People of Accra — Reporters' Reflections

People of Accra — A Multimedia Exhibit

People of Accra — A Portrait In Time

COMING SOON: "People of Accra" - ABOUT THE PROJECT

By John W. Fountain

ACCRA. CAPITAL CITY. POPULATION 2.6 MILLION. Forty journalism students, one goal: To tell the stories of everyday people. From its bustling boisterous markets. To the relentless entrepreneurial merchants who hawk their wares in perilous streets that buzz with motorists and merciless motorbikes that dart recklessly between traffic. To the faithful “Kayaye”—the young women who work as head porters, carrying more than their weight on their heads and a small child tied in a cloth on their backs.

"The consensus around here is that whatever superlatives may be used to describe Ghana, one must also interject the word, 'hard.'"

This is their story. It is a story of the rhythms of life and in this time. The story of a people whose hardship alone is not enough to dissuade them from viewing life through the prism of possibility, even when sweat is dripping like raindrops from their brow, their backs aching from carrying their burdens in the heat of the day, their fingers stretched, their feet wearied and worn, and another day’s journey of toil for little pay awaiting at the light of each new sunrise. 

With The Poise of Runway Models: Ghana's 'Madam Queens'

"Madam Queen"

Strong Black sister

Madam Queen

Carrying the weight

of the world

Beneath blazing African sun

Head lifted high

Back straight

Baby in tow

Wrapped in African cloth

Staring off

Into the haze

Of traffic

And this pressing crush of humanity

Without vanity