THUHDEG: The Human Help & Development Group
Older Citizens Rights Monitoring (OCRIM) Project.
The OCRIM Project is a local social protection and development initiative for older persons in northern Ghana, with the objective of mobilizing older people in their communities to promote their inclusion and participation in the governance of their own lives. It is hoped that this intiative will strengthen the voice of the elderly in their communities in order to better hold policy and duty bearers accountable for improved service delivery.
Among others, the OCRIM Project intends to address the following 6 issues:
1) Continuing neglect of the elderly (resulting in them being forced to beg on the streets).
2) The exclusion and non-participation of the elderly in decision making processes at a communal and national level.
3) The lack of proper health care provisions and nutritional support for the elderly.
4) The non-existence of recreational amenities/facilities for the elderly at a community level.
5) The wide information gap and poor relationship that exists between aged and youth/children groups
6) Inadequate information and public awareness on aged/aging issues.
Key activities:
1) Collecting and collating basic data/information on older people for documentation and research purposes
2) The formation and strengthening of community-based working structures
3) Create awareness of aged issues through regional programing and training agents of change to provide effective support at a local level.
4) Support older persons with basic needs (especially during conflicts/disaster)
5) Promote local platforms for sharing by facilitating to set-up community-based recreational/meeting centers,
6) To engage media and duty bearers/policy makers for improved service delivery
7) Monitoring the abuse of older person's rights
The THUHDEG team with one of the community-based volunteers (far left) at the start of the OCRIM project in Sagnarigu.
Here is a short video that was filmed at the opening of our OCRIM report for Sagnarigu
Currently, the OCRIM Project is being implemented on a pilot basis within the Tamale Metropolis and Sagnarigu district in the Northern region, with the eventual aim for expansion into other areas, based on availability of funding/resources.
