Village Life in Northern Ghana
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Life in Tamale and the surrounding villages and rural areas is very challenging. It is a growing city, but there are still big problems from years of civil war. Many families were torn apart and children left orphaned in the 1990s. The children who grew up without family and in a war-torn community now have their own children, but they don't have any family or community to help them to learn to support themselves in healthy ways.
There are many single mothers who have been widowed or treated very badly and abandoned by the father of their children and/or their older family members. With no education or support, they have few options and many young children are abandoned. Women and children in the area are often exploited and treated very badly. This is a sad cycle.
Seamstresses and other people with a trade, like drum makers and textile craftspeople, and people who can grow their own food, have a much better quality of life than those who have no trade skills. These skills help them support their families and get access medicine.
It is our hope that by providing education and employment opportunities with our understanding of local culture and economics, the community will grow and lives will improve.