Picton Rotary announces international project

The Atorkor Centre

creating sustainable development for Ghanaian women and youth.

download the PDF

or see other ways in which to donate.

The Atorkor Development Foundation, (ADF) is undertaking the establishment of a vocational training and employment centre in contemporary and traditional Ghanaian arts for the youth and women of Atorkor and area.

• Atorkor is in the Volta Region on the poverty-stricken eastern coast of Ghana.

• Over fishing by off-shore trawlers has crippled the local fishing industry resulting in massive unemployment in the area.

ADF HISTORY

• The mission of ADF, the community based charitable organization (UK registered charity 1120603 and Ghana registered charity G8950), is to eradicate poverty in Atorkor and surrounding area.
• ADF has, to date, constructed an IT centre and library for the village school in 2005, a medical centre for the community in 2007, and a classroom block in 2009.

THE ATORKOR CENTRE

• The Centre will focus on training artisans in the traditional Ghanaian arts of batik, drum making, kente weaving, bead-making, basket-making, ironwork and carving.  The contemporary products will be marketed locally, on line, and in North America and Europe.
• ADF will partner with Village Volunteers to bring overseas students to study at the Centre.  International instructors will be invited to enrich the contemporary Ghanaian designs

• Ghana Tourist Board will promote the centre as a destination to view the making of the artwork, purchase artwork and participate in Ghanaian culture with dance and drumming demonstrations, storytelling, and to visit the Memorial Slave Monument.

• When fully operational the Centre will provide employment for up to 90 youth and women.  Youths between 14 – 19 will be trained in ironwork, carving and drum- making, giving them a viable skill to earn a living whether in Atorkor or elsewhere. Women will be trained in batik, weaving, bead-making and basketry.
• This Centre will give the women an opportunity to earn sustainable incomes to educate their children, get medications for them and better housing (some live in palm frond and mud huts).

THE BUILDING

• The Centre will be set in a quadrangle and will be built in three phases.
• Phase One: will include a large workshop, a retail space, covered walkways for art displays, administration office and kitchen. Cdn $74,000
• Phase Two: will include 2 more large workshops. Projected at Cdn $59,000 (phase one and two plans attached)
• Phase Three: will incorporate an existing historical slave memorial, house a museum, resource library, a conference/exhibition centre to feature cultural events like storytelling, drumming and dancing. Projected at Cdn $87,000
• Total cost of the project including all three phases is Cdn $220,000
• Estimated building time is 6 months for each phase to be completed.
• Solar panels will provide power.
• Water cisterns will collect roof water for landscaped gardens.
• The successful and experienced ADF building team, (from  the Medical Centre, and classroom block) will be employed
• Community involvement: local labour will be used wherever possible.
• Volunteer manpower from Rotary and Village Volunteers will be used.

OTHER PROJECTS

• A water tower will be constructed, to provide drinking and working water (used for batik making etc) for the centre.
• Ceramic water filters will be used for drinking water.

SUPPORTERS

Primary:  Rotary clubs in Ontario for financial support

• Negotiations are ongoing with Vitol Charitable Foundation in Britain for financial support.
• ADF is in negotiations with the US, French, Australian, Danish and Italian embassies in Ghana for financial assistance.
• Strong support has been given by the Keta Municipal Assembly, which has donated the land and agreed to assist with funding the Centre.
• UNESCO has agreed to train the Centre’s instructors.
• Ghana Tourist Board has agreed to feature the Centre as a tourist centre.
• The Ghana Culture Fund is interested in supporting the operating of the Centre.

THIS PROJECT WILL HAVE A SUBSTANTIAL ECONOMIC IMPACT ON THE COMMUNITY, BRINGING SUSTAINABLE INCOME TO AN AREA THAT HAS NO OTHER SOURCE OF VIABLE INCOME AT PRESENT.

For further information please contact:

Peta Hall, Project Coordinator, Box 24 Bloomfield, ON. K0K 1G0, Canada
Tel: 1.613.393.1696(Canada),  024.885.2149 (Ghana) Email:   peta.hall@adfatorkor.org

petapots@kos.net

Dr. Samuel Adjorlolo, Head of the Atorkor Development Foundation, 20 Hall Lane, London NW4 4TN,  Tel: +44 208.2036820, Email: info@adfatokor, website:www.adfatorkor.org.

Lois Okudzeto, Co-Project Coordinator, P.O.Box 9398, Accra, Ghana
Tel: 233 24.4975244  Email:Loisokudzeto@yahoo.co.uk

Advertisement