In the greater district of Accra, Ghana in a small area called Nkrumkrom lives a fourteen year old boy named Wiafe along with his seven year old brother and mother. All three reside in a one hundred and fifty square foot home on the high grounds of a hill. The home alone has just one window, no interior walls, no running water and no electricity. Their washing station and their kitchen are located right outside their home. And the bathroom, well, the bathroom was no where to be found. Inside you'll find a large foam mattress where all three sleep. And right above the mattress would hang a massive mosquito net. In the corner, stood a bench with all their belongings and clothing packed in bags. And at the opposite corner, pots and pans. That is all. Nothing more, nothing less.
Wiafe and his brother are now two of over sixty children which TANF Ghana, a non for profit organization, sponsors and provides access to free education and free healthcare. With this sponsorship, Wiafe is able to receive the necessary books and tools for school as well as free healthcare. In school, Wiafe’s favorite subjects are maths, English, and learning his native language of Chi. In his free time he loves to watch his friends play football. Though he is able to attend school thanks to this sponsorship, there are a few major obstacles which prevent him from attending school daily.
Wiafe on average attends school three times a week. The other two days he assists his mother with farming not far from home. He helps her plant hot peppers, kasava, plantains, and pineapples. At fourteen it is very difficult for him to carry water up the hills. See, before Wiafe would help his mother on the farm, his mother used to sell clay pots in the village to locals. Unfortunately, selling pots could not provide enough income to feed the family so the mother turned to farming. She farms enough to feed her and her family.
Hence where the second problem presents itself. Because his mother farms all day and every day, she is unable to have another job that can provide a stable income. There are days where Wiafe cannot afford a meal at school. A typical meal costs approximately one and a half cd which in American currency amounts to just thirty seven cents. Not being able to afford a school lunch usually discourages the boy from attending school. When he can’t afford a meal at school, he would feel as if he is looked down upon for not being able to afford a meal.
To school, Wiafe walks multiple kilometers in the heat. Most of the time he walks barefoot. Though he is provided a school uniform and shoes, because he feels pain in his foot and occasionally in his arm, he prefers to walk barefoot. Sometimes when the pain becomes unbearable he lays down and falls asleep to forget the pain.
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” A Police officer, Wiafe responds.
At two weeks old Wiafe was just like any other baby, until one unfortunate night. That night his mother left him wrapped in a blanket and walked over to her neighbor to grab some produce. It was only a few minutes. But just a few minutes was all it took. As his grandmother noticed from a far distance, smoke rose from the house and she began screaming to seek help. Both the grandmother and mother quickly rushed into the home. It was then realized that Wiafe’s blanket caught fire from the lantern that was left inside. The fire burned the entire right side of wiafe’s body. Due to the damage to his arm from the fire, his right arm had to be amputated. Wiafe spent over a year and a half at the hospital growing and rehabilitating.
Wiafe is one of a kind child. Though he faces daily challenges with his arm, he strives and pushes himself to be the best he can. And one day he will become a police officer like he dreams of.
-Piotr Kuzniar