Agomanya B.E.A.D. Project
(Building Enterprise to Alleviate Disease)
Poverty characterizes the lifestyles of many people in Agomanya – a town that is also heavily impacted by HIV. Our interest in that town began with the knowledge that citizens of this town have twice the average HIV prevalence rate in Ghana. However, given REACH’s commitment to sustainability and community involvement, when the HIV Intervention Working Group decided to focus its attention on the youth, REACH decided to address some of the more fundamental problems underlying the failure to control the prevailing high rates of HIV/AIDS morbidity and mortality within this town. After learning that the town is well known for its manufacture of traditional beads, ornaments and jewelry such as bracelets and necklaces, the HIV group decided to get involved with a fundraising and sustainability project to support the local industry as a way of helping Agomanya citizens to take charge of their own health-care.
The Agomanya BEAD Project will help address the socio-economic issues around HIV as part of REACH’s contribution to a more holistic drive towards reducing the infection rate. Specifically, funds will be generated through provision of support for the local bead-makers, boosting production, and ultimately marketing these made in Ghana beads and crafts to a wider range of customers locally as well as on the international market. 100% of profits obtained from this venture will go toward community health-care projects for underserved communities with emphasis on maternal and child health.
PROJECT DIRECTORS:
Stephanie Otema Adu
Being a part of the original health-care discussion group at BarCamp Diaspora 2009 that led to the formation of REACH, Otema is excited at the prospect of directing the BEAD project, which has the potential to contribute significantly to improving the health status of the people of Agomanya.
Otema holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry with a minor in Mathematics from Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts. She is currently pursuing a Masters in Chemical Engineering at the Aalborg University in Denmark. She plans on moving back to Ghana after graduation, where she hopes to secure a job and begin a career in the oil industry. She is thrilled at Ghana’s recent discovery of oil offshore, which presents very promising boon for the country’s economy. Otema believes that much like Agomanya Beads, economic ‘goldmines’ such as Ghana’s oil reservoir should ultimately be targeted at bettering the lives of all Ghanaians with respect to basic needs such as health-care.
Email: otema.adu@reachghana.org
Sabina Manu
Sabina Manu is a Business Development Executive at eTranzact, an electronic payments solutions platform based in Ghana. Her interest in REACH is born from her firm belief that entrepreneurship driven by solid business models is the way forward for the development of individuals and communities in Ghana. At the same time, growing up in a “medical environment”, she has been exposed to the harsh realities of an inadequate health care system that continues to cripple the developmental efforts of Ghanaians. The marriage of these key elements into the main objective of REACH and the value they would bring are what drove her to contribute her quota as she aspires to focus on providing affordable consultation and advice to entrepreneurs in Ghana in the future.
When she’s not dreaming about turning SME’s into large corporate entities, she writes poetry and short stories, and enjoys music and dance. She holds a BSc. in Psychology from the University of Ghana, Legon.
Email: sabina.manu@reachghana.org
