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Water Bearer (I)

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I've been traveling through Ethiopia, Kenya and currently, Ghana by road documenting the lives of women. This photo is from Larabanga, Northern Ghana.

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All God's Children Deserve Justice

This morning, I woke up with a headache. I asked my wife if she could drop the kids at school. She said yes. I took one look at her tired face. I changed my mind. I wobbled out of the couch where I'd spent the night and went looking for a pair of shorts. It is just another day. The kids got into the car, and off we went.

The road from Kokrobite to the famous old barrier is not one designed for cars. It feels more suited for horses and antelopes. My kids were singing "Lala lala la" in many different renditions, which didn't necessarily harmonise with the clanging and tinkling sounds seeping out from the bottom of my car, as it kissed each pothole I couldn't swerve. Most mornings are like this.

In the midst of this monotonous morning, one big distraction happened. Up the hill that leads down to the old barrier, I saw a group of people gathered around a naked man lying in a gutter. I quickly sped on to prevent my kids from witnessing the horrible sight. Fortunately…

Ghanaian Culture: What Must Go, And What Must Stay?

A couple of years ago, a European photographer friend of mine started a photo project called The Last Kings of Africa. He moved from country to country, city to city, village to village documenting the last vestiges of ancient African royalty. It saddened me to observe through his photographs, that so much has been lost. It isn’t only authentic African royal traditions that have been almost wiped out by Slavery, Colonialism, Christianity and Islam. I believe the single most important damage done to Africa, is the wiping out of identity; and with that also, our confidence.
I grew up attending schools that had “Do Not Speak Vernacular” written all over school compounds, and students who were found to be speaking their mother tongue, got into big trouble. Today, I am struggling to get my three little children to speak my mother tongue or any other Ghanaian language for that matter. If I don't do anything about it, my grandchildren may have no idea what "koobi" is.
As a…

No Water, No Road, No Toilet, No Vote!

It's election season again in Ghana, and as I cycled through Langma, I noticed glossy political posters making shiny promises pasted all around this poor community.
Langma is the quieter sister of Kokrobite. It has a number of really lovely holiday resorts and attracts a lot of tourism; and that is the Langma I was used to, until I decided to pay attention.

I saw some young people carrying water on their heads or wearing their empty basins like scarves. I asked them where they get their water from, and they introduced me to Awusavi- a pond of murky brown water.
Awusavi is the ONLY water the people of Langma have. The only water source.

I asked Hannah if she will be voting this year. She replied: "This year, no water, no road, no toilet, no vote".

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