In collaboration with the Diocesan Council of Catholic Women of Navrongo-Bolgatanga, the National Council of Catholic Women has extended a helping hand to asylum seekers at Tarikom, a refugee reception and resettlement centre in the Bawku West District of the Upper East Region.
The donation, valued at approximately GH₵11,500, comprised essential food items such as rice, maize, millet, groundnut, cooking oil, and vegetables, along with hygiene products like liquid soap, bathing and washing soap, footwear, clothes including African prints, toilet rolls, and toothpaste.
Timed to coincide with the Eid-ul-Fitr celebration, the donation reflects the Catholic Women's commitment to supporting vulnerable and displaced individuals, particularly women and children, in their pursuit of dignified lives. Currently, the centre hosts around 1,129 asylum seekers who fled violent extremism in parts of Burkina Faso, with a significant number being women and children.
The Council of Catholic Women, representing various women's groups within the Catholic Church, strives to empower, educate, and provide relief to Catholic women while supporting vulnerable members of society.
Speaking on behalf of the organization, Dame Cecilia Asobayire, the National President of the National Council of Catholic Women, emphasized their thematic focus on aiding women and the less privileged. Expressing empathy for the asylum seekers, most of whom are Muslims, Dame Asobayire highlighted the trauma they endure after being forcibly displaced from their homes and separated from loved ones.
Acknowledging the disproportionate impact of violence on women and children, Dame Asobayire called for collective efforts to prevent the exploitation of youth in perpetuating violence.
She appealed to humanitarian organizations, civil society groups, and philanthropists to join hands in assisting asylum seekers to rebuild their lives with dignity.
Mr. Adam Mohammed, the Camp Manager at Tarikom Resettlement Center, expressed gratitude for the Catholic Women's gesture, emphasizing its significance in complementing existing humanitarian efforts.
