CONCERNS FROM AJUMAKO MANDO IN THE CENTRAL REGION
RITA QUANSAH (STUDENT)
“I live in Accra but I come from here (Mando) and I must say that I am impressed by all I have seen since I came back home a few days ago. One thing which struck me most is the massive expansion of electricity to many homes and neighbouring villages where there wasn’t electricity. I have also noticed that the children and the elderly aren’t carrying buckets of water like they used to do and which is an indication that pipe borne water has reached many homes here at Mando. I have also noticed that many more new buildings are springing up but the pot holes on the roads leading to this town are just too many. My siblings have also told me that there is a lot of reproductive health education going on under the auspices of the Ministry of Health and that is a very good programme which would impact positively on the youth in this area especially the female gender.”
ISAAC ODWIRE (FARMER)
“There is a festival currently going on here and what it has done is that it has brought home our brothers and sisters from various parts of the country. As you can see everyone is happy and there is reunion of all the family on this festive occasion. My brother, it would interest you to know that there are many of our kinsmen from this village who’re working in influential positions in the capital and various parts of the country and I therefore want to use your medium to plead with them so that they come back home and help their brothers and sisters who are not in any employment. A good son of this land would not come and parade his wealth before us whilst ordering beer and khebab for his friends. There are many issues which must be tackled here at Mando and the time has come for them to realize the need for them to come home and together we can think through what can be done to make Mando the best in Ajumako.
DORCAS MENSAH (HAIR DRESSER)
“ I have come here at the invitation of my friend and what I have seen since I arrived has exceeded my expectation. Firstly, I do not think it would be proper for anyone to call this place a village because there are quite a number of infrastructures here. At least I have seen what one can call a health post and I hear it is serving a number of people even from the neighbouring villages. Unlike elsewhere in the Central Region, I suspect there aren’t a lot of cases of teenage pregnancy in this place and that is very encouraging. The youth are also very lively and friendly and I am really enjoying my stay here.”
ALHAJI YUSSIF (TRADER)
“We have come from various parts of the country to sell because of the Mando-Akwambo festival which is currently taking place here. Compared to last year, the festival has not been patronized to my satisfaction but I also want to believe that they would come at the end of the week because some of them are finding it difficult to leave their work. There is also a remarkable improvement in the extension of electricity to various parts of this village and that I believe would encourage a lot of business. However, the roads are just too bad and if something is not done about it, I would not be surprised if accidents occur on the roads. One other issue is that a good number of the young ones in this area do not have any employable skills and that for me is a problem. I would therefore urge the government to extend a programme like the fish farming brigade to this place. There is so much land over here which can be used for the tilapia farming programme because there is a lot of market for it and I believe the youth would embrace any such intervention whole heartedly.”
TINA AHENKWA (SEAMSTRESS)
“Honourable Ato Forson has done a lot for the people in his constituency and we need to commend him for the hard work and humility with which he is working. There are lots of challenges but I believe he has applied the qualities of a good leader and it is beginning to manifest in most places in his constituency. I also believe that the relationship between the Member of Parliament and the District Chief Executive has also helped in the transformation process. However, I am embarrassed by the fact that there isn’t any public place of convenience here at Mando and that is a great worry for me. The people mobilized resources and tried building one sometime ago but that got worn out and I am wondering how the visitors coming to this village are going to manage.”
“I am currently working with a gold mining company in the Ashanti Region and I have come home to mark the Akwambo festival. Akwambo simply means clearing the path of weed and it is marked every year. During this time of the raining season, the bushes grow wild taking over the paths to the farms and our houses so people are mobilized to clear the paths of these weeds and that is where the name “Akwambo” comes from which means clearing the path or charting a path. Well, I have done a lot of weeding ever since I arrived and I have certainly taken active part in this festival. Apart from weeding the family home, I also took time off and did some clearing of weeds on my father’s farm. I also want to take advantage of your media to wish President Mills well as he is striving so hard to transform this country. A lot has gone the wrong way before he came but nonetheless he has stood firm and I know that by the time he completes his second term of office, Ghana would have become a better place where unemployment, disease and crime would have certainly become a thing of the past.”
“One good thing which has happened to this community is the electricity which is now present in many homes here at Mando. The Technical School has also been upgraded and renovated very recently and that is a very good sign of better things to happen in the future for this community.
One other development which has brought so much relief to this village is the introduction of the National Health Insurance Scheme. The scheme is working very well over here that has sered as a lifeline to many people who’ve fallen ill over the period. However, I must say that poverty abounds in this village and it can sometimes get very frightening. A majority of the youth are without any skill and is not into any gainful employment therefore drawing back the forward march of this great community. If you are not careful and happen to fall pregnant under the current conditions, then you are not likely to get it easy because there wouldn’t be any immediate support for you and your baby but I believe that gradually the community is growing and things are likely to change.”
“We are here to participate in the celebration of our festival and it has given us another opportunity to meet friends we have not seen in a very long while. I have seen a lot of changes upon arrival and the first one happens to be about telecommunication. Not long ago the reception for this place was very poor and one could hardly receive phone calls but I think there has been a remarkable improvement in that service. What we need now is employment opportunities for the youth especially those who haven’t had the benefit of formal education. As you can see the youth are full of life and energy and we need to harness that towards the development of Mando. We do not want to go and add up to our brothers hawking on the pavement and streets of Accra and that is why we are appealing to the authorities to come to our aid.”
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