AFRICA/GHANA - Catholic women from the diocese of Navrongo-Bolgatanga bring gifts to the refugees of Tarikom on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr

Thursday, 18 April 2024 refugees women local churches

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Accra (Agenzia Fides) - The National Council of Catholic Women, in collaboration with the Diocesan Council of Catholic Women of Navrongo-Bolgatanga, has collected food and other donations for the asylum seekers at the reception center in Tarikom, in the western district of Bawku, in the Upper East Region. The fundraising campaign on the occasion of Eid-al-Fitr at the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan is part of the initiatives and commitment of Catholic women to help displaced people, especially women and children, to lead a dignified life. Sacks of rice, corn, millet, peanuts, cooking oil, vegetables and other locally produced foods as well as hygiene products, shoes and clothing were donated. The refugee shelter in Tarikom is currently housing a total of 1,129 asylum seekers who have fled neighboring Burkina Faso because the actions of violent extremists have forced many of them to seek refuge in Ghana. Most of them are women and children. The Catholic Women's Council is composed of representatives of the various women's groups in the Catholic Church who are committed to supporting and educating Catholic women in the areas of spirituality, leadership and service, as well as supporting socially disadvantaged people. "Most of the asylum seekers are Muslims and it was nice for the Diocesan Council of Catholic Women to celebrate Eid-al-Fitr with them," said chairwoman Cecile Asobayire. "We know that they are really traumatized because they have forcibly left their homeland and some of them are separated from close relatives and do not even know when and where they will find them again. That is why we at the Catholic Women's Council hope to bring them some joy and to bring inner peace so they know they are not alone." Cecile Asobayire emphasized the role of women as mothers and wives in promoting a culture of peace: "We must speak to our companions, speak to our children so that they do not allow people to use them for violent purposes." In February of this year, the Apostolic Nuncio to Ghana, Archbishop Henryk Mieczyslaw Jagodzinski, visited the reception center for asylum seekers in Tarikom (see Fides, 22/2/2024), as a sign of the Church's attention to this often forgotten drama. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides, 18/4/2024)