NGO engages Fulbe community to promote social cohesion 

The Innovations for Sustainable Rural Development (ISRuDev) has engaged the Fulbe people in selected communities in the Wa West District to promote social cohesion between the Fulbe and the indigenes. 

The engagement, held at Chogsia, brought together about 60 Fulbe people and traditional leaders from ISRuDev’s 13 operational communities, including Chogsia, Anyorikura, Dakori, Motori, Gbaaliwob, and Meteu. 

The initiative formed part of the organisation’s focus on promoting gender and social inclusion within communities.  

It also sought to foster peaceful coexistence among residents as a means of driving community development. 

Speaking at the engagement, Mr Maxwell Kpetaa, the Business Development Officer of ISRuDev, noted that the Fulbe community had not been actively participating in the organisation’s programmes and activities, which had become a matter of concern. 

“We have realised that all the activities that we have been doing the Fulbe people in these communities don’t participate in.  

When we even call for meetings, they don’t come, when we try to engage them in other activities they don’t come,” he explained. 

Mr Kpetaa said the meeting was therefore aimed at identifying and addressing barriers to their participation and encouraging full involvement in community initiatives.  

He urged the Fulbe people to coexist and work in synergy with other community members for the collective development of their communities. 

Naa Sumaila Abass, the Chief of Anyorikura, speaking on behalf of the traditional leaders, commended ISRuDev for the initiatives.  

He assured that the chiefs would support the organisation to ensure successful implementation of its interventions. 

“Every chief wants development in his community, and so whatever initiative that will bring development to our communities, we will support it,” Naa Abass stated. 

He, however, called on the organisation to ensure inclusiveness in its activities so that all ethnic groups and tribes in the communities were involved and benefitted from its interventions. 

Mr Amadu Moro, representing the Fulbe community, expressed concern that they had been excluded from community gatherings and development discussions.  

He also lamented the use of stereotypical and derogatory names such as “Fulbie,” “Fuldao,” and “Fulpogo,” stressing that every human being, including a Fulbe, deserved to be addressed by their proper name. 

Mr Moro expressed hope that ISRuDev’s initiative would help address these concerns, promote inclusiveness, and build mutual respect among all community members. 

ISRuDev, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) based in the Wa West District, currently operates in 13 communities where it promotes economic empowerment, education, and gender and social inclusion. 

Source: GNA