Yes, it was worth doing !

1972-2005: it is more than forty years now since our movement was created, on the banks of Tema, a small Ghanaian town, a short distance from Accra, the capital city. Since then, it has spread through Sub-Saharan Africa, to form what, currently, is known as IPPF- Africa Region.

The history of our Region has been written in successive waves marked by the arrival of member associations within its ranks, each with its realities, diffi culties, struggles and victories.

Indeed, difficulties, struggles and victories are the hallmark of this forty-year old journey enriched by its convulsive movements, but also by its teachings that deserve to be stored in form of a publication containing recognised facts with a luxury of details bordering on the anecdotal, often poignant and captivating but still a ferment of our communal house.

It is worth noting that the history of IPPF- Africa Region is the same as that of the uncanny individuals who quickly realized that population issues are central to the concept of development. Well ahead of their time, in a context where rising birth rates were in many cases, buttressed by outdated legislations that had been inherited from the colonial period, they were, in various contexts and circumstances branded as “crazy” or detractors and in all the cases ran the risk of going to prison or even losing their lives, therefore giving meaning to voluntary work. Like those that are convinced that the cause they are fi ghting for is justifi ed, they were carried by the strength of their convictions and fed on the hope for better family life, nations and the whole continent. That is why their work was perceived everywhere as real “evangelization work” because those pioneers had faith in salvation at the end of their work.