Some Victims of Circumstance in Wa

Upper West Region was listed as one of the poorest regions in the country, a region that was together with Upper East Region identified as Upper Region before the late former President Rawlings divided it in 1984.

The then Regions were managed by Secretaries now Regional Ministers.

The Upper West Region has 11 Constituencies and Wa is the Capital, due to lack of reliable community markets and Warehouses, most farmers including female farmers are compelled to carry farm products including Yam, Maize, Okra, Garden Eggs.

Other things these women carry to Wa Central Market to sell include firewood, charcoal.

Some of these women carry such farm products and walk for about 5 to 6 kilometers, others walk above that with a load of 60 to 70kgs on their heads accompanied by their children who mostly drop out of school to assist their mothers.

An instance is a woman who carried tubers yam estimated to weigh over 56kgs, she carried the Tubers from Tampieni to Wa which is over 12 kilometers, her daughter asked to rest and this was an opportunity for the mother to rest as well, they laid there for over an hour, this means they’ll walk back to their community with such load of yam if no one buys these tubers.

Source: Opera News Ghana