Long-term investment can change hostile attitudes to girls in Ghana
But even with so much patronage already under her belt, Maria admits it was her latest trip to Africa, her first with the girls rights organisation Plan International, which served to truly hammer home the stark realities of life in a low-income country.
The Mayo woman returned from Ghana last week.
“We went out and it was very much looking at all the initiatives Plan International runs in Ghana. It was my first trip with Plan International. It was a real eye opener,” she said.
“We had a huge welcome from everybody and it was great to see all the traditions they have. It was very culturally beautiful. In every village we went to we were given a musical reception and show and different food they grew in that area, so it was very cool that way.”
While the welcome was warm, it wasn’t long before Maria realised just how many problems the children of Ghana, especially girls, face on a daily basis.
Child marriage is a huge area of concern, and is one Plan International Ireland seeks to tackle, along with the ever-prevalent issue of rape.
“There’s a mentality there that believes young girls should get married and get pregnant quite fast, that they shouldn’t sit in Mass if they’re menstruating, or shouldn’t be involved in sports because they should be cooking at home. And rape is so prominent out there also, which really saddens me,” said Maria.
“But Plan International is out there and they’re really, really trying to change attitudes. It’s a long-term investment. Cultural and religious rules are still very, very prominent in Ghana, but there are slow changes that are happening and it’s great, it’s great to see.”
Maria said it was emotional for her to see young women so oppressed, but praised the efforts of Plan International, particularly its help in funding a pilot project seeking to set up a helpline for those who have been sexually abused.
“We went to a child protection unit where we saw, under one roof, all the organisations that deal with child protection,” said Maria. “Considering our own political system here in Ireland, where some agencies don’t talk to other agencies, it was great to see.
“These organisation have come together to create a helpline — a safe, confidential line where victims can tell people what happened and they could have counselling and the police can go out and try and bring the abuser to justice. They’re trying to roll it out over Ghana over the next couple of years.”
Apart from accidentally gate-crashing a funeral and having a close encounter with a cobra, Maria and her group also found time to visit a number of healthcare centres, schools, and village finance groups.
“We went to a health centre that was set up with the support of Plan International Ghana where they were working with children and making sure babies and their mothers were healthy, because the nearest hospital was quite a distance away,” said Maria.
“So this health centre was where they weighed in and made sure babies were being fed enough and that mothers were able to look after them properly.
“Then we went to see the first of the Village Savings and Loans Associations and we saw a group of women who would come together once a week and bring a small bit of money that would be their savings. Then if they wanted to set up their own business, they could use money from the fund.
“The interest rates are much lower than those in banks in Ghana so it was very sustainable.”
Maria will speak about her experience in Ghana at Plan International’s third annual Women’s Innovation Fund in Dublin tomorrow.
She joins Keelin Shanley, David McWilliams, and Margaret E Ward, who will focus on how Ireland can support female entrepreneurs in developing countries to break to cycle of poverty.
