A little more than a month to go. I think it’s time to start reflecting on my journey so far and assess what I have achieved. I focused my micro finance activity on waste management. The project team selected the Zugu community for the initiative. I began by meeting with elders of Zugu to introduce myself and gather their feedback on the type intervention I was planning. In the second meeting, we conducted an assessment using three main focus groups to identify their waste management practices, the types of waste they dispose of, and their level of awareness of the impact of poor waste disposal on human and animal health, as well as the environment.
In our third visit, we carried out the main activity, which included a sensitisation campaign with images illustrating the impact of garbage, followed by a cleanup and the placement of dustbins and gallons. Dustbins are primarily intended for plastic, which will be collected by a plastic recycling company.
We plan to return on a monthly basis to evaluate the community’s commitment to maintaining a clean environment and monitor the adherence to the agreement with the company.
The implementation of the activity revealed several gaps. For example, the final event turned out to be somewhat chaotic due to the lack of clearly defined roles for staff and the insufficient time management. Nevertheless, I’m currently working on a document that outlines my initiative, proposes additional waste management ideas, and seeks funding. This will provide the next volunteer or the local team with the opportunity to scale up and improve on my pilot project.
I chose this topic because, as this was my first time in a Global South country, the sight of open-air landfills was the first thing that shocked me on my way from the airport to the office. And I believe waste management is an issue within the broader WASH sector that still requires significant collective effort to address. While many organisations are working on this issue around Africa, it is still not widely recognized as a pressing problem by the local population. Innovative initiatives can certainly be implemented to tackle this.
Apart from my small project, I have also attended several capacity-building training sessions on climate change advocacy with a coalition of farmers and district officers. Although I haven't actively participated in all the workshops, it’s been interesting to observe how my colleagues engage and facilitate discussions. I’ve learned a variety of new communication tools.
Thanks to my mentor and the executive director, I now have a clearer picture of the various projects GDCA is running.
The past few weeks have been quieter, and I have been most of the time stuck at the office. Honestly, I miss being out in the field, but I’ve kept myself busy searching for funding opportunities for both my project and for GDCA in general, applying for two of them.
As I mentioned, there’s just over a month left, and there are still many places I want to visit in Ghana. I probably won’t be able to check everything off my bucket list, but that might be another good reason to come back to the country soon!
Comments
Post a Comment