Bongberi, (UW/R), Nov. 20, GNA – The residents of Bongberi community in the Wa West District, have appealed to the government to consider providing the community with an irrigation dam to enable them, especially the youth to engage in dry season farming.
They said that would also help prevent the youth from travelling to the southern sector to engage in illicit activities such as illegal mining.
Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Bongberi, Madam Yaa Suuri, noted that due to the lack of other source of economic activity for the youth in the community, they had to travel to other parts of the country to seek non-existent greener pastures.
The President Akufo-Addo led government introduced the One-Village-One-Dam initiative to construct small dams in communities in the country to help improve irrigation farming, which would serve as a source of livelihood for the community folks.
“After harvesting we don’t have anything doing. If we don’t burn charcoal we can’t get money to buy salt to cook. So if we have a dam we can farm tomatoes or okra and sell to get money”, She explained.
According to her, the education of girl children in the community was no encouraging as they dropped out of school and travelled to the southern parts to engage in head potting, known as Kayayee.
“Because there is no work for parents to do and cater for their children, the girls go to men for money and the men in turn sleep with the girls and they end up becoming pregnant, their education is also truncated ”, Madam Suuri added.
Mr Gyirkaa Eric, another resident of the community, told the GNA that the lack of a dam in the community was also affecting their livestock as the animals did not get water to drink in the community in the dry season.
He said the animals had to move to other communities before they could get water, which also resulted to some of them getting missing in the process.
Meanwhile, Mr Gyirkaar Nicholas, the Assembly Member for the area, indicated that he was negotiating with the Wa West District Assembly for the assembly to construct a dam for the community.
GNA