Uncategorized – NABOCADO

18-Year-Old American Youth Donates 25 Beds and Relief Items to Burkinabe Refugees at Tarikom

February 27, 2026By Athanasius Ataarem0 comment

Joey Schoene and the Tarikom refugee community celebrate together during his donation visit.

NABOCADO is delighted to share an inspiring act of compassion from 18-year-old American youth, Joey Schoene, who has donated 25 wooden beds with mattresses, food and other items to Burkinabe refugees at the Tarikom Reception and Settlement Center.

Joey first encountered the challenges faced by refugees during a visit with other youth from the USA to the Diocese in August 2025 facilitated by CRS. Moved by the living conditions of refugees, he returned home and initiated a personal fundraising effort integrated into his senior year high school project — to support the sleeping conditions of the refugees.

Joey Schoene waves warmly as he arrives at the Tarikom Reception and Settlement Center.

This week, Joey returned to Ghana with his father, Michael, and with coordination from NABOCADO and CRS Ghana, he presented the beds along with the following items to the refugees:

Items Donated

🛏️ 25 wooden beds with mattresses

🍚 42 bags of rice

🧂 Salt

🩹 Sanitary pads

⚽ Footballs

📚 Learning materials for Tarikom Primary School

Joey rolls up his sleeves to help carry donated items to the camp.

Joseph and his dad helping to nail some wood

Joey and his father Michael assist with assembling the wooden beds.

Joey spent nearly a week touring and supervising the construction and assembly of the beds, ensuring that the donation was done with care and dignity.

Refugees settle onto their new beds at the Tarikom Reception and Settlement Center.

At a time when the camp faces increased vulnerability after the withdrawal of support from UNHCR and other partners, Joey’s gesture brought renewed hope, dignity, and encouragement to the refugee community.

Joey shares a joyful moment playing football with a child at the camp.

We celebrate this extraordinary young leader for choosing kindness and solidarity with displaced families in need. We also appreciate the efforts of all stakeholders who made this possible.

A Message of Gratitude

Thank you, Joey — for reminding us that compassion knows no borders, and that one young person’s courage can change lives.

Tarikom Refugee Project Humanitarian Response Refugee Support CRS Ghana

NABOCADO Inaugurates New 11-Member Governing Board

December 23, 2025By Athanasius Ataarem0 comment

Bishop Agyenta Inaugurates New NABOCADO Governing Board

The Most Rev. Alfred Agyenta, Bishop of the Navrongo-Bolgatanga Catholic Diocese, on Friday, 19th December 2025 officially inaugurated a new 11-member Governing Board of the Navrongo-Bolgatanga Catholic Diocesan Development Organisation (NABOCADO) to guide the strategic direction and oversight of the organisation.

The new Board takes over from the Prof. David Millar–led Board, whose tenure over the past three years was marked by remarkable institutional growth and transformation. Under their leadership, NABOCADO developed and implemented several impactful organisational policies, expanded strategic partnerships, and attained nationwide recognition as a Catholic Diocesan Development Organisation worthy of learning and replication.

The outgoing Board also successfully steered NABOCADO through a comprehensive rebranding process, strengthened its visibility, and oversaw a smooth leadership transition from Dr. Joseph Ayembilla to Dr. Joseph Bangu as Executive Director.

At a short handing-over and swearing-in ceremony, Bishop Agyenta charged members of the new Board to see their appointment as a call to service to both the Church and the people of the Diocese.

“This role is an opportunity to serve the Church not only with your resources, but also with your time, talent, and professional expertise. I urge you to help strengthen NABOCADO so it can continue to create greater impact for the people we serve.”

— Bishop Alfred Agyenta

NABOCADO Governing Board

Mr. Thomas Awiapo – Chairman

Dr. Joseph Bangu – Executive Director, NABOCADO (Secretary)

Board Members

Ms. Edna Ivy Adabayeri, Esq.

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Awiah

Dr. Helen Akolgo-Azupogo

Dr. Mary-Magdalene Pedavoah

Mr. Hilary Abii Asiah

Dr. Peter Anabire Asungre

Madam Alice Ellen Abeere-Inga

Rev. Fr. Joseph Aseyire Tabase

Special Advisor

Prof. David Millar

NABOCADO warmly welcomes the new Governing Board and looks forward to a collaborative partnership aimed at deepening development impact, strengthening accountability, and advancing the organisation’s mission of promoting human dignity, peace, and sustainable development across the Diocese.

