By Laudia Anyorkor Nunoo, GNA
Tema, March 13, GNA – For many residents of Tema Newtown (Manhean), the story of how their ancestors moved from the original Tema settlement near the present-day Tema Port to make way for the port is well known.
But what many may not realise is the unusual role children played in persuading their families to make that historic move.
Nii Amarh Soumponu II, the Tema Stool Secretary and Shipi, say schoolchildren unknowingly became the bridge that convinced reluctant parents and grandparents to relocate to the new settlement.
Recounting the events in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) during Ghana Month, Nii Soumponu shared memories of the relocation from the perspective of a child.
“When we were moving from Tema Meridian, I was about nine years old,” he recalled.
At the time, the original Tema settlement was located around the Meridian area near the current Tema Port, before the construction of the port and the modern city led to the relocation of the indigenous fishing and farming community.
He said the first major structures built at the new settlement, now known as Tema Newtown or Manhean, were schools.
“They built the Presbyterian and Anglican schools first at Newtown, then the Methodist school followed,” he said.
Every morning, schoolchildren living at the old settlement were picked up in tipper trucks and transported to the newly built schools at Newtown.
“We would go to school in Community One, and they would come and pick us up in a tipper truck and bring us to Newtown,” he said with a smile.
For the children, the journey felt like an adventure. The modern school buildings and organised layout of the new settlement fascinated them.
“As children we were excited about the new schools and the buildings we saw at Newtown,” he explained, adding that without knowing it, the children became enthusiastic ambassadors for the new settlement.
Every afternoon when they returned home, they described the beauty of the place to their parents and grandparents.
“We didn’t know what was happening,” he said. “They took us there in the morning and brought us back in the evening. So, they used us, the schoolchildren, to convince our parents.”
Gradually, curiosity turned into acceptance as families began moving to the new settlement voluntarily.
Nii Soumponu said the W.T. Mensah family was the first to relocate to the new area.
Authorities had taken inventory of all houses at the old settlement and assigned replacement homes at Newtown.
“When a family were ready to move, they were given their house at Newtown. After they moved, the old house at the Meridian area was demolished so no one could go back,” he said.
Today, decades after that relocation, Tema Newtown remains the cultural and traditional heart of the indigenous Tema people.
As Ghana celebrates its heritage during Ghana Month, the story of Tema’s relocation serves as a reminder that even children, unknowingly, can play a role in shaping history.
What began as daily school trips in a tipper truck eventually helped move an entire community into a new chapter of its life, paving the way for the construction of the Tema Ports.
GNA