Journalists for Human Rights

As the rainy season slams into Accra, it brings overflowing drains, flooded homes and residents increasingly disenchanted with both government and the journalists who come to document their plight.

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JOY FM reporter Peter Korda recently took a trip to a dumping site to investigate a growing problem in Accra: e-waste.

The term e-waste refers to old electronics - computers, tv sets, fridges - that have stopped working and are dumped at various waste sites. The problem with e-waste is that it contains carcinogenic chemicals like lead, cadmium, and others that are poisonous to the human body and the environment. The “e-waste” buzzword has been floating around in North American lexicons for some time now, mirroring the rising trendiness - and urgency - of climate change awareness. The issue of e-waste is coming to the fore in Ghana because there’s a huge market in used electronics here. When the goods inevitably fizzle out, they are trashed at mass dumping grounds. But the story doesn’t end there – young men living in the dumping areas take the parts, burn them down and take them apart to re-sell them to investors within the city. As a result, these boys are directly inhaling toxins produced by burning the electronics and sending them into the atmosphere.

We visited an area near the Korle lagoon in the Agogbloshie area of the city to talk to some kids who work and live amongst this refuse every day. The boys range in age from 12 to 18. Some are exposed to these chemicals all day long. Some of them go to school and some of them have stopped. They all work on the abandoned electronics as a source of livelihood. Some are aware of the health risks but most seem unconcerned. For them, it’s a consistent form of income in a country where jobs are in short supply.

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Vendors are disgusted with the filth at their market and say they will stop paying their dues unless city council cleans up its act.

The following radio news story was put together by Fatmata Kuwatteh of Radio Mankneh. As a trainer, it was my first opportunity to work with a female reporter. Despite Kuwatteh’s obligations to her home, husband and children, she was determined to research, write and produce this story.

What would have taken me one day of work in Canada, took us two weeks to complete in Sierra Leone.  Nevertheless, the piece was aired on Radio Mankneh and Fatmata Kuwatteh has been jubilating ever since

Rachael Borlase

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By Mackay Taggart with files from Joseph B. Bangura The modern library goes beyond simply books and bookcases.  It has become, thanks to the proliferation of the internet and electronic media, a way to connect and interact with the world at large.

Unfortunately the Makeni City Library is not yet a modern library, for it, like most buildings in the city, has no access to electricity.  However, a private donation, a hot Saturday morning and a sheet of solar panels the size a beach towel is about to change that.

Last weekend townspeople gathered and watched as volunteer Simon Willans from the Environmental Foundation for Africa mounted brackets, cables and the panels themselves onto the roof of the city’s only municipal library.

At a one time cost of approximately $2000 CDN the library will soon hold the capacity to run a laptop computer, a handful of energy efficient light bulbs and have enough energy remaining for limited cell phone charging.

A faulty inverter stalled the inaugural flipping of the switch, but the projects organizers are confident that, following the arrival of the new part, the system will be up and running in the coming days.

The addition of solar electricity has sparked plans for computer training programs and talk of possible public internet access.  The installation of the panels also provided an opportunity for me and Radio Maria reporter Joseph B. Bangura to cover a great local story.  It aired on the Monday April 7th edition of Radio Maria’s English language “Day Break Salone”.

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It’s been nearly a year since the new educational reforms were launched by government. JOY NEWS has done some checks in Accra to see how the changes are working out, particularly with the new curriculum. But how has the programme fared in the resource-starved schools in the northern region? I paid a visit to a school outside of Tamale and discovered that the teachers have not yet received the new curriculum that was promised to them, and are struggling to help students remember what they’ve taught.

Bernard Saibu Reports

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A Halifax doctor and two of his Dalhousie medical students spent most of March saving lives in the world’s poorest country.

They were  touring Sierra Leone with ‘Rapid Test Kits’ – an HIV screening test that gives patients their results in just three minutes.

Rachael Borlase met up with the doctors while they were working in Makeni.

Reporter: Rachael Borlase With help from: Prof Marco Sessay

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As the United Nations marks World Water Day on March 20th, millions of people across the globe are thirsting for the world’s most important resurce.  In Ghana, shortages have reached crisis levels.  In some areas, it’s been years since water flowed from the taps.  The situation is impacting negatively on everything from health, to the economy, and even seemingly unrelated sectors, such as education.  Some people say the problem has worsened since Ghana contracted a private firm to manage the system.  Muftawu Mohammed reports.

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