Good Neighbours Ghana, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) has given relief items to 600 kayayei in Accra as part of efforts to alleviate their plight during this period of coronavirus ( COVID-19).
Each of the beneficiaries received antiseptic soaps, reusable nose masks, 2.5kg rice, 1.6kg of gari, 1.5 kg sugar, vegetable oil, and a tuber of yam.
The exercise was undertaken in collaboration with Neighbours Hands, an NGO, Accra Metropolitan Health Directorate, Ghana Police Service and Korle Klottey Municipal Assembly (KKMA).
The beneficiaries, who were divided into four groups of 25, were educated by health personnel on the protocols to adopt to enable them to fight the disease.
Speaking to the Ghanaian Times, the Country Representative of Good Neighbours Ghana, Ilwon Seo said the exercise was aimed at giving relief items to 1,800 kayayei for the next three months ( May- July), with hygiene education to mitigate the spread of the virus.
He said the three month-long exercise would cost the organisation $20 million, hinting that, his organisation was considering adding more food items to the next exercise.
Mr Seo said the kayayei were known to be some of the most vulnerable group during the pandemic, which was expected to last for a long time, “thus, there is an urgent need to support this group’s livelihood in the mid-term perspective, including basic hygiene awareness promotion as well as food distribution.”
He said due to the easy transmission of the virus it was important to maintain social distancing, which was strongly championed by various governments across the world, but “it is also affecting the economies badly, and the marginalised people who depend on their daily jobs for survival are the worst victims.”
BY JEMIMA ESINAM KUATSINU