#blekusu

Philip Hovor blocks the scorching sun with a fan as he waits for the fishermen to pull in their catch. He’s hoping he can make some money to take to school. He is in SHS 1, but has been fishing since his early teens. Unfortunately, all the fishermen caught that day was plastic. “Even though SHS is now free, I can’t go to school empty handed”. Photo and Words by Nana Kofi Acquah (www.nkacquah.com) @africashowboy (Copyright: 2019). #TheInequalityProject #unicefghana #blekusu #voltaregion #ghana. https://www.instagram.com/p/BwZPiggnbqD/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=t4yg7qabi2hv

Often, we laugh because we will go crazy if we don't. She's lost her home and pretty much everything in the tidal wave that hit Blekusu but that's not going to stop her from having fun. Photo and Words by Nana Kofi Acquah (www.nkacquah.com) @nkofiacquah (Copyright: 2017). #Ghana #blekusu #globalwarming tidal wave

Why is the sea driving us away? Why is Trump playing ostrich? I was born by water. Grew up by water. Still live by water; and if this foolhardiness persists, this wanton disregard for the lives of us poor flies, if it persists, where will my children call home? Where will they say they come from? Why are those busy building walls, the ones turning us into sojourners? All across the coasts of West Africa, the sea is eating up land, and forcefully wiping out fisherfolk, their boats, their homes, their families, their communities and so far the sea is having her way. For the next couple of days, I will share with you stories on Climate Change, and how it’s impacting lives in Ghana and Africa. Photo and Words by Nana Kofi Acquah (www.nkacquah.com) @nkofiacquah (Copyright: 2017). #blekusu #tidalwave #ghana #globalwarming #climatechange #africa #westafrica

The sea is busy swallowing up ancestral lands, cultures, livelihoods and dreams. Blekusu, a shy community that lies near Keta was hit by tidal waves that displaced 1,500 people in one night. There were similar incidents all across the coasts of West Africa. Joseph Adator (72) a resident of Blekusu had just been discharged from the Keta Hospital for heart related problems with a referral letter to 37 Military Hospital in Accra. I had no idea how bad his condition was when he joined the wife and daughters for a portrait in the classroom where they were about to spend the night. In the morning, I had to become his ambulance, driving him as fast as I could so he wouldn’t die from the heart attack he’d suffered in the night. His son Emmanuel and daughter Rejoice jumped into my car to accompany their dad, making his condition their priority in spite of their own personal headaches. Rejoice had lost her school uniform to the sea and needed to get money for school fees lest she can’t write her exams. Everybody says they lost their money to the sea. Her brother Emmanuel’s headache is quite different. His pregnant wife is a week overdue and could go into labour very soon. As we dashed off to Accra, I heard him telling the wife on the phone: “So, if you were to deliver today, who will take care of you in this chaos? Where will you stay? You can’t sleep in those classrooms with the fresh baby can you?” To some, the Paris Agreement is just another ego game. To Africa, it literally is about life and death. Photo and Words by Nana Kofi Acquah (www.nkacquah.com) @africashowboy (Copyright: 2017). #globalwarming #clmatechange #Ghana #coastalerosion #africa #blekusu #keta #ketusouth #parisagreement #tidalwavevictims

Gladys Nyanyo stands akimbo guarding the door to the classroom where her sick Joseph must spend the night. The sea puked on the innocent Till they had to run for their lives But those who poison her tweet away with tiny hands behind white walls and drowning chants of praise singers. . Gladys Nyanyo holds her head high in defiance of the gloomy night, in acceptance of her lot. Photo and Words by Nana Kofi Acquah (www.nkacquah.com) @africashowboy (Copyright: 2017). #tidalwavevictims #blekusu #ghana #globalwarming #climatechange #ketusouth #keta Photo and Words by Nana Kofi Acquah (www.nkacquah.com) @nkofiacquah (Copyright: 2017).

blekusu, matilde gattoni