THUHDEG: The Human Help & Development Group
Anti-Witchcraft Allegation Campaign (AWAC)
Marginalised and vulnerable victims of Witchcraft allegations living in the Gnani Witches Camp (2013)
AWAC is a gender and human rights advocacy initiative aimed at promoting various interventions to end the violation of the fundamental human rights of those accused of witchcraft in order to mitigate the sufferings and burdens experienced by the victims of such allegations while living at the “witches” homes/camps in Northern Ghana.
The campaign’s activities include the organization of public education intiatives to increase both sensitivity and awareness with regard to the rights of women and witchcraft allegation issues.
We have also facilitated and encouraged victims to seek legal redress through either the courts, police or even the Commission for Human Rights & Administrative Justice.
Another important aspect of this project is the provision of relief aid, such as donated clothing and food to those that have been maligned in the witch camps. We deliver these goods personally whenever possible in order to visit the homes/camps and interact and share with victims, providing them with emotional and psychological support as well as offering sustenance for their physical needs.
As part of our effort to establish intiatives that work towards reducing the burden and suffering of these marginalised and vulnerable women, we also provide training for the women in order to develop their entreprenurial skills so that they should eventually become self-reliant and economically sound. We hope to be able to provide micro-finance support for the development of these womens' rural, small-scale businesses through partnership and collaboration with other NGO's and philanthropists.
US Ambassador, H.E. Gene Cretz visits Gnani 'Witches' Camp - May 2013
The US Ambassador to Ghana, H.E. Gene A. Cretz paid a day's working visit to the Gnani 'witches' camp to interact and share with women living in the camp. The Gnani camp is located near Yendi, in the Northern region of Ghana. The ambassador donated 400 pieces of mosquito net, rice and maize in addition to four soccer balls to children living in the camp.
The visit of an offical foreign minister is the first initiative of its kind in the history of the existence of the 'witches' camps in Northern Ghana.
In the picture, from right to left are:
The Yendi Municipal Coordinating Director,
H.E. Ambassador Gene A. Cretz,
The Yendi Municipal Chief Executive,
Honourable Issah Zakari, Chief of Gnani Village
and the Shrine Manager.
Please enjoy this short documentary featuring our work at the Gambaga 'WItches' camp, in collaboration with the GO Home project in the East Mamprusi District of the Northern Region, Ghana.
