Old Fadama Post-Fire Relief
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This project is a response to a fire which raged through Old Fadama, Accra in 2009. Forty (40) Federation members were given support to construct their structures in addition to loans to re-establish their income generating businesses and for the construction of an office for the Old Fadama Development Association (OFADA). Infrastructural support was provided to clear debris, excavate blocked drainage, and widen access roads to the settlement to enable easy access in case of a recurrence of fire. It is hoped that the Federation's practices will eventually influence a policy change in dealing with squatters. Challenges of the project include poor repayment of loans.
Location: Old Fadama, Accra, GhanaThe provision of loans to and support to forty (40) Federation members were given support to construct their structures and re-establish their income generating businesses. A loan was also provided for the construction of an office for the Old Fadama Development Association (OFADA). Infrastructural support was provided to clear debris, excavate blocked drainage, and widen access roads to the settlement to enable easy access in the case of the recurrence of fire.
Community capacity:The community identified a need for this project after the fire and the entire community - Federation and non-Federation members - have actively participated in the project.
Scale:The project was implemented at the settlement level in response to a disaster. Although the project itself is not directly scalable, the manner in which the community mobilised to respond to the disaster certainly offers some lessons for other communities trying to recover from a disaster that has caused extensive damage to their settlement.
Impact:The project offered immediate relief to the community at large by clearing sites and debris ensuring that reconstruction efforts could be undertaken quickly.
The City authorities and National Government agreed to halt evictions and wait for the enumeration results before taking further steps. The enumeration process has been completed and the results have been compiled in a report, a copy of which has been forwarded to the Vice President of the Republic of Ghana and the relevant ministries and stakeholders for consideration.
Finance: SDI Contributions:SDI contributed US$35,000.00
Market Generated Returns:None to date.
Costs recovered from community:None to date.
| Contact | Telephone | Website | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Farouk Braimah | rabiu_farouk@hotmail.com | (+233) 21 682 896 | View Website |
Project social media channels:
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Project information updated: 19 February 2016
Project in depth
Detailed Information
The aim of the project was to distribute loans to forty (40) Federation members to help them rebuild their houses and to re-establish their businesses. The rest of the money was utilised to hire a bulldozer, which was used to clear debris on certain sites so that reconstruction efforts could begin.
Scale:The PDHS/GHAFUP Alliance anticipates that this report will contribute greatly to the improvement of citizens' lives by assisting the Government and city authorities to make informed decisions regarding the way forward on the Old Fadama community in particular and other slum residents in Ghana in general.
Impact:The Alliance hopes that Federation practices and the project report will eventually influence a policy change in dealing with squatters as opposed to an emphasis on forced evictions.
Finance: SDI Contributions:SDI contributed US35,000.00 for project-linked technical assistance expenses.
Costs recovered from community:Costs are to be recovered from the loan beneficiaries in the form of loan repayments. However, loan repayment rates have been very low thus far and are set to continue at this low pace after fire gutted the settlement again in January 2011. The OFADA and Tunteeya offices were affected by this fire as well.
Braimah, F. (2011). A Decade of Struggles and Lessons in Old Fadama. [Online]. Available: http://sdinet.org/2011/11/a-decade-of-struggles-and-lessons-in-old-fadama/.
Jafaru, M. Y. & Abdul-Jalil, Y. (2015). AMA demolishes Structures of Old Fadama Returnees. [Online]. Available: http://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/49931-ama-demolishes-structures-of-old-fadama-returnees.html.
MacPherson, A.K. (2012). Negotiating the Right to Stay: A Community-led Process in Old Fadama. [Online]. Available: http://sdinet.org/2012/01/negotiating-the-right-to-stay-a-community-led-process-in-old-fadama/.
Owusu, M. (2013). Community-managed Reconstruction after the 2012 Fire in Old Fadama, Ghana,Environment and Urbanisation, 25(1): 243 - 248. [Online]. Available: http://eau.sagepub.com/content/25/1/243.full.
[VIDEO] The Bartlett Development Planning Unit. (2012). Dialogues in Development: MSc ESD Students, Fire in Old Fadama, Accra, Ghana. [Online]. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQ4FhG5rrd0.
Funding Information
Raised: | $35,000.00 |
Funding type: | Grant funding |
Fully funded |
Implementing Partners
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Ghana Homeless People's Federation
