Female porters appeal for help

About 500 female head porters (kayayei) at Dagomba-Line, near Oforikrom, in Kumasi have complained about their inability to pay for decent accommodation, making them sleep in kiosks and open spaces.

Aged between 12 and 35, most of the head porters migrated from Wulensi, Bimbilla, Kumbungu, Zabzugu, Nakpanduri, Yendi (all in the Northern Region) to Kumasi in search of jobs.

Speaking to the Daily Graphic about their plight, the spokesperson for the head porters, Madam Nimattu Dawuda, said currently, most of them lived in kiosks which accommodated between 20 to 70 people, with serious congestion.

They said that was because of their inability to pay Gh¢2 per person (for one week) for rooms with light and electric fan and Gh¢1 per person (for one week), for kiosks without light and fan.

That, according to Nimattu, exposed most of them to rampant rape and robbery by unknown assailants, who took advantage of their plight and attacked them. They were also exposed to mosquito bites among other hazards.

Interacting with them after a recent visit by the Member of Parliament for Oforikrom, Madam Elizabeth Agyemang, to the area during which they were provided with free medical care, the porters said they spent 50 pesewas and 40 pesewas to buy hot or cold water for bathing and using the bathhouse, respectively.

A little over 6,000 of the 9,500 head porters in the area had the opportunity to be screened for various health conditions in an exercise which lasted three days and was funded by philanthropists, with support from the Common Fund Administrator and some Members of Parliament.