About Us
The Youth Advocacy on Rights and Opportunities (YARO) previously called Youth Action on Reproductive Order (YARO) is a youth-centred Non-Profit Organization founded in 1999 by a group of professional teachers who returned after school to make a lasting difference in their impoverished communities. YARO was legally incorporated by the Registrar General Department of Ghana in 2002.
The organization exists to promote the wellbeing and rights of young people in Northern Ghana through the design and implementation of innovative and culturally sensitive development interventions that meet the needs of the target groups.
Currently YARO is recognized among the leading Youth-Centred Development Organizations in Northern Ghana with operational offices in the Northern, Upper West and Upper East regions.
OUR VALUES
YARO is focused on adding value to our communities.
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- Our mission is to work for sustainable human development by sharing best practices and developing model strategies that respond to both the changing needs and challenges of children, women and the deprived society.
- We work with communities in areas where we can create the highest impact. If another organization is better suited to effect change, then YARO will work to collaborate or facilitate their goals and directives.
YARO works with a social conscience
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- A commitment to cultural/ethical practices valued by the individual communities.
- A commitment to environmentally sustainable practices (i.e. bush burning) with a positive impact on the environment.
- We are flexible and adaptable in methodology to meet the changing needs of our society.
YARO is a non-profit, development organization
We raise funds to serve our communities, not with the intention of making profit. Since YARO’s inception, all members of the core team have served as volunteers, without pay.
YARO is innovative and values self-sufficiency.
Being innovative helps us bring new ideas and model strategies into our problem-solving techniques to encourage our youth and the community to participate in solving their own problems.
YARO believes in the power of partnership
We believe in teamwork and see partnership and networking as vital tools in the empowerment of our communities. All power to accomplish flows through relationship.
Meet the team
Board of Directors
The Board of Directors is a crucial component of YARO’s success in communities. Elected every two years, each member comes to YARO based on recommendations from the program beneficiaries. The Board is culled from an exemplary group of elders and experts with equal representation in gender and religion, as well as recognized specialists from each program area (i.e. healthcare, microfinance, etc.)
As influential community leaders, the Board members provide crucial guidance from a ground level perspective. Meeting quarterly, the Board reviews project implementation, analyzes potential programs, and examines all reports to ensure YARO is at the forefront of best practices for community development.
Field Staff
Our local field staff, employed with funds from project partners, runs the various programs that YARO operates. Supervised by the Project Coordinators, most of our staff has college degrees, and all are vetted by the core team for their dedication, capability, and effectiveness. The staff is responsible for instituting all current programs alongside our project partners. Each quarter, the staff and coordinators collect their data and results for project reports, a crucial component for team analysis and donor reporting.