A hungry man in the streets of Anloga

If you have a business idea of establishing a food joint in Anloga in the Volta Region with aims of raking in profit, then you may want to reconsider that decision.

 

This is because the culture of the people may not encourage the viability of such venture.
Located on the lower bank of the Volta River in the Keta Municipality, Anloga is one of the oldest communities in the Volta region and the seat of the Paramount Chief of Anlo State.

There are interesting aspects of the people’s culture which make it gratifying to learn. In this typical fishing community, men go on the high sea to fish while their women stay back home preparing meals from previous harvests.

When fishermen return home with charcoal

They [women] stood by their empty pans at the shores waiting for their men to return from the sea.
Hours passed, but still no signs of them. Neither the waves from the hoisted flags nor the sounds from the outboard motors could be heard.

The fishermen powered their boats several hours into the deep waters only to return with disappointments written all over their faces. Their boats were rather filled with bags of charcoal. With sadness, their women went home with empty pans.

But their children rejoiced over it; it was their turn to cash in on the booming charcoal business. Middle men in the charcoal business from Accra and other cities, engage them to offload each bag for GHC2.00.

Reviving the palm trees; critical for livelihoods

King Nobert takes a calabash of Palm wine from his grandmother.

Anyone who knows me very well can easily trace my roots to the old Palm Wine Pot adjacent Dzodze Roman Catholic School.

Behind that pot is an 86 year old woman, Victoria Womewonya Akpablie, who has been there dispersing the coconut- milk- like drink into the empty calabashes of her constituents, who always lick their lips in satisfaction.

She has been in this business long before I was conceived.
Folks who had their education in the town had to admit they have at least once in their student’s life skipped lessons just to have a feast around my granny’s pot.

Palm wine was once the town’s main social drink, an almost mandatory offer at events like weddings and concerts.

When fermented and distilled, palm sap produces a drink that stands out in the family of liquors; Akpeteshie. A glass of that sprite leaves its patrons drumming their chest and frowning their faces after consuming it.

African Hill Resort; a discovery for Volta tourism

 

The Volta Region is one of the exciting places in Ghana to enjoy holidays, and this year’s Easter festivity presented a perfect moment for Holiday revelers to explore attractive sceneries in the region.

Apart from being an important time of the year for the renewal of Christian faith, the Easter period is used for family reunions and relaxations. During this period a lot of people crave for serene facilities at the countryside away from the buzzing cities to relax with families and friends.
Citifmonline.com has discovered one of such facilities located at the Volta Regional capital, Ho; close to home but with a perfect ambiance. 


African Hill Resort is an excellent hotel waiting to be discovered by many. It is situated in a peaceful ambiance within the Ho Municipality on the Weta (Kabakaba) Hills, adjacent Skyplus Hotel; overlooking the capital city.

From one end, castle-like edifice provides lush view of the Ho Township, and the panoramic view of Adaklu Mountains, which is at the hips of the City.  From the other end, one could see a serene view of Klefe and its spouting waterfalls, as well as the highest points of human settlements in Ghana; Amedzofe.

The Resort offers customers (13) Thirteen Stately and Comfortable Room Facilities, each room named after an African Country and uniquely furnished with the country’s theme. It has 60 capacity conference hall for corporate meetings.
 The hotel offers an intimate and luxurious destination for romantic escapes, relaxing retreats, holiday makers, weddings, private parties, business or corporate events alike.



The topography of the area and refreshing weather, also provides a thrilling environment for hiking and camping.  
Citifmonlin.com’s tour of the facility revealed an Afrocentric appeal of the entire edifice with handcrafts and artistic designs dotted across.



The Chief Executive Officer of the African Hill Resort, Mrs Akorfa Ocliche, told citifmonline.com her objective was to provide an African setting where patrons can enjoy home away from home.
She said they provide quality services at affordable prizes.
So if you are wondering where to relax with your friends and families  during this festivity, then you may want to try African Hills Resort; our discovery for the season.   

The ‘tasteless’ salt of Adina; the struggle over ‘white gold’

 

An alarming sound was heard. The women looked towards the sea, wondering the tide that might have exuded such a trembling sound. Their men on sea wondered what went amiss at home.

Not sooner than they looked out for the noise, their children sprang out on the streets in tears; wailing and gnashing their teeth.

