Since its establishment in 1958, Israel's Agency for International Development Cooperation (MASHAV) has contributed in training over 2000 Ghanaian professionals in the fields of education, agriculture, health, and women empowerment. Also, between 2017 and 2018 alone, more than 70 Ghanaian professions have received training in various MASHAV courses in Israel and Ghana.
This was revealed by the Israeli Ambassador to Ghana, H. E. Shani Cooper, during a Shalom Club Networking event to celebrate the 60th anniversary of MASHAV and create a platform for the alumni to share their experiences for further collaborations.
Addressing the MASHAV alumni at the Shalom Club networking event, Ambassador Cooper encouraged the alumni to be the ambassadors and voices of Israel Ghana relations through the knowledge that they have acquired in the various MASHAV training courses.
“Israel needs your help, we need you to stand by our side, we need you to say what you feel towards Israel to other people, to express the good and positive attitude that you have experienced in Israel to other people all over Ghana,” she added.
Sharing insight on the strengths of Israel, the Embassy of Israel’s Trade and Economic Attaché’ to Ghana, Ms Ayelet Karp, also urged the alumni to collaborate more with the Trade and Economic Mission to actualize the knowledge and skills they acquired in Israel.
Throughout 2018, MASHAV in Ghana has been involved in a number of cooperation in sectors such as health, agriculture, education and women empowerment. In the last quarter alone, together with the GIZ, MASHAV provided intensive irrigation and fertigation trainings for various agricultural professionals at the Adidome Farming Institute and the Ghana Irrigation and Development Training Centre at Dawenya.
MASHAV was established in 1958 following the vision of then Foreign Minister Golda Meir and Prime Minister David Ben Gurion to assist fellow nations overcome development challenges by sharing knowhow and technologies which provided the basis of Israel’s own development. It leads Israel’s efforts in empowering individuals and communities in need by sharing tools and expertise to achieve sustainable development.
Since its inception, about 36,000 plus people from Africa have been trained in Israel while 31,500 people have received a MASHAV related course training in Africa. One significant in print of MASHAV’s training in Ghana is Dr. Kwabena Darko, the CEO of Darko Farms. He is one of the very first people from Ghana to be trained in Israel and his impact, has since spread in the poultry industry in Ghana.