Meta Foundation, a non-governmental organisation based in the Upper East Region, in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), has distributed livelihood-enhancing tools and equipment to residents of Tarikom, Winaba, and Sapeliga in the Bawku West District of the Upper East Region.

The relief package included water pumping machines to bolster farm and community water access, tailoring machines to support garment and textile micro-enterprises, and livestock to boost household and small-business income.

The initiative is part of a broader strategy to support host communities amid the influx of asylum seekers from Burkina Faso, to help ease competing demands on scarce local resources.

Meta Foundation’s program targets 150 individuals, with emphasis on women, youth, and minority groups. Among the beneficiaries are Fulbe women who are receiving specialised training in hygienic milk processing.

Additionally, support is reaching other value chains and processing activities, including rice processors, shea butter producers, and soya and maize processing.

Head of Programmes at Meta Foundation, David Amozebiga, highlighted the organisation’s intent to empower vulnerable groups through practical, market-oriented assistance.

“This intervention is to support the community because as they have received these people (the refugees), definitely, there is a lot of pressure on the community resources, both social and economic resources, so we want to fill that gap, and support the most vulnerable – the women, the youth, to get something to build their capacity”, Amozebiga said.

 He said this was a five-month project that ends in December this year.

“This is direct intervention, so we hope that with strong monitoring, with the community leaders' support, it is something that can continue even after the last part of the project.

"So, we are bringing everybody on board, chiefs, the assemblymen, all the opinion leaders, to be part of the project and assist in monitoring the activities, monitoring this support that we are giving to them, so that they can put them into good use”.

Some beneficiaries expressed gratitude for the support, describing the intervention as timely and transformative for their livelihoods.

The District Chief Executive (DCE) for Bawku West, James Ayamweogo, praised the intervention, highlighting its potential to contribute to peace and stability in the district.

 He noted that improving livelihoods can reduce tensions by creating alternative sources of income for host communities and by supporting the economic resilience of households hosting the displaced individuals.

“This will certainly go a long way to address some of the difficulties we are facing as communities and a district at large, as our brothers and sisters from Burkina Faso run to us to seek our help”, he said.

Meta Foundation is a non-profit organisation working to enhance livelihoods, rights, and dignity for vulnerable groups, with a particular focus on women, youth, and persons with disabilities.

While this intervention centres on equipment, livestock, and training, Meta Foundation and UNDP anticipate continued engagement to scale up impact, monitor outcomes, and ensure that beneficiaries gain sustainable income through enhanced processing, manufacturing, and service activities in the affected districts.