Zonta Club of Accra II presents When Women Speak documentary
The Zonta Club of Accra II, Ghana, commemorated International Women's Day and Rose Day with a movie night and aided climate change displaced persons.
International Women's Day and Rose Day celebration
The club featured a documentary called "When Women Speak," which showcased 16 women who chart Ghana's journey to empower women. Four of the 16 women are Zontians in Ghana. The producer and director of the film, Aseye Tamakloe, made this documentary in response to comments about the reason for women's low participation in parliament and whether women activists had contributed enough to women's empowerment to deserve their place at "the table of governance."
The film talks about the first female judge from Ghana and the commonwealth, the first female editor of a national media house and the first female professor and pro-vice chancellor of the University of Ghana, amongst others. They talked about how they broke down barriers in the country to allow women to take their place in society as they gained independence and continued to develop as a nation, especially during difficult times when the country was under military rule. Several have served on international committees, such as the International Criminal Court, CEDAW and the UN Economic Commission for Africa. Another guest was a previous first lady of the republic. The pioneering women shared their experiences and answered questions from the audience.
The event was attended by various Zonta clubs and about 60 women from diverse backgrounds, including five queen mothers. The clubs took the opportunity to share about Zonta International and its mission, and they successfully recruited new members. As a token of appreciation, they presented yellow roses to the guests, symbolizing their significant contributions to women's empowerment in Ghana.
Aiding climate change displaced persons
The club partnered with other Zonta clubs in Ghana and embarked on a road trip to the district conference. Their journey took them through Ghana's eastern and Volta regions, where they saw many villages and communities underwater. One of the largest dams in sub-Saharan Africa is in this area.
A few days prior, the residents had been warned that the dam water level had reached dangerous levels and that a controlled spillage was needed to save the dam. Waiting for the dam to break would have killed up to a million people and destroyed several towns and cities, including the harbor at Tema. The increased water levels were due to changing rainfall and weather patterns caused by climate change.
More than 35,000 people were displaced, but luckily, no lives were lost due to the spillage's warning and controlled nature. Schools were converted into refugee camps to accommodate those displaced. One of the major media houses started a campaign to provide relief items. The Zonta clubs of Ghana quickly got involved with relief items and were allowed to speak about Zonta on the morning breakfast show.
Zontians also took the opportunity to visit one of the refugee camps in the Ada region. More than 650 people were staying in a primary school with inadequate facilities. Strikingly, 95% of those in the camps were women and children. They were able to provide items of value to them because of our prior service projects. These included feminine hygiene products, diapers for infants, educational material for children and items for easy meals. They also spent a few hours interacting with the women on what the future holds for them as their homes had been destroyed forever, and they were to be relocated elsewhere for their safety. The Zontians left contact numbers of professional women they can contact. Almost six months later, the communities are still counting the cost.
The club believes climate change is real and strongly affects the well-being of women and children. Zonta's advocacy on this topic is timely and vital in their quest to build a better world for women and girls.