Ghana Country Paper

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Country Papers

GHANA: Connecting to the Center of the World (p.2)

"My life has completely changed from an unknown to a known world."
~ Letter to Jonnie Akakpo from Comfort Awuah

CLCs Offer New Opportunities
Ms. Awuah, a volunteer at a Community Learning Center (CLC) in Kumasi, echoes the sentiments of many of the staff and patrons of the three CLCs that Jonnie Akakpo has established in Ghana through the LearnLink project.

Until recently, access to computers and the Internet in Ghana was sparse, with public access limited to Accra, the capital city, where a few ill-equipped computer labs supported by the international donor community were available. Thanks to Akakpo’s tireless efforts, hundreds of people in three Ghanaian cities now have been introduced to electronic communi-cation and have access to worlds beyond their immediate horizon.

According to Akakpo, “Interest in the Internet is growing at such an astronomical rate that one can hardly cope with it.”

Located in three regions of Ghana— Kumasi in the Ashanti region, Accra in the Greater Accra region, and Cape Coast in the Central region—the CLCs are managed by local NGOs in each area, who approach the bridging of traditional and modern methods of communication with cultural sensitivity.

Kumasi
With roots going back to the 17th century, Kumasi is the ancient capital of the Ashanti kingdom, the largest ethnic group in Ghana and one of the few matrilineal societies left in Africa. Today, Kumasi is Ghana’s second largest city, with a population nearing 1.5 million people, located in the south-central part of the country. Known as the “biggest village in Africa,” Kumasi is a bustling city, a commercial, transportation and artistic center in a cocoa-producing region—Ghana’s principal crop. The city is home of one of the largest markets in Africa, noted for its work with gold and fabric, and the seat of the most powerful Ashanti King, the Asantehene.

Cape Coast
The region boasts more secondary schools and tourist attractions—beautiful hotels, excellent beaches and the Kakum game reserve—than any other in the country. Traditionally a petty trading, cottage industry and fishing community, its population is now approaching 800,000, and many are employed in the government offices, schools, and tourist organizations that have grown up with the city.

Accra
Accra is Ghana’s seaside capital, the seat of government, where the large organizations, institutions, factories and places of entertainment are located. Its population is 3.5 million, with another 500,000 to one million people trooping in and out of the city on business missions daily. The city’s increasingly cosmopolitan nature is moderated by its easy African atmosphere.

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