The Women of Dignity Alliance (WODA), which originated from a Theatre for a Change Ghana project in 2012 with a core focus of empowering vulnerable women, has launched its 10th anniversary celebration.
The launch was held at the James Town Community Theatre Centre, Accra, on Thursday, April 17, 2025.
The vision of WODA is to empower vulnerable and marginalised women and women in sex work, to listen to their concerns, and to honour their ideas to transform their lives and communities sustainably.
Its core objective is to empower vulnerable women and girls to sustainably transform their health, economic, and rights protection needs.
Executive Director of the organisation Mrs Susan Dartey, speaking at the launch, said the journey has not been an easy one, but the success stories and impact made through the numerous projects they have executed were satisfying.
She explained that WODA was established with the objective of providing a safe haven for vulnerable women and girls so they can access information about their sexual reproductive rights, human rights and, most importantly, for their dignities to be respected, and so far, ten years down the line, we have achieved this objective.
Mrs Dartey stated that the programmes at WODA focus on sustainable income and creating an opportunity for sex workers to be agents of change within their communities.
She said the sex workers are undergoing training in skills such as beauty treatment, soap-making, confectionery production, bread-making and floral decoration.
“Each woman or girl has a unique story, and at WODA we don’t judge but provide a platform for them to tell their stories and advocate for their rights. The other one is economic empowerment, which provides alternative livelihoods. We believe that when you have the skill, you can do whatever you want to do.
The skills aspect provides an alternative livelihood for women and serves as a means of empowerment for beneficiaries, offering them a reliable source of support. The final aspect is capacity building, as we firmly believe that enhanced capacity facilitates community transformation.”
On her part, the chairperson for the ceremony, Nana Obeye Dromo I, Queen Mother of Mamprobi, commended the organisation for the work it has done over the past ten years.
“I am particularly excited about what WODA has achieved. Women empowerment is something I support, and seeing what WODA has done over the years is positive. Women are equally capable of making an impact, and so we have to support them.
To the beneficiaries, I encourage them to take the opportunity given to them seriously because it brings value, economic benefits and opportunities to serve as agents for their communities. The training being provided will go a long way in transforming lives and creating more opportunities for others.”
Assembly Member for Chorkor, Theophilus Quaye, who was also a special guest at the event, pledges his support for WODA.
He said his office was prepared to offer any assistance to the WODA so they will keep changing lives and empowering more women.
Some of the beneficiaries also expressed their gratitude to the organisation for the opportunity granted them to transform their lives.
Other non-profit and non-governmental organisations graced the occasion.
WODA is expected to organise symposia, clean-up exercises, donations, community engagements and other activities to commemorate the anniversary.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
