One Banku, One Stomach – The Plight of Kayayee

“Hey ! You’re fetching so much soup for just one banku”, Alaah’s mum yelled at him. Bingo ! Alaah had a change of plan; before he steps into hall, he decides to add more soup and drinks till it came to a reasonable level with the one banku in the bowl. This is sign of a genius, isn’t it? Whew!

You know your next meal, don’t you? Mine is beans called 'Tε' in Gurune. Shea butter and onions will sweeten my beans. Yummy !! Lemme flow you some filla be. 

Some young women walked to the compound of Citi FM/Citi TV to enquire about a group which was providing meals to the poor and vulnerable. Well, the media network decided to provide food and water to quench their hungry souls but they had to plan for their own survival for the rest of the days in the lockdown.

Meanwhile, eating Tuo Zaafi every day in their villages and towns will be better than being on these streets of Accra with the Gender Ministry and other corporations sharing hot meals to them.

Many of them are my countrymen who were stranded because the markets which served homes and source of income were being disinfected and only individuals providing essential services were allowed to operate.

While some decided to move back to the towns and villages, others were stranded in Accra with their babies.

Accra – The Golden City and our dreams

Travelling to Accra and other parts of southern Ghana means a break in the cycle of poverty. It is either we are continuing our education or desperately searching for menial jobs to insulate from poverty. The Kayaye look very strong and tough because that's the only option they have or else they will perish in the cosmopolitan.

My family is displaced for economic reasons as we moved from the borders of Burkina Faso to settle in the heart of the Greater Accra region. Luckily, we are not on the streets but housed somewhere in an international community, thus Zongo estates. Living with so many nationalities and tribes is such a great experience and witnessing how religion and others uniting them is another mystery.

Just like the stranded women on the streets, we started in a similar manner. 

Why will one leave his/her fertile arable land and strong mud houses to be in Accra under harsh weather conditions?

In a country with unparalleled developments, families are displaced in their quest to seek greener pastures.

The dry season is such an exasperation period so the women and youth move into the urban areas to render their services in exchange for wages and salaries which are mostly below the minimum wage.

The announcement of the One Village, One Dam initiative was a sign of relief with the hope of an endless supply of water throughout the dry season. Water scarcity cripples agricultural activities and drives people into the cities. It is among the many reasons we migrate.

Unfortunately, the authorities created ‘dugouts’ in some of our communities as revealed by Joshua Asaah in the Upper East. That is the problem, development is a process but some unpatriotic people seem to be myopic. So they nib our prosperity in the bud with their selfishness.

Dams are needed in the Upper East, Upper West and Northern region as we rely on the existing ones for domestic and agricultural purposes. So the government must fast-track these developmental projects to help us.

The Kayayo travels to Accra not because the city offers heaven as she thought but the meagre income she earns each day. Kayakaya isn’t a lucrative job where they gladly recruit young girls. The truth is that they lack life skills so they are left with no alternative. It is surprising that some people perceive that Kayayei goes for juju to carry heavier loads and meet more customers. Mtchwee, you be okay?

There' no pleasure when we sleep on the streets of Accra meanwhile our arable lands are untilled with our houses being empty. 

Why we are leaving agriculture in pursuit of education and menial jobs?

Education is the only way we can break the cycle of poverty, so we pursue it with our hearts and soul. We pride in a monthly salary to cater for our needs as we nurture the next badge to live beyond just the salary.

The graph above shows the youth literacy rate which is the percentage of people ages 15 - 24 who can, with understanding, read and write a short, simple statement on their everyday life. 

Agriculture only becomes attractive with improved seeds to match the changing climate and soil. Planting for Foods and Jobs which is among government's flagship program was an answer however the loopholes created and the smuggling of subsidized fertilizers and other materials is a major concern. So we will leave the agriculture sector because of its risk. Even the banks are reluctant to give us loans due to its risks.

The One District, One Factory sounds pleasant in the ear however our farm produce is yet to feel the heat of the machines. Building the factories to process our agricultural produce will be our greatest gain. However, these are either not available or insufficient. The menial jobs help to provide immediate needs and possibly wants so we dump commercial farming because of its a high-risk venture.

With subsistence farming, we focus on education and menial jobs to support the journey in breaking the cycle of poverty. 

I'm off to help my grandma prepare some dawadawa for the next market day. I will come with more filla. Until then ....

Three tomatoes for 5 cedis, lockdown memories and rainy season

Arriving at the Osu market to get some vegetables, a trader leaned forward and whispered, “Three tomatoes for Five cedis”, when my friend asked the cost of the tomatoes on her tray. Speechless I was as she tumbles the tomatoes into his paper bag and they weren't even Navrongo tomatoes, mtchweee.

