The Chief Executive of the African Women Development Fund (AWDF) has challenged the incoming Nigerian government to work towards the return of the 200 Chibok school girls who were kidnapped in North Eastern Nigeria last year.

Theo Sowah expects the new government to tackle the matter with the seriousness it deserves.

“Sometimes I wake up and I want to scream because one year is too long. Those girls are suffering. I actually believe that the change in government in Nigeria is partly about the inaction in bringing those girls back and [the] Nigerian people were very angry and they understood that these were their children. Nigeria is just two countries away from us. As Ghanaians I think we have a duty to support the sisters and mothers in Nigeria”, said the AWDF CEO.

Today, April 14, 2015, marks one year since the girls were kidnapped in 2014.

The girls have since not returned to their families and their kidnappers, Boko Haram, say the girls have been married off.

When news broke of the kidnapping the AWDF began mobilising funds to help advocacy programmes for the “safe schools initiative” to help affected families whose children were afraid to go to school.

To keep up the campaign for the return of the Chibok girls, the Fund and other interest groups are holding a candlelight vigil at the University of Ghana,  Legon on Tuesday evening.

Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Nana Oye Lithur, is expected to make an appearance at the vigil.

Theo Sowah believes all who care about the plight of the missing girls should attend the vigil.

“Those families in Nigeria need to feel that we as Africans are supporting them. We should come [for the vigil] so we are supporting those families that have lost their children. So that we are saying to our own government that these issues matter to us and we as Ghanaians expect that you [government]will work with the Nigerian government to bring those girls back. Because if anyone did anything like that to our children we would expect you to call on other government to help have an action. But also I think we should do it to show we are human beings.”

The African Women Development Fund is a grant-making organisation that has over the last 15 years provided grant support to more than 1200 women’s organisations and groups in 42 countries across the African continent to the tune of 42 million US dollars.