Projects Team
Our people are among the most dedicated in the industry. It would be our pleasure to put our extensive experience to work for you.
Adu Adjei -
Founder & Projects Manager:
Area of expertise: Teaching, accounting and planning - especially scheduling since he strongly believes time is a limited resource and therefore must be maximized.
Has passion for sports and activities of children, youth hence his commitment, interests to support those who participate in sports to develop their opportunities and have fun.
Married to Dinah Yawson with two children, Ama Badu; 2001 and Kwasi Adjei; 2003.
Swiss Academy for Developments questioned the Founder and had these Answers
Could you explain what made you want to create ACRO Ghana?
The purpose of ACRO Ghana is to create conditions for an inclusive society and take care of one another. This is the way we used to live while I was growing up as a young boy in our village, Kyeremasu, Ghana. The result was harmony and patriotism. Of course, with time passing by things could not be done the same way; however, we could not deviate from practices that are useful and vehicle good values.
Due to population and poverty increase, we are fleeing from our responsibilities and most often we expect some one else to perform. This has brought disaffection and created tensions between friendly relationships.
My focus is to use sports to highlight the need for us to get involved actively in our community affairs to improve our standard of living and live happily with each other. My aim is also to help set achievable goals for communities and work hard to reach clear targets, to help the young generation identify to role models likely to reach broad populations among the communities.
Another goal is to use sports to slow down the rapid increase in prisons numbers and to use sports as a platform in every community to inform them of their civic rights and responsibilities. President John F. Kennedy once said “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country. This philosophy ought to be taught to the people to get rid of the colonial mentality of distancing from community which need their full support to function.
As a kid from rural community where illiteracy is so high, there ought to be some form of intervention to raise the level of human right awareness, both domestically with children and at the official level. The youth need to be trained to take responsibility and be held accountable for their formation as future leaders.
Most of all, ACRO Ghana aims to study the use of sports to effect social change in respect to re-offences. In particular, our sports communities were capable to influence ex-convicts to re-direct their strengths to support themselves and encourage community growth. For example, one of our projects tries to capitalise on the people’s passion for football to support other communal projects which would be used as alternatives to imprisonment, punishment, civil offences. We believe this could also be a starting point for ex-convicts to re-integrate society.
For more information about my concerns, please refer to the publication of ACRO Ghana.
How exactly do you utilize sport in the prisons and in your opinion how can these activities benefit to detainees?
With the exception of few serious criminals, most of the detainees are imprisoned with in their compounds. If they have the facilities they would be able to play and entertain. Fitness equipment, table tennis, and other indoor games could be provided to facilitate and promote indoor sports.
Volleyball, basketball and football could be provided within the compounds. After their imprisonment, prisoners have ample time to discuss their crimes and share experiences which we believe can increase their crime skills. From our experience within the prisons, convicts could be engaged in sporting and other training activities . ACRO Ghana provides footballs to the prison authorities who worked out the modalities to promote prisoners’ sports interests and re-integration.
The withdrawal and absence of family support, along with guilt produced by society and neighbours sometimes drives convicts to make new offences. Convicts tend to feel permanently guilty and unworthy to live in a free society. Past loyalty to crime gangs and unfavourable economic conditions increase pressures and hardships which lead to re-offences. Our programs try to integrate them in our sports clubs as a first step to find new friends. Depending on their skills and interests, ex-convicts can also join the AgriCare and Go Dancing projects.
Are you in close contact with your various partners in Ghana?
Yes,thanks to innovations in communications technologies. We discuss every bit of our projects. As a project manager, I make sure all conclusive directives are carried out within the required time frame and I also make sure all monitored, evaluated and achieved results are reported.
What are you most proud of in the work you have done so far?
Iam proud my dreams are being fulfilled: there are platforms in our communities where stake holders meet to discuss social problems. District Offenders Counselling Team (DOCT) for example, consists of representatives from the Traditional council, Police, Judiciary, Churches, Moslems, Motor Transport Union, Education, Health and Social welfare Department. Founded in 2004, ACRO Ghana has already made remarkable progress in the area of civic rights and responsibilities through sports.
We presented various items to Dormaa Ahenkro Police Centre, Juvenile Prisons for detainees to make them realise that they are loved – not for their crimes – but to encourage them to change their bad behaviours and make them join their family and community as transformed people. We were able with the colloboration of the Prison Administration led the Head of FIFA Social Coporate Responsiblity visit Nsawam Prisons where inmates played to entertain.
How do you think ACRO Ghana is going to evolve in the future? Do you plan to extend your activities beyond Dormaa district?
Attaining projects that are truly sustainable is our final goal. The idea is that in the future all our projects could be self supporting or interdependent between one another. This emphasises the importance of the AgriCare projects: if these are well executed, they can be a source of income generating job opportunities for the youth and for ex-convicts.
ACRO Ghana is also conducts research since it explores the effectiveness of sports as a means to effect social change in the area of crime and ex-convicts rehabilitation. It is a nation-wide project which has started from Dormaa District, now Kukuo in Tamale and Domenase in the Gomoa District in Central Region. We envisage operating nation-wide and depending on results from the research projects, ACRO Ghana also envisage working with other stake holders in neighbouring West African countries since cross boarder crimes are frequent.
Personal Contact:Zentralstrasse 4, CH-2502 Biel/Bienne0041 32 323 0048; 0041 79 705 4016
Yakubu Inusah - ACRO Ghana- North Co-ordinator
Area of Expertise - Teaching, Marketing and Community Development.
Has passion to unit and encourage the spirit of Youth in nation building,
To undertake projects design to combat hunger, unemployment
among the Youth.
Address- P.O.BOX TL 1634, Tamale, Ghana
Mobile- + 233 242 130 502/ + 233 268 130 502
