70-Year-Old Widow rendered homeless by rainstorm appeals for help to reconstruct her two-bedroom house destroyed
A 70-year-old widow, Fati Mohammed has been rendered homeless by a rainstorm in Dalun. The storm which occurred on Wednesday November 8, 2023 caused severe damages to her two-bedroom mud house.
The disabled widow lost her husband 15 years ago and now has to struggle to cater for her three children with homelessness. Sustainable Development Goal SDG 11 states that by 2030, countries including Ghana who signed onto SDGs must ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums.
Eradicating extreme poverty for all people everywhere by 2030 is a pivotal goal of goal 1 agenda. For Mma Fati, achieving these SDGs seems impossible. Having a roof over her head and a three-square meal a day is a daily struggle.
Owing to the damage caused to her home, she now lives with her uncle. She says her stay with her uncle has compounded her uncle’s own struggles as the household struggle to survive.
The widow tells Zaa News she was born with deformed hand and leg but in spite her disability goes to people’s farms to harvest left overs for food.
But is there social protection for people like Mma Fati? Well Ghana’s Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty Program (LEAP) provides cash transfers to very poor people, particularly in households with orphans or vulnerable children, elderly and people with disabilities.
Beneficiaries of LEAP according to its guidelines should be persons with severe disability without any productive capacity and elderly persons who are 65 and above.
But the 70-year-old Mma Fati is not a beneficiary of the program though she has written her name countless number of times. She is there appealing for support to have a decent home before she returns to her maker.
Assembly man for Dalun electoral area, Mr Abukari Mohammed said, he has informed both district chief executive for Kumbungu and officials of district National Disaster Management Organization about Mma Fati’s plight but no response yet.
My DCE could not pick my call and didn’t also return my call. I called NADMO and inform them about the old lady’s situation but they never step foot to see the destruction caused by the rainstorm. My appeal is that anyone who can help should please come and support.
On the real beneficiaries of Ghana’s Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty Program (LEAP), Mr. Abukari Mohammed called on the ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protect to launch investigations into the current of beneficiaries of the program.
According to him, being an assembly member for eight years now, there has never been a review of beneficiary and new beneficiary registered. This, he noted has allow who are no more vulnerable, elderly or disable still receiving the cash transfer.
Can you image beneficiaries of LEAP owing a tractors and motor bikes and line-up to collect the money and yet people like Mma Fati is not? The government must come in and conduct serious investigation.
