The visit took the two to Kiphart-beneficiary communities in the Ashanti and Central Regions including the Abasua, Bonkwaso No. 2, Krapa, Korase, Manhyia, Mansokwa, Okyerekwa, among others in the Ashanti and Central Regions where they inspected schools, computer laboratories and boreholes which have been funded through the philanthropy of the Kiphart Family Foundation and also interacted with community opinion leaders and the people, some of whom have received entrepreneurship skills training and small grants to start micro-rural enterprises. They were warmly received by the Chiefs and Committee members (WATSAN) in each community visited, who expressed their heartfelt gratitude and commended FASUL and its international partners for the unwavering support provided over the years.
They also took the opportunity to pay courtesy calls on the Municipal and District Chief Executives of the Ejisu Municipal Assembly and the Ahafo Ano South West District where they seized opportunity to discuss pertinent issues on sustainability of interventions undertaken and strategies to ensuring economic resilience in the Kipharts beneficiary communities. As such, it became relevant to explore viable opportunities for partnership with local assemblies and the role local assemblies could play to scale-up development interventions FASUL has being undertaking as well as other potential areas of interventions in the communities.
Prior to the visit to the communities, a joint stakeholder engagement meeting was held at the Engineering Guest House of the KNUST, Kumasi on Saturday September 9th 2023. The meeting, which focused on discussions on issues of sustainability of interventions within the Kiphart-beneficiary communities and beyond, was attended by Kiphart-beneficiary community people as well as Directors and Advisors of FASUL including Professor Michael Affam of the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT), Tarkwa, Professor Gladys Quartey of the Takoradi Technical University (TTU), Dr. Annie Opoku, former Director of Kumasi Children’s Hospital as well as Dr. Alexander Eduful, the Director of FASUL. Other attendees of the meeting included Dr. Bernice Wadie of the Bureau of Integrated Rural Development (BIRD), KNUST, Dr. Aisha Baffoe-Ashun and Dr. Kwabena Abroquah Gyimah, both of the Department of Architecture, KNUST.
Similarly, the team also visited KNUST’s BIRD and Architecture Department where they held discussions with the Director BIRD and the Head of Department of Architecture, Professor Rexford Assasie-Oppong on possible opportunities to deepen and sustain the ongoing work and interventions initiated by FASUL. A key objective of the discussion was also to explore how the positive impact of the interventions can be extended beyond the Kiphart-beneficiary communities FASUL has been operating in. This encompasses the development of proposals to secure additional funding for projects as well as conducting training for students and conducting innovative research to address various challenges in the realms of health, education, social development, and to enhance economic resilience of people in underserved communities in Ghana.
These collaborations will play a pivotal role in supporting and enhancing the sustainability of existing FASUL interventions and initiatives, including the expansion of our operational footprint to reach more underserved communities in Ghana. It is the shared aspiration of FASUL and its esteemed international partners to continue making a meaningful impact in the lives of underserved communities. With the collaborative support of both international partners and local institutions, we are confident in our ability to achieve our overarching objective of empowering families to develop their children.
