Currently, CRAN Volta is running 4 projects namely: 1. The Child Education Support Scheme (CESS), 2. Ginger Project; 3. Coconut Project and 4. Fish Project.
1. CESS
Currently, CRAN has a total of 16 students/beneficiaries in the CESS programme, 2 are of which are in the basic school, 3 in Junior High School (JHS) and the rest (11) in Senior High School (SHS). Three (3) of the students in the JHS have successfully written their final Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and completed the JHS as of 22 November 2021 and their results are due in a few weeks’ time. Also, 4 of the SHS beneficiaries of CESS programme have also successfully completed and have written their West African Certificate Examination (WACE).
Furthermore, one CESS beneficiary dropped out of school for over a term because of a purported pregnancy. The Coordinator traced her to ascertain the veracity. It turned out that she was not pregnant but had a confrontation with one of the teachers and because she was afraid of been beaten and victimised, she decided not to go to the former school again. The Coordinator advised her and asked her if she was interested in going to another school, she said yes, and currently, CRAN has put her back to school in another school. She is Catherine Dotsu, who is in form two now at Ideal Senior High School, a private school in Hohoe.
Catherine Dotsu checking her new school uniform at CRAN office
Also, one of CRAN’s CESS sponsors in Germany wanted to know the where about of Savior Ahorlu, one of the CESS beneficiaries who could not be traced because his information was missing. He was sought for feverishly by going to his Basic school and he has since been linked with his sponsors who intend to support him in the tertiary level. CRAN is grateful to the sponsors on behalf of Savior.
Saviour Ahorlu in CRAN office to meet with the Coordinator
CRAN also during the period bought and presented some SHS text books for Rebecca Adzah, an SHS 1 student whose parents couldn’t afford the text books. CRAN stepped in with the timely support with the requisite learning material to the joy and surprise of the student who is very grateful because according to her, it will enable her to cover her syllabus and help her to excel in her final year exam.
Rebecca Adzah collecting her text books
2. Ginger Project
CRAN has over 20 acres of land at Teikrom in the Afadjato South District of the Volta Region that was formerly intended for various agricultural activities including oil palm production; animal husbandry as well as to train farmers on modern agricultural technologies for improved incomes. With the dwindling of donor support and other challenges, the land has not been fully utilized with potential threat of people encroaching on it. Hence with the assumption of office of the new Coordinator, he mooted the idea of cultivating tree and cash crops like coconut, teak, ginger among others get the land fully used and to bring in more income. This however requires high capital hence the team planned to develop the land gradually. Consequently since April this year, two (2) twelve squares (0.22 acres) of land has been cultivated with ginger with the main objective to produce planting materials for use to plant larger acreage (at least 2 acres) of ginger for next season and also to generate income. The ginger which has 6-9 months gestation period is due for harvesting in Dec 2021 or Feb. 2022. When funds are secured, the coconut and other planned cash crops would also be planted.
Ginger crop at Teikrom
3. Coconut Project
CRAN Volta has planted fifty (50) coconut seedlings since May 2021 on its landed asset/property located at Golokwati where it formerly used for mushroom production and at Kolenu where it used to have its rice mill. The objective for the coconut project on these parcels of land is to secure the lands and prevent encroachers from tampering with the land and also to generate income for the organization. The plants are doing well now.
Coconut plants at Golokwati
4. Fish Project
In May 2018, CRAN embarked on an irrigation dam project at the Kamsio Valley at Gbi-Wegbe in the Hohoe municipality with the idea of providing all year round water supply for peasant rice farmers who were having the challenge of poor rain fed rice production. CRAN intended to support them with the supply of water for a fee so they could produce rice any time in the year. Unfortunately, due to technical and financial constraints, the project could not achieve its intended objective when it expired in September 2019.
CRAN decided however to utilize the dam/pond for fish rearing to recoup the investment; particularly, catfish/mudfish and Tilapia fingerlings were bought and stocked in the dam for income generation since these fishes had high demand in the local market. CRAN planned to do the first harvest of the fish in May this year, but the water level was too high in one of the dams and in the other, we could not catch anything. The fish expert advised that the harvesting be postponed to the dry season (Dec-Feb) and recommended fencing the dam to prevent snakes, alligators and other predators from preying on the fish as well as preventing the fish from swimming out of the pond. Consequently, funds of about GHS 3,660.00 has been invested this year based on the expert advice.
The fish pond full of water