Ms Ritabella Garlo

For over a decade, an ambi­tious Ghanaian lady, Ritabella Esionam Garglo, has remained dedicated to empowering needy children and influencing communi­ty policies.

The Executive Director and Founder of No Limits Charity Organisa­tion in James Town, Accra is pas­sionate about serv­ing the community and provid­ing better livelihoods for the underprivileged in society.

After losing her father at age 15, she depended on the benevolence of others and took up jobs as a teen­ager to navigate through life, espe­cially school. Then it dawned on her to work towards prepar­ing a safe haven for people who might find themselves in similar situations.

That gave birth to her charity organisation 13 years ago, which had since supported over 50 needy children to attain education, through to the tertiary level.

The dream was to be­come an African woman who translated her challenging life experiences into creat­ing a positive social change in the lives of other young people across the continent and beyond.

The organisation started in 2011 with just five chil­dren, out of which two are in the Senior High School (SHS) with the others ac­quiring vocational skills.

The organisation is currently supporting over 50 children with scholar­ships and also operating as a learning and Information and Communication (ICT) Centre in James Town.

Aside taking care of children, Ms Garglo empowers the youth through vocational skills and support widows. She also provides financial assis­tance for parents to take care of their wards through school.

Additionally, she enrolled 10 young people into skills training in hairdressing, tai­loring, barbering and interior designs among others.

She also donates statio­neries, books and uniforms to thousands of needy chil­dren across the country to support their education. The Philanthropist has also donated other items worth over GHȻ50,000 to the flood victims of the recent Akosom­bo Dam Spillage.

Ms Garglo feeds 1000 people in James Town and its environs every Christmas from 2015 till date and is commit­ted to it.

She is looking forward to expanding the organisation to include a pre-school, voca­tional and research centre with sponsors all over the country to give hope to the needy.

EDUCATION

Ms Garglo attended the Great Lamptey Mills School for her basic school education before attending the Meth­odist Girls High School at Mamfe in the Eastern Region in 2008.

She also attained a Diploma at the School of Social Welfare in 2011 and recently completed the University of Ghana where she acquired a Degree in Human Resource Management and Psychology.

WORK

In order to save enough to continue her education, at age 15, she had her first job as Receptionist at her alma ma­ter, Great Lamptey Mills in 2004.

She also worked as a Teacher at the Jahans Education Centre in Mamprobi from 2008 to 2010 where she saved to support her younger sister through school.

In 2010, she worked with the Elector­al Commission for the District Assembly elections and later the Statistical Ser­vice for the 2010 Population Census.

She is currently the Administrative Secretary at the Operations Department of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO).

AWARDS

In 2018, she won the Inspiring Wom­an of the Year award by Eve Ministry, before being adjudged the Outstand­ing Child Education Advocate of the Year-Humanitarian Global Awards in 2022. She had the 2023 African Peace Advocate Award-Honorary Awards as well as 2023 YALI Alumni Excellence Award and recently 100 Most Inspiring Change Maker-Humanitarian Global Awards.

 By Michael D. Abayateye