Bishop Agyenta marks World Day of the Sick at St. Theresa Health Center.

June 19, 2025By Athanasius Ataarem0 comment

Zorko – On Friday, June 13, 2025, Bishop Alfred Agyenta joined staff from NABOCADO and the Catholic Health Trust to commemorate this year’s World Day of the Sick at the St. Theresa Health Center in Zorko.

The 33rd celebration of this significant day, which began on February 11 under the theme “Hope does not disappoint” (Romans 5:5), featured a variety of activities including health screenings, home visits, and health education on selected diseases, culminating in a prayer mass and a durbar.

In his message to the church community and healthcare staff, Bishop Agyenta emphasized the importance of compassion for the sick, highlighting it as the essence of the day. “We must be sensitive to the plight of the sick and suffering,” he urged. “As healthcare providers, you have the opportunity to be a source of hope and healing.”

Dr. Joseph Bangu, Executive Director of NABOCADO, echoed the Bishop’s sentiments in his address, calling for professionalism and improved standards in healthcare services among hospitals and their staff, particularly those affiliated with the Catholic Church. “We must strive for excellence in the care we provide,” he stated.

The World Day of the Sick serves as an awareness day in the Catholic Church, intended for “prayer and sharing, offering one’s suffering for the good of the Church, and reminding everyone to see in their sick brother or sister the face of Christ.” Instituted by Pope John Paul II on May 13, 1992, the day is celebrated annually on February 11, coinciding with the memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes.

Mass and gathering during World Day of the Sick

The event also honored the dedication of staff and management from Catholic health facilities in the Diocese of Navrongo-Bolgatanga with awards for their outstanding contributions to healthcare services.

PROSSFA Project: NABOCADO Executive Director and Staff Visit Beneficiary Farm

March 25, 2025By Athanasius Ataarem0 comment

The Executive Director of NABOCADO, Dr. Joseph Ayembilla, along with several staff members, conducted a working visit to the farm of Emmanuel, a beneficiary of the Professionalization of Small Scale Farming (PROSSFA) project.

This visit follows a successful training and exchange learning trip to Uganda in August 2024 and is part of ongoing monitoring efforts. The aim is to provide guidance and ensure that young farmers effectively apply the knowledge they have gained through the Ghana-Germany-Uganda partnership cooperation program.

Emmanuel, a dedicated catfish farmer, is one of 20 youth farmers selected for the PROSSFA project. The initiative aims to enhance their skills and expertise, empowering them to view agriculture as a viable business that creates sustainable jobs and income.

During the visit, the team engaged in discussions on how to standardize Emmanuel’s farm practices, focusing on infrastructure, scalability, record keeping, and strategies to enhance productivity in fish farming.

Dr. Ayembilla expressed his appreciation for Emmanuel’s efforts and offered valuable insights into areas for improvement. He emphasized that NABOCADO is committed to providing the necessary support to Emmanuel and other passionate farmers, helping them align their businesses with the objectives of the PROSSFA project. Currently, Emmanuel operates a comprehensive catfish business that includes a hatchery, sales of fingerlings, a production pond, and a grilling point in Navrongo.

Journey of Hope: NABOCADO Welcomes CRS Delegation

November 22, 2024By Athanasius Ataarem0 comment

Most Rev. Brendan Cahill, Bishop of Victoria, Texas, a board member of CRS, and a delegation of senior leadership from CRS have completed a three-day visit to the Navrongo-Bolgatanga Catholic Diocese as part of the “Journey of Hope” initiative. This visit aimed to highlight the fruitful collaboration between NABOCADO and Catholic Relief Services (CRS) in implementing meaningful interventions that benefit local communities.

The delegation, accompanied by NABOCADO staff, visited various intervention sites, including the Tarikom Asylum Seekers Reception and Settlement Center, where they saw firsthand the positive changes brought about by their joint efforts.

At the center, the delegation interacted with asylum seekers, who shared their inspiring stories about how NABOCADO and CRS initiatives, particularly the CRS EMPOWER project’s Multipurpose Cash Assistance program, have significantly improved their lives since arriving. The visit also included a tour of a local primary school that has been beautifully renovated thanks to the support from both organizations, highlighting the tangible impact of their collaboration on education and community well-being.
On the second day, the team visited project sites in the North East region, engaging with farmers to discuss the positive effects of the interventions in their lives.

