environmental empowerment for young
women
friends of the earth ghana
Friends of the Earth Ghana believes that
educating young women about natural
resources is an important way to fight
poverty and to increase environmental
sustainability. In Ghana , as in many other
parts of the world, decision-making
processes about natural resources are
monopolized by men although it is women who
are most affected by environmental
degradation. Friends of the Earth Ghana's
project, carried out in partnership with
the US EPA's Education, Democracy and
Development Initiative, aims to empower
young women so that their voices will later
be heard on important environmental
issues.
Friends of the Earth introduced an
environmental curriculum at two girls'
schools in environmentally deprived areas
of Ghana – one in an urban community where
a local hospital discharges waste into a
stream, and another in a hilltop community
threatened by deforestation and landslides.
The girls learned about core environmental
and natural resource issues including
climate change, land degradation,
biodiversity, environmental health, waste
management, sustainable energy, water and
sanitation and sustainable agriculture.
They used films and art to learn about
local environmental devastation and
possible alternatives, and in the future
will use the internet to research local,
national and global environmental
issues.
To date, some 125 young women have
benefited from the project, and it is hoped
that their knowledge and empowerment will
be spread to other Ghanese communities.
