Boi is one of the many small villages in the Abokobi Electoral Area The village is located in the Ga East Municipality of the Greater Accra Region, and about 800-900 meters away from the Abokobi township, with an inhabitant population of close to thousand persons.
Boi is largely under-developed and irregularly
placed kiosks and squatter settlements greet a first timer into the community,
predominantly inhabited by Ga-speaking people.
irregularly placed kiosks @ Boi |
The community, a part of the Ga East Municipality
appears to have been cut-off the normal urban communities, and as a result of
the low standard of living of inhabitants, farming is their main occupation.
For decades, the community had to make do without
some basic social amenities, such as schools, health centers, public toilets
and the like.
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some settlements @ Boi |
But for the benevolence of some NGO’s in health and education,
as well as private stakeholders, establishment of the current CHPS compound and
some schools here would not have seen the light of day.
Despite these welcoming initiatives in the area, a
lot seems to be lacking in an attempt for the community to achieve
developmental status like their more fortunate sister communities in the
municipality.
Proper waste management systems here are pretty much
non-existent, hence compelling inhabitants to dump refuse in an open space
close to some homes, to the left of God’s Grace barbering shop, in the
community.
This dump site also invariably serves as a public
toilet for some inhabitants. On my visit, I spotted some children defecating on
the dump site, bare-footed.
defecation on open refuse dump @ Boi |
The connection of the soon-to-develop area to the
national grid came as welcome news and a breath of life into the community.
An action, which has led to the upsurge in petty
business enterprises in the area, serving as a source of livelihoods for the people.
That notwithstanding, some dwellers here earn below
the minimum wage of about six cedis for the least form of work done.
Some private investors identifying the community as
a thriving ground for business have established some four private institutions
of learning.
This move has in a way bridged the huge education
gap among residents, but even this, is a reserve for the few town folk who can
afford the fees.
Framers of the 1992 constitution, and their dream to
see the citizens attain education in a certain form, seems not to be one that
people of this community are entitled to.
The community lacks anything close to a public school,
which would have served the Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE)
needs of the people. For residents who were interested in some form of
education for their wards, the children have to trek over a kilometer to the
Abokobi district school far away in the municipal capital, Abokobi.
If this is
not a disincentive for getting education, what else can be?
With the outset of the rainy season, while some
residents are heavily anticipating a good farming season, a few others whose
dwellings are affected by the rains are dreading the rains.
I see Marcus busily tilling a piece of fenced land readying the portion for planting maize later in the week.
Marcus,tilling a piece of land @ Boi |
I see Marcus busily tilling a piece of fenced land readying the portion for planting maize later in the week.
He is not alone; many other inhabitants are doing
same.
The rains also usually leave in its wake huge
gullies which make the already deplorable road networks unmotorable at times.
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some roads @ Boi when it rains |
Among the consequences of the season associated with
rains,‘troskis’ do not ply the full distance of the road, leaving commuters and
passengers stranded midway through their
journey.
Child exploitation does not appear abating anytime
soon, at least not at Boi.At a facility close to the main chemical shop in the vicinity,
some masonry work is on-going.
A number of below fifteen year old boys were busy fetching water from a half-broken bridge for use by the mason in his work.
The question which immediately arose in my mind was
whether or not these young boys were doing these with the express consent of
their parents.
I called one of the boys to have a word with him; he
tells me his mother was aware of his participation of an activity like this.
How much are they paid for their work?
Surprisingly, the monies these guys are paid after
such heinous work cannot even provide an average lunch meal for them.
One cedi per child, after several buckets of water
fetched for the concrete works going on, this in its consistent form could be
serious crime against these children and their rights.
A striking feature in this community is their religious nature. For some reason, many of the stalls and establishments in the area have religious inscriptions on them. Some were King Jesus International School, Christian Educational Center, To God be the glory hair saloon,’Nyame beye’ cold store among others.
And just as I decide to leave the community, I crush into a fascinating scene. Some weird missionary group had invaded the near-slum community and was performing some eye-catching displays, chanting and singing. Their energy was phenomenal.
some children in the community being exploited |
A striking feature in this community is their religious nature. For some reason, many of the stalls and establishments in the area have religious inscriptions on them. Some were King Jesus International School, Christian Educational Center, To God be the glory hair saloon,’Nyame beye’ cold store among others.
And just as I decide to leave the community, I crush into a fascinating scene. Some weird missionary group had invaded the near-slum community and was performing some eye-catching displays, chanting and singing. Their energy was phenomenal.
The male missionaries had their haircut in a funny
way with all the hair, but a small round portion on the back of their heads,
shaved, like a monk.hahahahaaaaaaa…
missionary group displaying in the community |