Yes! A tragedy befell the community again. Another ‘warrior’ has just fallen in their decade-old struggle to protect a livelihood which until recently they solely enjoyed.
It is a fight over daily bread which an expatriate also has an interest in.

PENCILS OF PROMISE 4 YEARS REMOVING SCHOOLS UNDER TREES

Pencils of Promise marks 4 years of removing schools under trees

An unusual plea from a child beggar in the streets of India for a pencil instead of money, has left in its place tremendous stories in the lives of other children across the world.
Adam Braun, the American teenager on one of his trips to India, met a child beggar who seem to value pencil as the most important thing to him in the world.
Rather than begging for money, he begged for a pen.
Adam did not only give out his only pencil in his backpack, but also promised replicating the gesture to other children across the world.

Six years on, this promise of a pencil for the underprivileged child has made an indelible impact; transforming the lives and improving learning environment of school children the world over.
Children in rural Ghana were privileged to have had Adam’s Pencils handed to them in 2012. Their activities which started in the Volta Region now extends to other parts of Ghana.
Education they say is a right. It is therefore the dream of every parent to have their ward enrolled in the best schools with all the basic amenities. This however does not always turn out to be the case in most countries in Africa including Ghana.

Some pupils in Ghana study in structures which can best be described as death traps, and have proven to be very inhabitable in all weather conditions.
It is common to see schools operating under trees, dilapidated mud structures and palm frond shades. The situation also does little to save the pupils from snakes and other reptile invasion, which disrupts learning activities anytime they are sighted.
Records available shows that about 250,000 children of primary school age in the Volta Region, lack basic reading, writing and math skills.
Indeed, new beginnings are always difficult moments. But what is not started today is never finished tomorrow. The Pencils of Promise’s five years operations in Ghana mainly in the Volta Region, has made giant strides in improving the quality of education.
Headed by Freeman Gobah, the Country Director, Pencils Of Promise has touched the lives of pupils and teachers by continuously removing schools under trees and equipping teachers with the necessary skills to help improve teaching and learning in schools.

As of 2016, at least about 20 districts in the Volta Region had benefited from their projects with additional two districts in the Eastern Region also benefiting. Over 97 schools have so far been rescued from collapsing.
Adaklu District has been one of such districts which has benefited massively from the benevolence of the NGO.
The population of Adaklu District, according to the 2010 Population and Housing Census, is 36,391, representing 1.7 percent of the region’s total population.
Of the population, 3 years and older (33,952) in the district, 19.0 percent has never attended school, 41.1percent are currently attending school and 40.0percent have attended school in the past.
It is no wonder the district was named one of the poorest in the country by the Ghana Statistic Service.

Safe in mind that Education is the surest way to defeat poverty, ignorance and inequality, the Adaklu District together with other districts in the region are partnering with the NGO to fight poverty and its other issues.
With the interventions from Pencils of Promise supported by the MP ofor Adaklu, Hon Kwame Agbodza, education and academic performance has improved in the area. At least nine (9) school blocks were built and well-furnished for pupils and teachers in the district.
Teachers and their pupils are being supported with teaching and learning materials such as E-Readers, Tablets, Posters, Wall hangings and paintings, literacy kits and books. Over 150 teachers in the region have benefited from teacher support programs.
To ensure a holistic education, Pencils of Promise also introduced its water, sanitation and hygiene module, where the schools are provided sanitary facilities, Polytanks, water filters, buckets and pupils groomed to adopt healthy lifestyles.
Other beneficiary districts include Ho, Ho West, Agotime Ziope, Afadzato South, Central Tongu, South Tongu, Akatsi North, Jasikan, Nkwanta North, Kpando, Akatsi South, Hohoe, Ketu North, Ketu South, Keta among others.
Indeed, the story of Pencils of Promise didn’t only give hope to these children, but also empowers them to reach beyond their immediate environment to fight the war of poverty and ignorance.

Volta goes on social media to demand from government a sports stadium promised them

A group of young sports enthusiasts and journalists in the Volta Region have launched a social media campaign to demand for the construction of a new stadium promised the region.

The Group calling itself Media Forum believes the Volta Region has over the years been neglected in terms of sporting facility development in Ghana despite endowed with enormous potentials spanning through various spectrum of sports.