History

Community Development and Empowerment Foundation (COMMDEF) was founded in 2007 in Kusawgu, Central Gonja District in the Savannah region of Ghana, by Mr Brett Meyers (U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer) and Mr Francis Tella, a native of Kusawgu. Brett and Francis were moved by the poor living conditions of the people of Central Gonja District and vowed to make a difference in the lives of the poor in the rural communities of the District including Kusawgu. Frustrated by the lack of basic social needs in the areas such as lack of portable water, lack of health care facilities, higher illiteracy rates among adults, high rates of out of school children (OOSC) and high school drop out rates, poor learning outcomes, lack of market responsive skills training opportunities, food insecurity, violence against women and girls, early and forced marriage of girls, Community Development and Empowerment Foundation (COMMDEF) was formed to implement grass-root pro-poor projects to address these challenges. Mr Brett Meyers (U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer) and Mr Francis Tella knew that by implementing grass-root pro-poor projects permanent change would happen. One of the Founding members, Mr Francis now serves as the Executive Director of Community Development and Empowerment Foundation (COMMDEF).