When I started working on a documentary about the so-called Gambaga „Witches“-Camp in 2005, I met Simon Ngota the first time. By then, he was a Project Officer of the Presbyterian Church’s ‘Go Home Project’ at Gambaga. Simon and his co-worker Gladys Lariba were instrumental in helping me make the documentary film, ‘The Witches of Gambaga’. Without their contribution‘The Witches of Gambaga’ would not have achieved the success it has.
Simon, now director of the „Witch-hunt Victims Empowerment Project“, is a dedicated social worker. Over the years he has also developed the skills necessary to reintegrate women condemned to live as ‘witches’ in the Northern Region of Ghana. Simon possesses empathy and insight, and he also understands the social and economic conditions of women, which make them vulnerable against ‘witchcraft’ accusations.
My hope is that the „Witch-hunt Victims Empowerment Project“ and other organisations will finally be able to stop witchcraft-accusations in Ghana.
Yaba Badoe, April 2015
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