In June 1999, I was a volunteer for a United States non-governmental
organization, Crossroads Africa. I joined six other American women traveling to
Ghana, West Africa to participate in a collaborative program designed by the
Ghana Red Cross Society and Crossroads Africa. Specifically our group was
assigned to work on a Women in Development (WID) project with three rural
women's collectives, "Mothers Clubs," assisting them with income-generating
projects in the Volta Region of Ghana.
The projects varied among the villages. hi village one, Anfoeta Tsebi, the
women extracted oil from palm fruit and kernels. They sold palm oil at regional
markets and used the oil domestically to make stews and soap for washing. In
village two, Heffi, Mothers Club members baked bread and processed gari from
cassava yarns. In village three, Anyirawase, the women made batiks, tie-dye,
beadwork, and woven mats from corn husks.
My research objective was to evaluate the role that gender, the WID
design, and power played in each project. I also sought to use my observations
and the voices of African women to assess the successes and failures of the
collaborative program of the Ghana Red Cross and Crossroads Africa. I used
participant observation to gather this information. The sample was inclusive of
project participants.
I found that the womens' collectives provided positive networks of
support for members. The women taught our Crossroads volunteers about how
they were creating change. The collectives also showed how successful
development depends on improving the quality of life for individuals. The women
gained skills in leadership and health education, while they improved their
economic situation. Women were becoming collectively empowered through their
role as active agents for change in their communities. Their hard work,
dedication, and widespread recognition of their accomplishments contributed to
group empowerment.
My findings suggest that the primary obstacles to project success were
lack of resources and time and physical exhaustion from an increased workload
Poor preparation and training for Crossroads volunteers and their ideological
fragmentation prevented effective assistance and collaboration with the Mothers
Clubs.
One of my recommendations for future improvements is to integrate men
into the development process to play a constructive role and minimize their
opportunity for unwanted interference. Another recommendation is to encourage
Ghana Red Cross leaders to hold seminars for women from different villages to
allow for an exchange of knowledge about development projects. Finally,
recommend that Crossroads Africa and Ghana Red Cross leaders make a greater
effort to collaborate and improve preparation and training for participants. / Graduation date: 2001
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ORGSU/oai:ir.library.oregonstate.edu:1957/28424 |
| Date | 04 April 2001 |
| Creators | Vickers, Katherine Elise |
| Contributors | Young, John A. |
| Source Sets | Oregon State University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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