Second Lady, Samira Bawumia
The Second Lady, Hajia Samira Bawumia, has been honoured with several accolades in the U.S. for her interventions in maternal and child health, education and women empowerment.
She was the recipient of the Ghanaian Women Association of Georgia (GWAG) Global Humanitarian Award for her “outstanding and life-transforming contribution towards the empowerment of women and children, through initiatives that align with GWAG’s causes in healthcare and education”.
Mrs Bawumia was the Special Guest of Honour at the 7th Annual Maternity Fundraising Gala of GWAG held at the Atlanta City Hall, Georgia, where she picked up the award over the weekend.
Hajia Samira Bawumia gracefully received a specially-designed plaque at the programme attended by many dignitaries of the State of Atlanta and several Ghanaians.
Mrs Bawumia will be one of few remarkable Ghanaian achievers to receive the special award.
Her night of glory continued with another honour from the Atlanta City Council.
In a citation bearing the signatures of all members and the seal of the Atlanta City Council, she was singled out for “her tireless work on the many issues that impact families across the globe”.
It didn’t end there as the Macon-Bibb County recognised her tremendous efforts in various sectors.
Mayor of Macon-Bibb County, Georgia, Lester M. Miller, proclaimed and urged the county “to commend her in her efforts to save lives, improve livelihoods, empower women, and protect the environment.”
Adding her own applause was Senator Donzella James, a Member of the Georgia State Senate.
“Be it resolved that H.E Hajia Samira Bawumia is recognised and commended for her many wonderful accomplishments and extended sincere best wishes for continued health, happiness and prosperity,” She said in a written resolution bearing her signature and seal.
GWAG, a global organisation with membership spanning America, Europe, Africa and Asia, and headquartered in Atlanta, U.S., praised Mrs Bawumia for her “selfless sacrifice and devotion to humanity, as well as the remarkable substance and philanthropic spirit you bring to the Office of the Second Lady”.
GWAG crowned Mrs Samira Bawumia out of over 100 personalities from more than 10 countries for her “unwavering and life-saving support for the vulnerable and underprivileged, through various social interventions that transcend the shores of Ghana”.
Through the Samira Empowerment & Humanitarian Projects (SEHP), the Second Lady has transformed the lives of uncountable marginalised women and deprived children and boosted girl child education.
Her ‘Safe Delivery Project’ aims to distribute 100,000 well-resourced birth kits to expectant mothers in deprived communities across Ghana.
Over 6,000 birth kits have been distributed to mothers in deprived and difficult-to-reach communities so far.
SEHP has also resourced 38 health facilities across Ghana.
She has also established the SEHP Skills and Entrepreneurial Development Initiative (SEDI), aimed at improving the socio-economic well-being of women generally through training, provision of capital, start-up kits and the establishment of micro-enterprise schemes.
Over 3,600 rural and urban women have benefitted from various vocational and entrepreneurial skills-sets.
A further 1,200 women have had their capacities enhanced through the Shea Empowerment Initiative, a women’s economic empowerment and rural enterprise project aimed at training 1,600 women in quality shea nut (a major cash crop in Ghana) collection and processing, with access to a ready market for finished shea products.
As part of the initiative, Her Excellency has also constructed four modern, environmentally friendly shea processing factories in the Northern, North East, Upper West and Upper East Regions of Ghana, which will provide about 300 direct and 1,500 indirect employment.
Her Excellency is an advocate for the ‘Combined Maternal and Child Health Record Book Project’ - a Ghana Health Service initiative, with support from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
She is also supporting the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on the ‘Nurturing Care Framework for Early Childhood Development’, a project focused primarily on childcare.
Mrs Bawumia is spearheading a Coalition of People against Sexual and Gender-based Violence and Harmful Practices (CoPASH) in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
The mandate of CoPASH is to bring together agencies, organisations and individuals who are passionate about the rights of women and girls to advocate for better case management for victims of “Sexual and Gender-Based Violence and Harmful Practices” (SGBVs/HPs).
Hajia Samira Bawumia is determined to make Ghana a literary powerhouse.
She has so far distributed about one hundred thousand 100,000 books to over 200,000 pupils in 60 basic schools across Ghana as part of her ‘Get Ghana Reading Campaign’.
She is also the Patron of the Samira Bawumia Literature Prize, a launchpad for aspiring Ghanaian writers to share their art with the world.
Mrs Bawumia is the Chief Trustee of the SEHP Educational Trust Fund, a fund set up to provide scholarships to brilliant but needy students in tertiary institutions.
In October 2017, She was appointed as a Global Ambassador for the Clean Cooking Alliance, a public-private partnership hosted by the United Nations Foundation to save lives, improve livelihoods, empower women, and protect the environment.
Hajia Samira Bawumia was named the first of seven global honourees by Sustainable Energy for All (SEforAll), in partnership with Ashden.
She uses her influence to raise awareness on issues of clean cooking and advocates for the adoption of clean energy solutions on the global stage.
Hajia Samira Bawumia advocates clean cooking solutions at several international conferences and fora as part of her global mandate.
