme creating safe spaces for girls and providing informal education opportunities for 150 girls (10-19).

Primary Location: Bimbila

Website: http://songtaba.org/index.php

Funded Since: 2015

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