Sunderland-born African tribal chief helps fight Covid-19 in North Ghana

Lynne Luccock (Symonds) is the only white woman chief of the Mamprusi people in North Ghana.

The charity worker from Grangetown made headlines when she gained the title of Chief of Enlightenment and Education, Neesim Poanaba.

Following her enskinment in 1996, she set up a charity, The Wulugu Project, to help the most deprived and disadvantaged villages use education as a way out of poverty.

Her charity is run by volunteers in UK and Ghana and during the pandemic they’ve been helping to combat the virus in villages where access to clean water can be difficult – and they’re appealing for help.

Lynne said: “Medical services are not a choice for most people. Many villages, hundreds of thousands of people, rely on dirty standing water.

“This is used for washing, drinking, cooking and cattle.”

The charity is aiming to provide mechanical bore holes for villages, which cost £3,900 each, and they’ve been helped so far by groups including Seaburn Rotary.

Lynne said: “We normally focus on education, particularly for girls and women. Sending girls to school is still a relatively new idea. Now we need parents to stay alive so that they can afford to send their children to school. We are so grateful to Seaburn Rotary and others for their help with this.”

Women and children currently spend much of the day hunting for water, so having access to clean water would reduce their chances of contracting the virus, says Lynne.

Anyone interested in helping The Wulugu Project can contact 01603 810748 or visit www.wulugu.co.uk

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