The delegation included Sarita Hanley, Founding Member of Building One Community and Member of the CRS Foundation Board; Shannon Senefeld, Senior Vice President of Overseas Operations; Sofia Larkin, CRS Regional Development Director for Texas and Member of the Hispanic Development Unit; Rebekah Lemke, CRS Deputy Content Director for Multimedia for Charitable Giving; and Laura Elizabeth Pohl, CRS Multimedia Editor. They were accompanied by the Regional Director for CRS West Africa, Jennifer Overton.

The “Journey of Hope” emphasizes the vital role of partnerships in fostering community development, and both NABOCADO and CRS are committed to continuing their collaboration to create more opportunities for support and growth in the future.

JourneyOfHope #NABOCADO #CRS #CommunityImpact #LifeChangingProjects

Story by: Moses Apana, NABOCADO.

Ensuring sustainable farming: NABOCADO to establish farmer training Institute

August 6, 2024By Athanasius Ataarem0 comment

There are plans for the Navrongo-Bolgatanga Catholic Diocesan Development Organisation (NABOCADO), a faith-based organisation, to establish a Farmer Training School in the Diocese.

The school, dubbed “Institute for Sustainable Farming”, will serve as a training ground for people interested in farming and have passion in farm enterprises and businesses to enrich their knowledge with practical skills in the agriculture production value chain.

The school intends, among other things, to empower the people to view farming as a business, create jobs for themselves and others as well as contribute to adapt to climate change impacts and enhance food security, improve livelihoods of rural communities and ensure sustainable farming practices.

Mr Dominic Avea, Director in charge of Livelihood and Advocacy Directorate of NABOCADO, made these known on the sidelines of a training workshop organised by NABOCADO for selected youth farmers within the Diocese.

The Diocese comprise two regions, thus, Upper East and North East Regions, providing 30 beneficiaries in practical training in pig and catfish farming as part of a project dubbed “Ghana, Germany and Uganda partnership cooperation programme”, being implemented by NABOCADO in collaboration with the Caritas of Uganda and Germany.

The pilot project also comprised of exchange learning visits of the beneficiaries to partner organisations and countries to help the youth gain practical knowledge and skills in the agriculture value chain.
Mr Avea explained that the training was a pilot and the results from it would inform future training and planning.

Speaking at the opening of the five day training on piggery at Pusu-Namongo in the Talensi District, The Most Reverend Alfred Agyenta, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Navrongo-Bolgatanga, said the project sought to empower young people with practical skills to venture into agriculture activities particularly piggery and catfish farming.

The Bishop said the increasing rate of unemployment was creating frustration among young people and there was the need to complement government’s efforts to provide alternative employment opportunities for the people.

“The project seeks to address the fundamental problem of unemployment in Ghana but at the same time we are ensuring that the young people live dignified lives and so we appeal to the government and other partners, including the private sector to create more opportunities for young people to empower them economically,” he said.

Dr Joseph Bangu, Director of Good Governance, Justice and Peace, NABOCADO, said the Catholic Church was not only concerned about the spiritual growth of the people but was leveraging opportunities to empower communities socially, economically and politically.
He said over the years the Church, through NABOCADO had provided education, health, livelihood and peace interventions to many hard-to-reach communities within the Diocese and called for collective efforts to improve living standards of vulnerable people.

The beneficiaries thanked NABOCADO and its partners for the intervention and noted that it would help them to improve production and pledged to train their colleagues in their communities for the project to achieve maximum impact.

Source: GNA

Story by: Moses Apana, NABOCADO.

NABOCADO Staff receive capacity building in Fundraising and Communication.

July 22, 2024By Athanasius Ataarem0 comment

Staff of Navrongo-Bolgatanga Catholic Diocesan Development Organization, NABOCADO have received capacity building in fundraising and Communications in emergency response and project implementation.

This a continuation of our partnership with CRS EMPOWER WARO with a five-day capacity building for our staff in two critical areas of our operations- Resource Mobilization and Communication.

The training which held under the EMPOWER WARO funded “Empowering Partner Organizations Working in Emergency Response” (EMPOWER) project seeks to equip
NABOCADO with skills and strategic expertise in Resource Mobilization and Strategic Communication.

Under the facilitation of Nanette GENDRY, Regional Communications Manager at CRS WARO and Astrid AGOSSOU
Business Development Technical Advisor for CRS EMPOWER WARO, NABOCADO will design a Communication Strategy Workplan which will help in our stakeholder and partner engagements.

