Getting to Know Your International Contacts

I decided to bring Ghana to the fore…this week, I felt I should share with my colleagues the rate or the level of poverty In Ghana, I have realized that poverty differ, depending on the demography, there is no one single definition of poverty.

“The most commonly used way to measure poverty is based on incomes. A person is considered poor if his or her income level falls below some minimum level necessary to meet basic needs. This minimum level is usually called the “poverty line”. What is necessary to satisfy basic needs varies across time and societies. Therefore, poverty lines vary in time and place, and each country uses lines which are appropriate to its level of development, societal norms and values.” The World Bank Organisation

Ghana was the first black nation to gain independence – in 1957. Ghana is home to 22 million people. Seventy per cent of Ghana’s people depend on subsistence farming to survive. Droughts and floods are common, and many families regularly experience severe food shortages. Ghana’s poverty level has declined to about 24.2 percent from the 51 percent recorded in 1991.This means about 24.2 percent of Ghanaians measuring some 6.4million cannot afford to spend GHS3.60 (1.60$) on food a day.

The people below the poverty line were about 7milion in 2005. Also about 8.4percent of the population live in extreme poverty. This indicates they cannot afford to spend more than GHS2.17 on food in a day. This is according to the Ghana Living Standard survey 6 report conducted by the Ghana Statistical service (GSS).The report also revealed that Ghana has achieved goal one of the Millennium Development goals even before the target year of 2015.The Goal requires that Ghana halves its poverty level by 2015.

The survey is aimed at providing information on the patterns of household consumption and expenditure, serve as the basis for the construction of a new basket for the next re-basing of the Consumer Price Index and also provide information for up-dating the country’s National Accounts. Ghana Living Standard Survey 6 report also revealed unemployment rate in Ghana is only at 5.2%. Also, more females than males are reported to be unemployed.

We have ten regions and each region has its fair share of poverty with the Northern part recording higher rate. Some attribute poverty to Lack of education, ignorance, poor environment, Lack of supervision, poor parenting corruption and Poverty that is politically, culturally, and religiously driven as well as selfishness and greed. Poverty is the state for the majority of the world’s people and nations. Why is this? Is it enough to blame poor people for their own predicament? Have they been lazy, made poor decisions, and been solely responsible for their plight? What about their governments? Have they pursued policies that actually harm successful development? Such causes of poverty and inequality are no doubt real. But deeper and more global causes of poverty are often less discussed.

Trickling down to where I visited this week to see the extent of damage poverty has caused: Agbogbloshie. Agbobgloshie goes by many names. Some refer to it as Old Fadama. It has also been nicknamed Sodom and Gomorrah – everyone agrees it is hell on earth. Children who have spent every moment since birth breathing in the toxic fumes that burn round the clock routinely die of cancer in that area. Every step you take on the oozing, sludgy ground is perilous. The earth is pocked with broken glass from busted up television sets, exposed industrial wiring and sharp edges of the remains of freezers, vehicles, discarded things that the West no longer wanted. Once a wetland with crystal blue waters that you could see straight through to the sandy bottom, now poisonous environment and home to thousands of people, 40,000 by some estimates. They come from all over the country in search of employment in the capital city. Employment opportunities are already scarce for educated residents with roots in the capital that go back at least two generations. Nepotism is the order of the day and classism ensures that big breaks that lead to real opportunities remain in the ranks of a particular few. The population of Agbogbloshie consists of economic migrants from northern and rural parts of Ghana. Living standards in the north and rural areas are growing worse, causing people to move to urban settings, such as Agbogbloshie. Conditions may not be significantly better, but making a living is easier. Inhabitants of Agbogbloshie live, eat, work and relieve themselves on the land and amongst the waste. Children who are able to attend school often spend every evening and weekend processing waste searching for metals. Dwellings are wooden shacks that lack water and sanitation. The area is also home to armed robbers, prostitutes, drug dealers and others involved in underground markets. Crime and disease run rampant throughout Agbogbloshie, creating an almost uninhabitable environment for humans. Outsiders have nicknamed the area “Sodom and Gomorrah,” after two condemned Biblical cities, due to the harsh living conditions in Agbogbloshie.

We must tackle the challenges of poverty with the right tools, in a patient, loving, diligent, prayerful, and consistent fashion in accordance with the kinds of people we are dealing with, resources and manpower available to us, and the varied levels of understanding, abilities, and strengths of the people involved. We must educate and encourage the wealthy, the more endowed, and the more blessed people in our communities to help the less fortunate ones as well, while we teach and train the poor to make the best use of all available opportunities to work, generate their personal riches, and provide for themselves. The best and most important place to start solving the poverty problem is in our homes, courtships, marriages, and families. Tackling poverty and prosperity issues at the parenting level is the best way to lay a solid foundation for future advancement and productivity in adults, that promotes authentic and progressive wealth and riches in societies and nations. God is always ready to be our Helper.

Refrences

Myjoyonline. Retrieved from http://www.myjoyonline.com/opinion/2014/november-6th/the-8-major-causes-of-poverty.php#sthash.WjEobIwU.dpuf

Anim Kwaku Boadu (2014). Ghana’s poverty level declines: Citifmonline. Retrieved from http://citifmonline.com/2014/08/27/ghanas-poverty-level-declines/