Over eight hundred (800) slum dwellers in Ashaley Botwe School junction in East Legon, Maajo and other surrounding communities have been supported by Nana Owiredu Wadie I, Nkosuohene of Kwahu Nkwatia through his Kabaka foundation to celebrate the Christmas.
The philanthropist distributed quantities of rice, cooking oil, chicken, tin tomatoes, sardine, eggs, bread and bags of sachet water to the slum inhabitants including widows, nursing mothers, and children .
The Ghana National Household Registry of the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, classified about 80,000 persons within the Greater Accra Region as poor and vulnerable in 2020.
Out of this figure, 62% of the vulnerable individuals were females with about 50% aged 18-39; about 20% aged 40-59, and 10% aged 60 plus, and the remaining under 18 years.”
Over 60% of vulnerable individuals sleep in kiosks, containers, markets, uncompleted structures, on the streets, bus or lorry stations, chop bars or drinking spots, at the beaches, exposed to different forms of hazards. Only very few people sleep in compound houses, mostly in overcrowded rooms.
Such is the condition of the 800 slum dwellers at Ashaley Botwe School junction and surrounding areas where urban poverty is high among slum inhabitants.
Access to water and basic necessities are challenging to them whilst some threatened with eviction.
The situation compounded with current economic hardship has worsened their plights depriving them dignity even during Christmas.
“We are suffering here .Even access to water is challenging for us. There is no pipe water for us neither a well water .So we buy from polytank water operators who sell the water in buckets and gallons. A bucket full of water is sold Ghc1.20p.God is our provider we are suffering,” Joyce Mensah said.
Other told Starr News “We are pleading to government to help us in terms of water. Even food to eat is difficult. You can’t stay on the road because of the dust. There are mosquitoes in the gutter bitting us there is nobody to clean. When you see our votes you will shock. Now a days the house are sacking us from the kiosk”.
The intervention by Nana Owiredu Wadie I therefore came as a huge relief for the slum dwellers.
Assembly Member for Maajo Electoral Area, Ofei Albert Agyemang, said poverty is high in the slums amid lack of other basic needs.
He therefore commended Nana Owiredu Wadie (I) for supporting the inhabitants with food items.
Some of the beneficiaries including a widow with five children recounted the difficulty fending for the children.
They heaped praises on Nana Owiredu Wadie (I) for his kind gesture which has been timely intervention to ameliorate their plight.
Dr. Henry Larbi , Executive Director of Kabaka Foundation established by Nana Owiredu Wadie I to facilitate social interventions said the foundation was overwhelmed with the number of people who showed up to seek help.
“Basically, this is an end of year event Nana Owiredu Wadie I , Chairman of Kabaka foundation has been doing every year for the past 7 years now. He celebrate Christmas with people who are vulnerable in the area he lives. The Ashaley Botwe School junction area we have a lot of squatters who stay in koisk and uncompleted buildings and as you can see we have about 800 people to have a feel of the Christmas. People cannot afford even rice to celebrate the Christmas. The numbers are overwhelming. Initially we were expecting about 300 people but they are 800 now.”
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/Kojo Ansah
