Fighting poverty, ignorance and disunity in Ghana - TUDEC's experience
The fight against poverty, ignorance and disunity is a shared responsibility among the government, the private sector, civil society and non-governmental organisations. The reason is that the government alone does not have the requisite human and capital resources to sustain this struggle.
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It is for this reason that the contributions of civil society and non-governmental organisations are crucial in complementing the government's effort at promoting socio-economic development
One organisation that has been making significant strides in the areas of the fight against poverty, ignorance and disunity in Ghana is the Ghana-Turkey Cooperation and Development Association (TUDEC).
The organisation was established in 2011 to promote education and trade activities between Ghana and Turkey and to also offer social and humanitarian services such as aid, relief and dialogue activities in Ghana.
TUDEC's contributions can be seen in the areas of inter-cultural education, sponsorship, inter-religious dialogue and humanitarian aid to the poor and needy in society.
TUDEC's inspiration
TUDEC's works are inspired by the philosophy of a prominent Turkish Muslim cleric, opinion leader, poet, prolific teacher and author, Fethullah Gullen. He sees poverty, ignorance and disunity as the main enemies of the human race.
To combat ignorance, he suggests the employment of education, irrespective of race, ethnicity, religion or nationality, in dealing with the menace.
The fight against poverty is in two folds. First, Gullen proposes the fostering of businesses and creating business opportunities for the poor. Secondly, he suggests that the poor, irrespective of their religion or race, should be supported through aid and relief activities.
To combat disunity, Gullen believes that bringing people together round the table to dialogue will promote understanding, respect and tolerance among people.
Inspired by these ideas, members of the Hizmet Movement (Hizmet means service), a global transnational civil society organisation, described by Gullen himself as “a movement of people united around high human values,” established thousands of schools, hospitals, universities, aid and relief foundations and dialogue centres in about 160 countries.
TUDEC's contributions in Ghana, especially in the area of promoting inter-religious dialogue, has won for it the praise of prominent Ghanaian religious scholars, including the Chairman of the National Peace Council (NPC), Most Reverend Professor Emmanuel Asante, and an Islamic scholar, Sheikh Armiyawo Shaibu.
Inter-religious dialogue
TUDEC sees dialogue as the tool to promote peaceful coexistence between Muslims and Christians in Ghana. It, therefore, collaborates with the National Peace Council, the Office of the National Chief Imam and Christian organisations in the country to champion inter-faith dialogue.
For instance, last year, TUDEC in collaboration with the NPC organised an international dialogue conference at the Accra International Conference Centre, on the theme: "Love and Tolerance; Peaceful Coexistence in Diversity."
Chaired by the Chairman of the NPC, the Most Rev. Professor Asante, the conference was attended by distunguished individuals from different walks of life, Muslim and Christian clerics, a Minister of State, Mr Rashid Pelpuo, the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Osmanu Nuhu Sharubutu, an Islamic scholar, Sheikh Armiyawo Shaibu, the Anglican Bishop of Accra, Rt. Rev. Dr Sylvanus Daniel Torto, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra, the Most Reverend Charles Gabriel Palmer-Buckle, and professors from Turkey, Nigeria, and the USA. The conference was inspired by the book of Fethullah Gullen.
Speeches at the conference were captured in a book form edited by the Most Rev. Professor Emmanuel Asante and titled: "Love and Tolerance". The book was launched at a programme chaired by the Commandant of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), Maj. Gen. O.B. Akwa, in Accra in March, this year.
Most Rev. Professor Asante said the activities of TUDEC in the areas of inter-faith dialogue and peacebuilding were in line with the objectives of the NPC. Besides, he said he agrees with Gullen’s views on religious tolerance, the essence of inter-faith dialogue and respect for all people.
Sheikh Shaibu said he was particularly thrilled by TUDEC's effort at getting Muslims and Christians around one table to discuss issues bordering on tolerance and respect for each other's views.
He said Islam encouraged Muslims to live in peace with adherents of other religious faiths.
Trade promotions
TUDEC has also demonstrated that it is interested in supporting the growth of the Ghanaian economy and creating job opportunities for businesses in the country.
It was in that light that TUDEC organised business trips to Ghana and Turkey as well as business trade fares in Turkey. Such business trips and trade fares offered the opportunity for Ghanaian businessmen and their Turkish counterparts to establish business contacts.
To give the visits a further boost, TUSKON, a business association in Turkey, in collaboration with TUDEC, organised a business forum for President John Dramani Mahama and a Ghanaian business delegation in Turkey in 2012.
Following from such events, several Turkish companies are into the sale of Turkish textiles, construction materials, housing appliances and clothing in Ghana. More Turkish investors have expressed their interest in investing in the real estate, construction and manufacturing sectors in Ghana.
The President of TUDEC, Mr Yusuf Temizkan, said TUDEC was hopeful that the investors would inject the needed capital to support Ghana's socio-economic development.
Aid reliefs
TUDEC is also engaged in different aid and relief activities like offering scholarships to needy students, provision of boreholes in rural areas and the donation of assorted food items and meat during Eidu-ul-Adha, Eid-ul-Fitr and Christmas festivities.
Education
The organisation uses education to promote understanding among various nationals and cultures. This is evident in the Galaxy International School. The school, which was established in 2001, has students from more than 35 nationalities, including Ghana, the United States of America, Canada, England, Turkey, China, Nigeria, South Africa and Gabon. About 30 per cent of the students are on scholarship.
The Principal of Galaxy International School, Mr Hakan Karaman, said guided by the different nationalities and cultures of the students, the teachers taught the students the universal values of respect, fellow feeling and ethics.
Also, through the inter-cultural festivals that the school organises every year, at which occasions the students go to the school with their parents to exhibit their different cultures, such as dressing, food, songs and dancing, such various nationals appreciate understanding of the cultures of others, and this enhances tolerance and respect among them.
The students take the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE). It also runs a Cambridge Programme, an international programme recognised by international universities.
Last year, Galaxy International School won five Cambridge awards - The Best in Mathematics School of the Year; The Best Science School; The Best English School, and the Best Primary School, all in the primary education category, as well as the Best French School in the secondary category.
So far, the school has won 7 gold, 14 silver, 26 bronze international medals and 30 honorable certificates for its educational performance.
TUDEC has also inspired the setting-up of another school called the Fatih College in Tamale in the Northern Region. The school is offering full scholarships to most of its students who are needy and brilliant. An ultra-modern school campus is also under construction in Tamale.