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The Tema Manhean, Ghana is a fishing community in Greater Region of Accra where the community derives its livelihood from fishing. It is a major source of employment for the community and the families. The area also attracts people from other communities that settled there to engage in fishing because of the presence of the sea.
Every member of the household in that area is a worker in the fishing unit and it extends to other family’s members that participate in the fishing business. They perform various jobs where you will find a crew of men, boys, and children going out into the seas to fish, to the loading of fish, handling fish, mending nets, and the wives and women processing, distributing, and selling fish in the market to generate income for the families.
This practice of child labor is common in the fishing communities. You will find children between the ages of 8 years and 12 years working in the fishing business. Most of the parents prefer to use their children as labor in their fishing business to help them generate income for the family.
There is high level poverty because fishing is the main predominant activity and most of the people living in the area have limited skills for other occupations. This restricts the mobility of the families to venture into other areas to generate income and thus resulting in limited access to other livelihoods options.
According to Kwame A. Koranteng at the Marine Fisheries Research Division, Ministry of Food & Agriculture, the living and earning conditions of the fishing community is further worsened due to poor management of the fishery resources, open-access nature of artisanal fisheries, use of unapproved fishing gear and methods, weak enforcement of laws and non-compliance of resource users to all forms of management measures and the presence of foreign vessels that now come closer to the shores of the community to fish in the shallow waters. This have resulted in over depletion of fishes, overcapitalization, unhealthy competition among fishers and fishing fleets and inequitable use of resources.
In addition, the community lack basic social amenities, quality drinking water, sanitation, toilet facilities, and proper solid-waste disposal systems which causes malaria, diarrhea, anemia, and upper respiratory tract infections. This has impact on the heath, productivity, and wellbeing of the children, youth, and the community at large.
Bread of Life International through its Flagship Community Program Event, collaborated with SOS Children’s Village, a non-governmental organization focus on supporting children without parental care to reach out to the community to feed the children, needy and impoverished in the Tema Manhean community. With the help of twelve youth volunteers from SOS Children’s Village Tema and eighteen community-based volunteers from the area, we distributed 800 packs of food and 900 bottles of drinks and water.
We collaborated with SOS Children’s Village, Ghana because this is part of our approach in selecting and working with organizations that have strong community-centered approach and years of experience on the ground working with families that are experiencing crises or extreme hardship and providing support to alleviate their conditions and making their lives a bit better and put a smile on the faces of the children and the youth that are hungry and hurting.
Our goal is to empower families, children and their communities to sustainable feed themselves and to ensure every family has access to safe, nutritious and sufficient food. This event was made possible by generous gifts by individuals, donors, and sponsors that contributed to Bread of Life International Community Event Program. You can join us in the fight to eliminate hunger. Just a little of $5.00 you can provide a meal to a child. Get Involved!
