Truly, not all that glitters is gold! My recent travels to some small rural communities in the middle-of-no-where Ghana had demonstrated to me that the bright city lights of big cities probably just shine onto sub-standard existence. Accra, the city of my birth, which has become ungovernable, has much to learn from some well-functioning villages.
AJUMAIM IS RICH, NOT POOR
I visited the small remote community of Ajumaim in the Ajumako Enyan Essiam district in the Central Region. As you enter Ajumaim, which is located on a hilly ground, the initial impression you get is that “Oh! They are really poor!” The narrow red-earth road on which you make your way to the village has a diseased surface, with holes and cracks. The thatch houses communicate deprivation. This village is like an afterthought. Yet, it is a farming community that contributes in putting food on our collective plates.
Regardless of the usual under-development challenges they face, they have succeeded in getting their acts together. Ajumaim is a very clean village—swept clean with care and love. Plastic waste is absent. A green waste bin sits at a vantage point, empty! There is no drop of garbage anywhere. Ajumaim is a well-organized village. You can feel that there are elders in the community. There is order! There is leadership and effective local-level grass-roots governance.
In consistence with the cleanliness, every household in this community has its own latrine. No one defecates in the open. The household toilets are very clean, with no flies in sight. The toilets do not emanate any stench. Of course, the residents are very proud of this achievement. Without a doubt, the success story of Ajumaim is packed with lessons for several parts of Ghana, especially our major cities like Accra, Kumasi, Takoradi and Tamale.
The government of Ghana did not finance the construction of their household toilets. The inhabitants placed so much value on the idea of well-kept hygienic household latrines that they put their money where their hearts and values are located.
Beneath the poverty-looking exterior, Ajumaim challenges you to rethink the concept of poverty and of development. Poverty should not just be about deprivation. One may lack in certain areas but have surplus of other requirements that enrich decent living.
HOW DID AJUMAM BECOME ODF?
From time immemorial, families in the isolated farming community of Ajumaim did not have household latrines. Whenever nature called them, they all responded with visits to the bush or an open pit public toilet —children and adults alike. That was the social norm. It was not an issue of concern. They were exposed to snakes, rain, sunshine and other vagaries of nature. But there was the matter of dignity.
Then sometime in 2016, a civil society organization visited the village and encouraged them to stop open defecation. They were receptive to the idea. A few households constructed their toilets, comprising of dug holes and slabs. But they found the slabs to be frightening because they were not firm. But in no time, new types of latrines were introduced to the community.
Looking unassuming, the Chief took a leadership role, effectively using soft power. Together with his elders, they set the rule that all homes in Ajumaim must have toilets. The district assembly got involved and sent environmental health officers to the community to encourage and guide them to construct household toilets. The intervention of the Assembly helped in increasing awareness. If the space inside their homes was inconvenient, the toilets were built a short walking distance away.
The elders created a map of Ajumaim, which shows the location of each house. It was posted on a wall in the centre of the village for all to see. As households built hygienic toilets, the success story was marked on the community map. This highlighted households that practice open defecation for all to see. This act presented community pressure and shame, and resulted in conformity to the social dictates.
Offenders of open defecation are fined Ghc10. The natural leaders of the town volunteer their time to go round Ajumaim to inspect the toilets. It is required that: the slabs are covered to keep flies away; the space is kept clean on a daily basis; there is a super-structure with a roof to ensure that users are protected from the rain and sun; and assures them of their dignity.
Also posted on the community notice wall are the sanitation bye-laws of the village, to which every resident adheres. The laws are successfully enforced. For the past two years, Ajumaim has been open defecation free. The Unit Committee Member, Samuel Donkor is a champion opinion leader. With an outspoken voice and a determined attitude, he is a natural leader who makes things happen.
I entered four household toilets in Ajumaim. Of course they are not water-closets but they offer privacy, cleanliness and the high-level of dignity human beings need to keep their heads up in society. Every latrine I inspected had a tippy tap water station for handwashing.
It is estimated that the household latrines will last for about 30 years. This implies that if the community remains on this track, the children and those not yet born will cultivate the habit of using clean toilets. Open defecation will become an abnormality for the new generation, and possibly crush what was normal in previous generations.
Of the 157 communities in the Ajumako Enyan Essiam District, 42 of them, including Ajumaim, are Open Defecation Free. This leaves 115 communities either practicing open defecation or using filthy public toilets, which are poorly maintained. Ajumaim has a population comprising of about 100 adults and children. It has no school. It has one water pump, which is located a long walk away.
THE POWER OF VOLUNTEERISM
Volunteers in Ajumaim contributed immensely to its open defecation free success story. Daniel Kweku Acquah is a mason, who volunteered his time and skills to construct toilets. The Assembly organized a five-day training for him and other artisans as Community Technical Volunteers to acquire the skills on proper latrine construction methods. So Acquah is skilled to give proper guidance to residents.
Whenever a family decided to construct its toilet, they approached him and he guided them on how deep and wide they should dig, and also helped them to make the slab. Generally, the residents helped each other to construct their latrines. Hannah Baah cooks for free to feed the workers. She also inspects household latrines to ensure compliance with the neatness rules the community had collectively agreed to live by.
So today, Ajumaim can brag of being open defecation free because its citizens came together to volunteer and support each other. Love can birth human dignity.With a little help, this village can become a show-piece of development in a few years. Its success can potentially rub off positively on neighbouring communities that still practice open defecation, are unorganized, and not clean.
dorisdartey@gmail.com
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