The Rebecca Foundation has launched what it termed Relief Boxes Challenge as part of its efforts to mitigate economic suffering occasioned by the global pandemic, coronavirus, and the subsequent lockdown in parts of Ghana.
The Foundation, through this initiative, will work towards supporting the most vulnerable women who will have difficulties in providing food as well as basic hygiene products for themselves and their families in light of the current situation.
The Rebecca Foundation Relief Boxes Challenge will focus on giving out food and personal hygiene and sanitary items to members of identifiable groups including Kayayei, the aged, the destitute and single mothers who live in the poorest communities and adversely impacted by the covid-19 situation
It will be done in partnership with the private sector, civil society organisation and various state agencies.
Executive Director of The Rebecca Foundation, who is Ghana’s first lady, Mrs. Rebecca Akufo-Addo said the covid-19 global pandemic has brought about significant changes in the way social and economic interaction is carried out which has adversely affected many, particularly women and children.
She said with the current situation where schools are closed and economic activities limited, socio-economic burdens, especially for the very vulnerable, mostly women, have significantly increased.
“Women tend to be the primary care givers in households. They need to provide extra food and allot extra supervision time for the extra hours children are at home, as well as in some cases care for other vulnerable members of their families.
“Additionally, more women than men who live in the lock-down zone of Accra and Kumasi are engaged in the informal sector, earning their wages on a day to day basis in many cases. Hence the current shutdown and complete closure of economic activities for the next 14 days, will spell out great difficulties for women who are employed in the informal sector” she said.
She said the ultimate objective of the initiative is to provide some respite from the social and economic hardship from covid-19, to ensure that children, women of childbearing age and the aged, regardless of the current situation, have at the very minimum, one healthy meal a day for the next 14 days.
It is also to ensure that families have access to hygiene products that enable them to stay in line with the WHO recommended standards for reducing infection from covid – 19.
Mrs. Akufo-Addo announced the first partnership for The Rebecca Foundation Relief Boxes Challenge is with Orca Décor Ltd who provided 5,000 boxes of food and essential hygiene products to needy families in Accra.
Items contained in each box included Chocolate drink, milk, sugar, biscuits, Gari, KokoPlus, Rice, oil, canned tomatoes, canned meat/fish, hand sanitizers and sanitary pads.
Mrs. Akufo-Addo said the 5,000 boxes of relief items donated by Orca Décor Ltd. presents the platform for other corporate organisations and individuals to follow suit by supporting The Rebecca Foundation with equal or more boxes of relief items to be supplied to needy and vulnerable families.
She also congratulated corporate institutions and other bodies who have already made donations towards alleviating the hardships that have arisen because of the health menace stating that, the current Covid-19 situation should guide us to be each other’s keeper in ensuring that we halt or slow down the process of spreading the infection.
By 3news.com|Ghana