Afrikids

Charity Overview

AfriKids is an internationally award-winning child rights and community development NGO working in northern Ghana to alleviate acute child suffering and poverty. Its mission is to ensure that every child under the age of 21 is afforded his/her rights as outlined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. To do this Afrikids has helped to build the capacity and resources of local people, organisations and initiatives in such a way that they will be able to continue their efforts in an independent and sustainable way.

AfriKids takes a holistic and integrated approach to development. It believes that in order to make a real and lasting change to the child rights environment of northern Ghana, it needs to work with all levels of society across a range of sectors and issues. Its work ranges from large-scale, large-impact work in education, rights and advocacy to frontline services addressing complex issues like child streetism and child labour.

The organisation has a simple philosophy which runs through everything that it does:

  • Listen to what a community knows they need
  • Empower them to make the necessary changes themselves
  • Ensure those changes are absolutely sustainable

 

Project Summary

In 2009, AfriKids were selected to be a beneficiary of ICAP London. Funds raised from the day were invested in the construction of a brand new training and conference centre located in the heart of Bolgatanga, the capital of Ghana’s Upper East Region where AfriKids Ghana’s Head Office is located. 

The ICAP Training Centre is the ideal place for workshops, seminars and conferences in Bolgatanga. Its beautiful building, serene environment, clean washrooms, restaurant/bar and hard-working staff are the reasons many choose us as the place for their training programs. It is already an invaluable asset to AfriKids’ own work with vulnerable children and families and will continue to be for many years to come. We would like to thank ICAP for funding this project and commit ourselves to continue utilising the ICAP Training Centre to support the pioneering work of AfriKids.
Raymond Ayinne, Head of External Affairs, AfriKids Ghana

The centre boasts a central space which can seat up to 60 people with adjoining reception and restaurant/bar, designed to allow for both indoor and outdoor activities, as well as three offices for support services and one-on-one training. 

I have been very impressed with the training centre because of its beauty. It has been well contracted and painted. It is spacious for our movement and freedom. The environment is also clean and neat.
Isaac, Afrikids Ghana

Construction was completed in March 2015 and the ICAP Training Centre swiftly became a vibrant hub for both AfriKids and local community activity within the region. It is an invaluable resource to the AfriKids Ghana programme teams, who regularly use the facilities to host stakeholder consultation events, training workshops for both staff and young people supported by AfriKids and launch events for new programme initiatives. Beyond its use as a vital resource for the delivery of the organisation’s charitable work, AfriKids’ market research demonstrated that there is enough local demand to run the centre as a profit making enterprise for the native market, by hiring out its facilities for events and thus acting as an additional income stream. This in turn compliments its national fundraising strategy, which aims to reduce reliance on international aid generated through AfriKids Ghana’s UK partner, AfriKids UK. Similar local facilities in the area are poorly designed, under kempt and oversubscribed; the centre therefore meets local demand whilst distinguishing itself as a first-of-its kind facility in the region.

Personally I love the ICAP Centre. The environment… everything is good and available such as a very nice structure with all facilities available like: lights, toilet, water, classroom for teaching and learning etc. For that matter, it is good for the workshop!
Honourable Salifu, Bolgatanga

In addition to its numerous practical uses, with its predicted growth the ICAP Training Centre will aim to improve employment opportunities in an area that has a very limited range of available jobs, where there is currently a reliance on small-scale market trading and agriculture. As the frequency of AfriKids’ and private community workshops and events grows, AfriKids will look to increase staffing at the centre, recruiting and training primarily young people from the surrounding communities, including beneficiaries of AfriKids’ programmes who are most in need of work.

Furthermore, whilst tourism (both international and domestic) remains a valuable source of future growth and development for Ghana there is widespread acceptance that the understanding of good tour management, international standard guest service and accommodation management in the country is limited and that this will hold back progress.  The ICAP Training Centre will also focus on providing tourism related training opportunities in northern Ghana, tapping into both the national demand and the specific needs of local businesses which will service visitors to the region.  

The ICAP Training Centre is a huge asset to a small organisation making big changes in northern Ghana. Through the Centre, funds raised by ICAP are supporting the delivery of life-changing programmes, generating funds for the charity’s work and making a statement to local communities and outside investors that northern Ghana’s future is one to watch.

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