My inner spirit wondered if this was the definition of the lockdown of the urban areas to curb the spread of coronavirus. Nonetheless, we will overcome this disease and that trader will hear from me soon.

The rains have kissed our soil and this reminds us of our annual grief as our homes, markets, and offices become swimming pools for a pool party and our farmlands become temporal ponds with our crops overdosed with water.

Well, as we reduce movements and stay home, we can’t afford the luxury of our rooms storing flooding waters and our properties floating like rescue boats on a mission. We need to start planning to control the situation amidst coronavirus pandemic.

The irregular rainfall pattern which is an effect of climate change can be addressed when we build structures to harvest our water and pay attention to the Ghana Meteorological Agency. Don’t argue with me on how weather forecasts from the Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMet) never happened.

Death is inevitable, however, death caused by changes in the atmospheric conditions indicates the need to pay attention to weather forecasts from GMet.

The Ghana Meteorological Agency is an agent of both goodwill and doom as it predicts the good and adverse weather conditions which affect our lives and properties. Let’s transcend into fiction;

The clouds had gathered to release raindrops and Alaah, a middle aged-Ghanaian, hurriedly fills his backpack with his belongings to escape the flooding roads. The skies were lit with thunder lightning, and each creature assembled under its shelter for safety.

In a village setting, one will experience quality air flashing through the brick or blockhouses, with birds flying over the sky to stay safe and earth-moving animals running into their pens for safety.

However, living in an urban area is quite different as polythene bags compete in the skies, with fumes from cars and factories confusing the alveoli whether or not to exchange the polluted air with carbon dioxide into the bloodstream. This leaves you gasping for quality air. Well, it depends on the part of the urban area you live in.

Did you bother to check on the weather forecast for the next 48-hour?

Urban dwellers evoke curses and recite words to choke the skies of a possible downpour because the roads will be flooded, lives and properties will be lost.

Walking briskly to the bus terminal, Alaah jumps over underground drainage systems which have been exposed by flooding waters. The bus terminal was choked by other citizens and homeless people who were dressed in plastic to remain dry.

Smartphone users began searching for updates on the impact of the torrential rain on other parts of Accra. Their faces glowing with anxiety as the rain increased

Well, I can confidently say that majority of them had not bothered to check the weather forecast for the next 48-hours before leaving home.

After the June 3^rd disaster, our religious inclinations heightened as we consistently pray to the Supreme Being for protection instead of wisdom and sense of responsibility to change our bad habits of disposing of waste and building flood-resilient structures.

He jumps into the approaching vehicle when the bus conductor shouted, “Apaatanga ! Apaatanga !!”. Other passengers had to squeeze into the bus as the rains recede.

Scope of Ghana Meteorologist Agency’s (GMet) Work

The Ghana Meteorological Agency provides efficient and reliable meteorological information by collecting, processing, archiving, analysing and dissemination of findings/meteorological information to end-users.

Well, you might not have patronized their invaluable products/services despite being affected by weather conditions.

GMet provides a daily report in text and audio-visuals format on their Facebook page and website to bridge the information gap on weather conditions.

The Facebook page has hosted various weather forecast videos after its first video upload on Thursday 15^th June 2017. This information is not only beneficial to individuals and organizations in the agricultural sector but the general business community.

Weather Forecasts Information: Escaping premature deaths

These are a few pointers on the relevance of accessing weather forecasts.

1.     Citizens are able to make informed decisions about the choice of clothing and extreme weather conditions which affects productivity. Protective clothing and sunscreens are best sought when individuals envision changes in weather conditions. To exemplify, persons with albinism will need to get sunscreens and sunglasses when it is a sunny day with odd temperatures. Asthmatic patients will need their emergency tools for a hazy day. Persons with rheumatism will need medication or protective cloths. Some people have died due to unfavourable weather conditions hence there is a need to get daily updates on the weather conditions.

2.     Motorists and road users are able to plan their escape route to avoid heavy vehicular traffic, flood-prone areas and weak bridges and drainage systems. You don’t enjoy long waiting hours on the road before or after a busy day. This affects your health in the long run with possible cases of chronic stress. There have been media reports on citizens getting drowned in flooding waters with Kwame Nkrumah Interchange as an example.

3.     District assemblies are able to develop climate-resilient structures to absorb the impact of climate change and disease outbreaks.

 Other sources of weather forecasts

1.     Google feed

2.     Accuweather

3.     Yahoo weather