Free World Foundation

“Free World Foundation” is a legally registered, non-profit, non-commercial, non-governmental tax–exempt charitable organisation in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations. It subscribes to humanitarian values and practices, supports and respects the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and is independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest, race or religion.

It is a national organisation made up of civil society organisations and individuals. It is headquartered at Teshie, a suburb of Accra in the Greater Accra Region of the Republic of Ghana and has offices in all the ten regional capitals.

It was established on the initiative of the Programmes Manager of Radio Univers 105.7fm, the official mouthpiece of the University of Ghana, Legon on 12th July,2002 but officially registered and incorporated under the Ghanaian Companies Code, 1963(Act 179) as a non-profit Company Limited by Guarantee with certificate number G-15,956 on 25thJuly, 2005.

The name of the “FOUNDATION” was changed from “Divine Aid Mission” to “Free World Foundation” by a Special Resolution passed on 29th August, 2005 and approved by the Registrar of Companies, Ghana on 12th September, 2005.

“Free World Foundation” is registered with Ghana’s Department of Social Welfare with certificate number D.S.W./2563.It has also been registered with the Internal Revenue Service(I.R.S) under the Internal Revenue(Registration of Business) Act,2005 (Act 684) with file number TNLC 94024 as a non-profit organisation.

The “FOUNDATION” has a close working relationship with other institutions and regularly collaborates with them in staging its seminars and workshops. It has also signed a number of Memorandum of Understanding with its international partners.

“Free World Foundation” was a Member of the Electoral College that elected Ghana’s two civil society representatives to the Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC) Permanent General Assembly of the African Union Commission at Hilton Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya on 17th April, 2008 for a mandate of four (4) years.

The vision of the “FOUNDATION” is to strive for a society where the fundamental human rights of every individual are respected, where the rule of law reigns supreme, good governance is guaranteed and adequate measures are put in place to ensure security & peace building. A society, where every citizen can attain quality education that will empower him/her by tackling all the underlying factors in all areas of human endeavour that account for limited opportunities available to the citizenry, a society where economic & trade justice are guaranteed, where the environment is protected and HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Malaria and other diseases are absent.

The mission of the “FOUNDATION” is to promote human rights, good governance, security & peace building, education and youth empowerment. We shall also protect the environment and fight the HIV/AIDS pandemic, tuberculosis and malaria. We will do this by providing care and support for People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs) and Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVCs), undertaking advocacy on understanding and challenging HIV stigma, creating awareness on Tuberculosis (TB) and organising malaria control programmes. We will create the platform to promote transparency and accountability, dialogue and conflict resolution. We will also offer capacity building/skills training for the youth and promote education through the provision of school uniforms, exercise books and textbooks.

The “FOUNDATION” thrives as an independent, people centred non-profit seeking organisation driven by the values of openness, transparency, integrity and non-violence, the culture of co-operative rather than competitive relationship with like-minded organisations, team spirit, hardwork and perseverance, efficient resource utilisation, mutually beneficial community relations and intra-organisational harmony.

“Free World Foundation” is a member, and in some cases, an affiliate of several international and national bodies including the World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations (WANGO),the International Council on Social Welfare(I.C.S.W), CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation, the World Forum of Civil Society Networks, the Universal Human Rights Network (UNIRIGHTS) of Washington D.C, the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law of Monash University, Australia, the NGO Coalition for the International Criminal Court (C.I.C.C) of New York, the Global Youth Action Network and the Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AIDS (both in the state of New York, United States of America), the Conserve Africa Foundation of London, United Kingdom, the Ghana Association of Private Voluntary Organisations in Development (GAPVOD), the Ghana Human Rights NGOs Forum (GHRNF), the Ghana Civil Society Aid Effectiveness Forum, the Ghana Coalition of NGOs in Health, the Ghana HIV/AIDS Network (GHANET) and the Economic Justice Network(EJN) of the Third World Network Africa.

We conduct public awareness raising campaigns on drought & desertification, land degradation, global warming & climate change, biodiversity conservation, hazards & waste management, persistent organic pollutants, sustainable forest & landscape management, water resources security & management and coastal zone management by holding seminars, workshops & durbars and through different mass media including radio and television programmes, news and feature articles and traditional communication systems such as music, drama and dance.

We also organise clean up exercises in the communities we operate in to promote adequate sanitation and proper hygiene.

In our attempt to ensure that the rights of everyone are protected, we place so much emphasis on the following:

• Gender & Child Rights Monitoring and Advocacy;

• Civil and Political Rights;

• Property Rights;

• Economic and Social Rights;

• Suspected Criminals and Convicted Persons’ Rights;

• Rights of Persons with Disabilities;

• Combating sexual exploitation in all its forms to ensure that women and girls have the right to sexual integrity and autonomy;

• Human Development;

• Social Justice and Equity and

• Freedom of thought, expression, privacy, association, assembly and religion.

In addition, “Free World Foundation” has established and implements the Ghana Rights Watch Project (G.R.W.P).This project monitors all forms of human rights violations that occur in Ghana and are reported in the media and prepares a quarterly report on such violations.

