CRAN HISTORY
CRAN like any human enterprise started with a dream. 1986 whilst a student in University of Ghana Prof. Patrick Agbesinyale (Executive Director) had the dream of an organization dedicated to serve the society. This idea was born out of a strong conviction and motivation to give something back to the rural poor. Prof. Agbesinyale himself grew up within a rural setting and therefore appreciates very well the depth of deprivation, want and the very difficulties our rural folks face in their daily endeavour to survive. This unflinching desire to be actively engaged in rural development work led to Agbesinyale’s pursuit of a two-year Masters program in Development Planning and Management run under a partnership between the University of Dortmund in the Federal Republic of Germany and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi (KNUST), Ghana (known as the SPRING Program). Through this partnership a German-Ghanaian cooperation was developed – a source of support and inspiration for CRAN.
To impact directly on the despicable poverty, illiteracy, squalor and indeed the general deplorable conditions under which most of our rural communities survive, getting down to the communities was essential to bring the desired impact. As little as CRAN started the vision always was big: Communities without Poverty. CRAN dedicated its work to help improve quality of life, provide opportunities and give hope.
Since CRAN was founded in 1993
- The village targeted girl-child education promotion programs have removed barriers and provided new opportunities for several girl-children in these same communities to be in school.
- CRAN’s Child Education Support Scheme (CESS) continues to provide educational bursaries and financial support for several brilliant but needy children across many communities within our project areas.
- School related infrastructure including school buildings, libraries, teachers’ bungalows, rain-water harvesting systems in addition to soft facilities like school furniture, books, computer labs and teaching/learning aids to several communities with support from our partners were delivered. Community improvement program has helped many rural communities with projects related to safe drinking water provision, improved sanitation (toilet facilities), solar lighting etc.
- CRAN’s development education and information programs and activities aimed at mobilization rural communities for self-help (demand driven approaches) continue to take a centre stage in our partnership with the various communities for any development action.
- Village enterprises promotion program has benefited several rural households and farming communities with income-generating enterprises in the area of edible oils processing, food processing, soap making, bee farming, snails farming and general agricultural value chain development.
Over the last two decades, projects and activities may have benefited either directly or indirectly over 1 million people in Ghana resident in over 450 rural and peri-urban communities in about 17 districts across three regions of Ghana including Central, Western and Volta Regions. CRAN through its efforts has put several hundreds of rural children from very deprived rural communities in schools it has helped set up in some of these communities. Some of these children are today medical doctors, accountants, journalists, teachers, nurses and the like.