Caritas Ghana, the Relief and Development Agency of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference has supported 160 families made up of 630 people who were recently rendered homeless after their places of abode were demolished to pave way for the dredging of the Korle Lagoon.
Each displaced family received a token amount ranging between GH¢ 100.00 to GH¢ 200.00 at a ceremony held at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Derby Avenue in Accra.
The total disbursement with support from Star Ghana Foundation was GH¢ 20, 000.00
Old Fadama has been renamed City of God by the Catholic Archdiocese of Accra to replace what was popularly known as Sodom and Gomorrah.
Prior to the demolition on April 15, 2020, fire swept through the slum destroying hundreds of structures leaving over 800 people homeless.
Mr Samuel Zan Akologo, the Executive Secretary of Caritas Ghana, presenting the token to the beneficiaries, said the donation was part of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference’s COVID-19 National Response Plan to the vulnerable.
He said the plan was also to address the psychological and emotional needs of people and help provide authentic information about the pandemic together with the Ghana Health Service and the World Health Organisation (WHO).
He, however, described the demolishing exercise by the Assembly as unfortunate and prayed government and other organisations would support the needy.
“My wish is that these internally displaced persons from the recent demolitions in Old Fadama will eventually make the voluntary decision to return to their home communities.
“The misery and indignity that these families now live in Accra is just too painful to contemplate for any human being. Moreover, most of them have lost their jobs here in Accra due to the adverse impact of COVID-19,” Mr Akologo said.
“I am happy that Caritas Ghana can accompany and resettle them in their respective home communities. This is an opportunity to retrain them in new skills for more decent jobs in the future,” he added.
Rev. Fr. George Mensah, the Director of Caritas Accra admonished the beneficiaries, to make good use of the token presented to them and advised them to always ensure they wore face masks and practise social distancing to prevent them from contracting the coronavirus.
Yussif Alhassan Antabayim, the leader of the victims of the demolition thanked Caritas Ghana and Star Ghana Foundation for the support. The beneficiaries were mainly head potters and ‘okada’ riders.