“Free World Foundation” also undertakes what it calls the “Rights Education for All”. Under this programme, officials of the “FOUNDATION” visit schools, mosques, churches and other social gatherings to educate the people about their fundamental human rights. This kind of education focuses on the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the United Nations Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana. “Free World Foundation” intends to translate these documents into the most spoken Ghanaian languages, namely, Twi, Ga, Nzema, Dagbani and Ewe if it is able to raise the needed funds for that purpose.

We also undertake what we have termed the “Justice for All Project”. Under this programme, we raise funds to pay the legal fees of suspects who cannot “hire” lawyers to defend them in court. Our investigations have revealed that several prisoners in Ghana’s prisons are there, not necessarily because they were guilty of the offences that took them there, but because of their inability to get proper legal representation in court. An example that readily comes to mind is the road traffic offenders who without any legal representation in court are made to plead guilty under the guise that, that plea would lead to a mitigated sentence.

We also advocate for the speedy trial of suspects who have unnecessarily been put on remand for a very long time. This is premised on the conviction that “justice delayed is justice denied”.

Under the “Justice for All Project”, “Free World Foundation” intends to set up the “Justice for All Fund” from which victims of human rights abuses would be adequately rehabilitated. Although Ghana has passed the Domestic Violence Act, several peoples’ whose rights are violated are not able to report the perpetrators. This is because victims want to protect their marriages. Besides, where the accused is the family’s breadwinner, victims are not able to report the perpetrators. We are of the view that if victims are assured of their upkeep, by way of skills building that would empower them for the rest of their lives; they would readily report cases of violations against them.

There are also instances where some people are dismissed from their work places just because they reported the corrupt practices of their superior officers. The passage of the Whistleblowers Act is not an enough safeguard for most Ghanaian workers. By setting up this fund, we shall be able to support whistleblowers that are victimised until they are eventually reinstated. By so doing, we shall win the fight against corruption.

“Free World Foundation” is currently promoting all forms of education including vocational and technical life skills training. We do some of the following to achieve our long term vision of promoting quality education for all:

• Provide school uniforms;

• Provide textbooks;

• Provide exercise books;

• Provide incentives to motivate teachers in very remote areas;

• Build schools and libraries in deprived communities;

• Academic counselling and school placement;

• Free vacation classes and camps;

• Exchange programmes for sharing of knowledge and

• Free computer training for the youth.

The following governance programmes are being pursued by “Free World Foundation”:

• Consolidating Constitutional Democracy by encouraging political tolerance. We organise Town Hall meetings for political aspirants to debate the issues.

• Waging a vigorous anti-corruption campaign by advocating for transparency and accountability and discouraging extortion, bribery, misappropriation, conflict of interest and abuse of office;

• Promoting grass root participation in decision making. We organise “Meet your MP” and “Meet your Assembly Representatives” for the electorate and the elected to share ideas.

• Promoting civic education and

• Election monitoring.

“Free World Foundation” is running the following health-related programmes:

• Education and awareness creation for the prevention of new cases of HIV/AIDS infection.

• Care and Support:

The Foundation has already identified and registered five (5) People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs) and thirteen (13) Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVCs) it is assisting in diverse ways.

• Counselling:

The “FOUNDATION” through the help of two clinical psychologists who since June 2004 have provided their services free of charge offer some kinds of counselling to PLWHAs and their families. Individual Counselling is offered to individuals who prefer support on an individual basis rather than in a group. Support, counselling and psycho-education regarding HIV/AIDS is given to PLWHAs and their families. Couples are also counselled when either of them or both partners are HIV positive.

• Creating an enabling environment against stigma and discrimination by undertaking an advocacy on understanding and challenging HIV stigma.

• Awareness creation and education on TB.

• Malaria control programmes.

Because of the upsurge in hypertension, stroke and diabetes in recent times, “Free World Foundation” has added awareness creation about these ailments to its core health programmes.

Because of the importance of peace, “Free World Foundation” pursues the following programmes with the aim of making the world conflict free and a safer place for human habitation:

• Conflict prevention, management and resolution;

• Social Justice & Equity and

• Promoting peaceful co-existence in a multi-cultural society by encouraging tribal, ethnic and religious tolerance.

“Free World Foundation” pursues the following economic & trade justice policies:

• Poverty reduction strategies;

• Promoting sustainable livelihoods through income generating activities;

• Fighting unfair trade policies by offering better alternatives and

• Monitoring government economic policies.

“Free World Foundation” offers the following with the view of empowering the youth:

• Leadership skills;

• Life long technical and vocational skills training for the youth like tailoring & dress making, carpentry & joinery, masonry, painting & decoration, electrical & mechanical engineering (including fitting, fridge, radio & TV mechanics), clothing and textiles (batik tie and dye), ceramics, hairdressing and catering;

• Capacity building for the youth and

• Free computer training for the youth.

Membership is opened to individuals and organisations whose primary functions are consistent with the mission and vision of the “FOUNDATION”.

If you are interested in becoming a member of the “FOUNDATION”, whether as an individual or as an organisation, please contact the Secretariat at admin@freeworldfoundation.org for further information.