UK and Ghana support team for Dizem Bella
Having encountered Karim and his work on a research trip in 2013, Abbie Clare recognised Karim’s need for long term support for capacity building. He manages the centre with the help of volunteers, but had found it difficult to generate enough income to keep it running continuously. Previous efforts by NGOs provided limited pots of funding which were used to build infrastructure and purchase food and supplies, but there had been no support to help Karim maintain the centre into the future. Karim was also concerned about what would happen if he could no longer run the centre himself. That is where the Friends of Dizem Bella comes in. We are a group of people based in the UK and Ghana who provide support for Dizem Bella in a variety of ways, from administrative tasks, to grant application drafting, advertising and marketing. We are helping Karim to strengthen the centre so that it can be financially viable, so Karim has more time to train others in malnutrition prevention and treatment.
Who are we?
Co-founder and Director
Abbie is based at the London School of Economics and researches how rural communities in the developing world can increase their resilience to the impacts of climate, disaster and economic shocks. This is particularly relevant to the people of northern Ghana, who are already experiencing significant climatic shifts with resulting negative impacts on their vitally important crop yields. Abbie first met Karim in 2013 whilst on fieldwork for her PhD, and is delighted to be part of the FoDB team that supports his dream to transform the well-being outcomes of people in Karaga District.
Co-founder, Assistant Director and Web Manager
Originally from Canberra, Australia, Jessica met Abbie whilst completing her PhD in Environmental Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. Her research interests are related to nutrient recycling from biomass wastes to improve agricultural sustainability and food security. This is especially important in areas like Karaga Region in Ghana where crop yields are low and access to fertilisers can be limited by availability and cost. Jessica hopes to take her research to Karaga to identify available biomass wastes and appropriate technologies utilising local materials to find suitable solutions to the food insecurity issues in the region.
Peace Corps Volunteer, on-site support
Kara has been serving in the Karaga District of Northern Ghana for over 16 months. She has worked on projects including a school garden, micro-financing with women, a football and reproductive health camp and malaria education.
Living in Karga allows Kara to support the day to day operations of Dizem Bella. Most recently she has been assisting Karim with the planning and logistics during the transition of the centre to a maternal and child health clinic.
Communications Officer
Maccarthy is a graduate in Marketing and Communications from Tamale Polytechnic. He has a deep passion for entrepreneurship and social media strategy, being co-founder and manager of the Hopin Academy in Tamale. Hopin runs a variety of social media courses, reaching out to all sectors of society.
Maccarthy has been an ardent supporter of Dizem Bella since we met him in 2014, and formed part of the filming team that produced the fantastic video on our home page. More recently Maccarthy has been spreading the word about Dizem Bella on social media, and training Karim for his media appearances.
In-country Support
Akunz is the Ghanaian Government’s Senior Veterinary officer and has had a lifelong passion for development projects that use livestock to improve nutritional and financial security for low income farmers all over the world.
Akunz provides advice to the Dizem Bella poultry project, strategic guidance on the direction of FoDB activities, and is a veritable source of knowledge, wisdom and laughter. In addition to supporting FoDB, Akunz is involved in a range of other charitable projects. Basically, a really ‘good egg!’
Rural Innovation Hub 