Lifestyle
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Cooking With Charcoal: The Cost of Not Going Green
By Bella Kasoa, Ghana — The rhythmic sound of metal pans scraping against coal pots fills the air as smoke rises above rows of makeshift food stalls. It’s just past noon, and 41-year-old Mama Esi fans the red-hot embers beneath her rice pot. “I’ve used charcoal for twenty years,” she says, squinting through the smoke. “It’s what I know. It’s what I can afford.” Like thousands of Ghanaians, especially women, Mama Esi relies on charcoal as her primary cooking fuel — a practice that’s deeply entrenched in culture, convenience, and cost. But beneath the crackle of flames lies a growing environmental crisis. A Nation Cooked on Coal Charcoal is used…
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When the Rain Doesn’t Come: Small Farmers Battle Climate Change
By Baaba Wa, Upper West Region — For 60-year-old farmer Alhaji Iddrisu, the sky used to be a dependable clock. By early May, the rains would arrive — nourishing his maize and groundnut fields in the village of Wechiau. But this year, like many before, the clouds gathered and passed. No rain. No crops. No income. “I planted twice,” he says, staring at a cracked patch of land. “The seeds died both times. Now, I have nothing.” Across Ghana, especially in the northern savannah regions, climate change is no longer theory — it’s daily life. And for the country’s smallholder farmers, the stakes couldn’t be higher. A Fragile Backbone Smallholder…
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The Power Cut Chronicles: How Dumsor Shapes Daily Life
By Abena Accra, Ghana — It’s 8:15 p.m. in a quiet suburb of Dansoman. A toddler is halfway through brushing his teeth. A university student is typing a term paper. And a tailor is midway through hemming a dress for a Sunday wedding. Then, the lights go out. “This is the third time today,” sighs 27-year-old Kobby Appiah, holding up his phone flashlight. “You never really get used to it — but you adjust.” Welcome to the unofficial time zone of Ghana: “Dumsor.” A term combining the Akan words dum (off) and sor (on), it’s more than slang — it’s a lifestyle. A routine. A national inconvenience that has come…
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The Power Cut Chronicles: How Dumsor Shapes Daily Life
By Korkor Accra, Ghana — It’s 8:15 p.m. in a quiet suburb of Dansoman. A toddler is halfway through brushing his teeth. A university student is typing a term paper. And a tailor is midway through hemming a dress for a Sunday wedding. Then, the lights go out. “This is the third time today,” sighs 27-year-old Kobby Appiah, holding up his phone flashlight. “You never really get used to it — but you adjust.” Welcome to the unofficial time zone of Ghana: “Dumsor.” A term combining the Akan words dum (off) and sor (on), it’s more than slang — it’s a lifestyle. A routine. A national inconvenience that has come…
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The Weekend Hustle: Stories from the Saturday Market
Byline: By Nomako Madina, Accra — As early as 4:00 a.m., the sounds begin: baskets thumping, fabric rustling, hushed greetings whispered under breath. By sunrise, Madina Market is a controlled chaos — alive with color, bargaining, and survival. Every Saturday, thousands of traders from all over the capital descend on this sprawling commercial hub to make ends meet. For some, it’s a side hustle. For others, it’s their only source of income. “We don’t rest on weekends,” says Afia Nhyira, 38, who sells fried fish from a corner stall. “Saturday is where the money is. It’s our office, our bank, and our battlefield.” A Market That Never Sleeps Saturday markets…
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Beyond the Headlines: What It’s Like Living in a Flood-Prone Area
By Nomako Odawna, Accra — The rain started around 3 a.m. At first, it was a steady patter on the rooftop. Then it turned into a roar. Within an hour, muddy water surged through the alleys and spilled into living rooms. Mattresses floated. Fridges toppled. Children screamed. For 42-year-old trader Kojo Mensah, it was the fourth time in two years his home had been submerged. “We didn’t even sleep,” he said. “We just stood in the water, waiting for it to stop.” In flood-prone communities like Odawna, Nima, and Kaneshie in Accra, flooding is no longer a seasonal nuisance — it’s a permanent threat, an annual trauma, and a glaring…
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When Dreams Are Delayed: What It’s Like to Wait Years for a Government Job
ByWhinneyr Tamale, Ghana — Every morning for the past two years, 28-year-old Abdul Rahim checks the Ghana Health Service website. He scrolls past updates and circulars, hoping — again — to see his recruitment notice. “I graduated in 2021 as a qualified nurse,” he says. “I passed my licensing exams. But I’m still at home, waiting.” Abdul is one of thousands of Ghanaian graduates trapped in a long and uncertain wait for public sector employment — especially in health, education, and civil service roles. For many, the dream of stable government work has become a drawn-out ordeal filled with false starts, dashed hopes, and economic stagnation. A System on Hold…
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From Streets to Skills: Vocational Training Changing Lives
By TT Kumasi, Ghana — At 8:00 a.m. sharp, 19-year-old Emmanuel Mensah is already at his sewing machine. The rhythmic buzz of needles fills the training center where he’s learning fashion design. Just two years ago, he was hawking chewing gum at a traffic light. “I didn’t finish SHS,” he says. “I thought that was the end. But learning a skill gave me another chance.” Across Ghana, vocational and technical training programs are quietly transforming lives — particularly for young people who have fallen through the cracks of the formal education system. In a job market where degrees don’t always lead to employment, hands-on skills are offering a new path…