Who lives in Ghana and can we relate?

Week after week I continue to ask myself how will I be able to make a difference in Ghana if I do not have much knowledge about the country as whole. This week’s assignment over the demographics, standard of living, and quality of life in Ghana was an eye-opener for me. For many of my classmates and I, we imagine Ghana and we think Africa, and we have been socialized to think that there is not much good that can come out of Africa besides animals for our zoos, children in poverty, or the 2010 World Cup held in South Africa. Despite all of the negative connation’s Africa has been given for centuries, I must say Ghana is one of a kind. From the words of previous visitors, “Ghanaians are very happy and friendly people.” This May I will be ready to experience the friendliness of the Ghanaian people, but first I must know who these people are and how can I relate and make connections to learn from the people as a group. With this in mind, in this blog I will discuss the demographics in Ghana and how it well affect my service-learning project at the Ashamian High School.

First, I must discuss the demographics of this fine African country. According to the Center Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Facts, Ghana has a population of about 25, 241,000 inhabitants and a majority of the population is made up of 15-64 year old men and women. This may mean that the majority of their population is working. Although that is true Ghana’s unemployment rate is 11%, including the city of Accra 15.8% unemployment population and all other urban areas 12.4%. In 2006, the rural areas of Ghana maintained a lower unemployment rate at 5.4% then the urban areas, but this could be due to less people interaction and transportation to move around. In addition, with unemployment being high and less access to resources birth rate, death rate, and life expectancy are affected. Ghana’s birth rate is 26. 99 births for every 1,000 people, and death rate is 8.57 deaths for every 1,000 people. Through the data collected from the CIA World Fact, I can interpret that with 28.5% of Ghana’s population living below the poverty line have some affect on life expectancy in Ghana, which is about 61 years of age with women living to be two years older than man. However, education is the key reason why Ghana is not at its best. As defined by Odoro (2009) paper, “about half of the Ghana adult population has received less than nine years of education. The education attainment profile does not reflect the considerable quantum of resources that has been allocated to education over the years. A factor that will explain the education attainment profile is migration. Ghana has not been successful in retaining its graduates from the training colleges, technical schools and tertiary institutions and this is an important determinant of the education attainment profile.”

            Thus, by collecting and interpreting this information about Ghana I will be able to better understand the types of hardships or issues these children may face when going home such as poverty, homelessness, horrible living and working conditions, and a great amount of family loyalty and responsibility. I can attest to some of these issues these children face even in America, but I would like them to know that education is the key that could unlock doors and many opportunities.

Resources:

CIA World Facts: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gh.html

Abena D. Oduro: http://www.dfid.gov.uk/r4d/PDF/Outputs/ImpOutcomes_RPC/povertyandeducoutcomes.pdf