Dear World,
I have a problem. how to present the sustainable World poverty challenge: If i present poverty-relevant countries as rich places with rich people, i satisfy the pride of some of their citizens and probably foster the fight against stereotype thoughts, such as all Africans are poor, BUT at the expense of a child who in reality will die if not given the 2 dollars per day( GHS6.00. If i present poverty-relevant countries as acute-poor ones, I am suddenly a racist or a liar encouraging 'richer' countries to look down on other countries even if that child is saved. Take note, i normally only have less than 10 secs to get a donation, less than 15 words to showcase a need. I thought my work was to present a need to get support to provide that need NOT to present a country's whole economic situation. I just want to save that child. what do i do? Tell the Full story |
Among other things , i, like many other global citizens, check the 'get involved' pages of various international development organisations to share a key fact about a problem in hope to change a life or to encourage a changer. However, I must admit that it is embarrassing to see the negative aspect of our countries washed up on the sea shore for all to see. Like many others, i feel embarrassed to admit the flaws of my country and one easy solution seems to be to lash out at the third parties. But really na who cos' am? (pidgin translation: who caused it?)
Walking down the hot dusty road but pleasant greenery to Anomatua, a little village in Techiman, my eyes were definitely not prepared to see the contrasting conditions that some Ghanaians lived in, just 9 hours from Accra as a young field research assistant. My memories of Anomatua encompass beautiful grass lands, hard-working people and 5-star hospitality in huts made. Nonetheless, I cannot forget the constant remarks of my respondents, who were the heads of the households in this 'enchanting' village:
''You have come here to see that we are hard-workers, working tirelessly on large acres of farm to put food on your tables but observe, our hard-work is not enough to provide:
¤ our children with proper education because our primary-Junior Secondary School is a three-classroom building with no teachers and no books. Even the national service persons do not want to serve in our schools.
¤ better housing. we live in self-built mud-huts because our incomes are low not out of choice
¤Have no electricity , pipe-borne water or toilet facilities .
¤ We are sometimes privileged to listen to the discussions on our shared-village radio about our economy and it seems that those on the national radio stations live in a different country.
Tell your friends that poverty is real and solvable but the other half feel too comfortable to solve it. If they have a chance to talk they should tell the whole story. ''
This was just in 2012 during the Migration out of poverty research by the Centre of Migration Studies.
Simply put, Ghana like many other poverty-affected countries, has done better but not inclusively. To be self-reliant , we need to have an objective call-to-action look at the 17 sustainable development goals. Besides, aids were never made to be for the long-term.
Less complaining and more doing.
In the coming weeks, i will present current world- accepted socio-enviro-economic facts of Ghana, the good and the bad , to encourage discourse of probable 'every-day-any-person' active solutions. And if you are motivated enough , share a summary of a simple solution that you are successfully implementing or implemented in my 'amazing people survey' to ripple the effect of your change(click on the icon below).
Aim for A sustainable world!