Sheroes Foundation rescues girls shackled in Accra Airport slums

List slum ridden areas in the capital Accra and I bet the last area you will want to point to is the Airport Residential Area.

But unknown to many, imbedded in this plush residential settlement; slums are mushrooming in a rather unhealthy manner which endangers its residents.

These slums like the Ablodey yard and Martey Tsuru are home to displaced migrants who travel to Accra to find greener pastures.

A complete contrast to the elegant well-planned estate settlements; Ablodey yard a field with two gates and a cluster of wooden shacks sits almost juxtaposed to the residencies.

It houses all kinds of people who migrate from other parts of the country notably Volta Western, Central and Eastern regions to find greener pastures in Accra.

Ultimate News’ interaction with some of the slum dwellers found out that this yard was first inhabited by a man named Ablodey who still has a structure which he bequeathed to his sons in the yard.

“If you come to Accra and you come to see the Ablodeys that you want somewhere to pitch your kiosque to live in, he will charge you for the space and also collect some 15 cedis a month while you stay here,” a resident in Abloday yard divulged.

It however appears that’s not the worst spectacle hiding right on the shoulders of the Airport residential area. On the East wing of these affluent residencies rests Martey Tsuru where squatters have put up all kinds of structures for shelter around a huge drain.

“In these slums, no one pays rent. You just create a space to live in,” a squatter told reporter Ivan Heathcote – Fumador.

The buildings are so unevenly cited; you will need skill to manoeuvre the maze.

A young lady Abena Tanor, not her real name, who lives here with her husband and a visually impaired child ended up here after moving into Accra from Tarkwah.

She told Ultimate News she was worried about the health of herself and her child who have to bear with living next to this open drain because they cannot afford accommodation elsewhere.

Sheroes Foundation a women empowerment NGO headquartered in the Airport Residential Area has been working with women in this area training them to build self-esteem and learn skills that can earn them an income to move out of these unsafe areas.

The girls are being taken through economic empowerment training in soap making, beed design and preparation of snacks and drinks that can easily be scaled up into a commercial entrepreneurial venture.

Executive Director of Sheroes Foundation Flossy Tachie Mencin told Ultimate News, instead of looking at such situations as liabilities to these residential areas; well to do people should rather begin viewing such places as opportunities to help make a difference right under their noses.

“You can’t call people liabilities. We had to go find them and this is just the starting point, to get them into a profession with the skills that they need to be economically empowered,” she said.

The young women some of whom are already young mothers, were given start up kits, to kick start their newly learnt vocations at a colourful graduation ceremony.

Entrepreneur and Educationist Marian Babah Alargi who facilitated the beed and soap making training was positive if several women just knew how to create something with nothing just by learning a skill, it would make a whole world of difference in empowering huge masses of underprivileged women.

The bigger picture nonetheless remains that Ghana is woefully lagging behind in meeting UN Sustainable Goal 11 which advocates that governments make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable with emphasis on protecting the health of children and the vulnerable.