The Founder & Leader of Song-Ba Empowerment Centre, Miss Rhoda Kadoa Wedam will on Saturday, 25th May 2024 launch her first book titled “No More Suffering in Silence”. This is an illustrated guide on menstruation.
Rhoda holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Integrated Community Development from the University for Development Studies and a Master’s in Business Administration from the Accra Business
She is from Navrongo but was born in Bolga and raised in Tamale by her parents. Growing up, Rhoda supported her sisters by selling soap and bread on the streets of Tamale just to raise additional income for her mother to support her father take care of the home.
Most young girls from the Northern Region find themselves on the streets of the major cities in Ghana not because they want to be there, but because they want to raise income to support themselves in school, support home, or raise income to support themselves in skill training. These activities the young girls are engaged in exposing them to several cases of abuse and others not being able to fulfill their purpose in life.
Rhoda also when she started menstruating did not have access to disposable sanitary pads and so relied on washable cloths during her menses. There were days she could miss extra classes because of menstruation. In Ghana, it is recorded that 99% of girls who are menstruating miss school because they do not have pads with others also exchanging sex for sanitary pads.
She started the Song-Ba Empowerment Centre at age 26, 2 years after completing her first degree. She focuses on supporting women/girls without formal education who travel to urban cities as head porters (Kayayo) to identify decent sources of livelihood through her organization where they are trained in smock weaving, sewing of washables pads, and the production of shea butter that pays them while still training. Her organization also provides rural girls with sustainable menstrual hygiene training and reusable sanitary pads that help them manage their menses while in school. Through her projects, she has empowered 19 girls who are currently masters on their own in weaving of smocks and sewing, 39 girls currently in training, and has provided over 13,000 girls with the Days for Girls Reusable Sanitary Pads she produces at her Centre. She has also created a savings and loans scheme that encourages the girls to save and acquire loans.
Rhoda has worked with the Children Believe Organization where she worked as a project officer for 3 years and led the implementation of the CCFC/PROMISE Project in the Savelugu Municipality. The project provided support to reduce infant and maternal mortality in the Municipality. Rhoda has also worked with the Migrant Media Network Project which was implemented by R0G Agency and seeks to foster an informed decision-making process regarding migration to Europe by creating awareness on migration issues & social media sensitization among the youth in the Northern Region. Rhoda also in 2018, led a team of Ideal Life Vision Coaches who organised school clubs and seminars that provided goal-setting training which provided them with the skills to write up their ideal life visions.
Come and let’s support her, on the 25th of May 2024
Time: 9 am
Venue: Sakasaka Presby Church, Tamale.