Topics discussed included proposal writing, fundraising, stakeholder engagement, photography among others.

Story and Photos by : Moses Apana, NABOCADO.

SCRAS Project: NABOCADO drives Tree planting in Communities.

July 22, 2024By Athanasius Ataarem0 comment

Trees play a crucial role in mitigating the effects of climate change.

As part of the implementation of the Community Climate Adaptation Actions Plans (CAAPs), NABOCADO is facilitating the acquisition and distribution of Tree Seedlings to communities under the Strengthening of Smallholder Farmers Resilience Against Climate Change (SCRAS) project funded by Misereor of Germany.

This forms part of community-led actions toward creating a more sustainable and resilient environment.

We are grateful for the support of the various districts Forestry Department for their partnership and the dedication of the communities in taking action to address climate change. Together, we can make a difference and create a better future for all.

#ClimateAction #TreePlanting #CommunityAdvocacy #SCRASProject #NABOCADO #Misereor

Story and Photos by : Moses Apana, NABOCADO.

EMPOWER Project: CRS WARO Trains NABOCADO Staff on Emergency Response Preparedness.

July 1, 2024By Athanasius Ataarem3 Comments

Selected Staff of NABOCADO have been through a five-day capacity building workshop on Emergency Response Preparedness.

The training which forms part of the Empowering Partner Organizations Working in Emergency Response, EMPOWER project funded by CRS EMPOWER West Africa Regional Office (WARO), aims to build staff and the NABOCADO’s capacity in planning and execution of emergency activities.

Staff are also leveraging the knowledge gained from the training in developing standard operating procedures (SOPs) and guidelines on emergency response which will help NABOCADO improve its Coordination, Communication, MEAL, among other critical areas.

Making a statement to open the session on Monday, 24th June 2024 in Bolgatanga, the Human Development Coordinator of NABOCADO, Dr Joseph Ayembilla urged staff to participate effectively and attentively in all activities of the training.

He said “ This is another important and critical training we are getting from the EMPOWER project. I am very pleased with trainings that CRS have facilitated and I believe it will go a long way to ensure we do our work in emergencies situations with appropriate care and professionalism.”

The workshop is being facilitated by Madgestan Ngueadoum, Advisor on Programme Quality at CRS West Africa Regional Office, WARO and supported by Akanpabadai Timothy Amang-bey, CRS-GHANA head of Ofice, Tamale.

Bishop Agyenta pledges support of Catholic to New Upper East Regional Minister.

June 21, 2024By Athanasius Ataarem1 Comment

The Bishop of the Navrongo-Bolgatanga Catholic Diocese, Most Rev. Alfred Agyenta, has assured the newly appointed Upper East Regional Minister, Hafiz Bin Salih, of his unflinching support in ensuring the development, peace, and security of the region.

During a courtesy call on Friday, 24th May 2024 at the Catholic Bishop Secretariat in Bolgatanga, His Lordship Agyenta stated that the Catholic Church and his office will continue to support all government efforts in education, health, livelihood empowerment, peace, and security.

“We will continue to collaborate and will not hesitate to reach out to the minister and all other stakeholders to partner on common issues for solutions,” the Bishop said.

He emphasized the Church’s commitment to working with the minister and continuing the collaboration that was established with his predecessor. “The collaboration that we gave to your predecessor, we will do same with you. You have heard the various interventions that we are doing. We are looking forward to collaborating a little more. We have always made it clear that our doors are open and if there is anything, we will reach out to you.” He stated.

The courtesy call, which took place at the Diocesan Secretariat, allowed the two leaders to discuss pertinent issues concerning the development of the Upper East Region, including peace and security. The Bishop expressed his enthusiasm and readiness to help tackle the protracted ethnic and chieftaincy disputes that have plagued the region.

In response, the newly transferred Upper East Regional Minister, Hafiz Bin Salih, praised the Catholic Church for its decades of assistance to governments and communities, particularly in health and education for rural communities.

He highlighted the Bishop and the Catholic Church in the region he will rely on to fulfill his mandate as minister.
“Coming to the Upper East region, the Bishop is one of the people that I am relying upon to be able to discharge the mandate given to me by the President,” Salih said. He acknowledged the significant contributions of the Catholic Church to human resource development and expressed his commitment to improving the relationship between the Church and the Upper East Regional Coordinating Council.