……Concerns of an Occupational Therapist.
Of a truth, (sic) life in this city of Accra is becoming increasingly difficult to cope with. There are several threats to the thriving of the family system, individual mental and overall health, and the holistic development of children we seem to be neglecting. I do not understand why someone has to leave Amrahia at 4:45am to be able to make it to Accra by 8am for work.
When I ponder over these things, I wonder if it is because we have all come to accept that this is the way we want to live, and our politicians have completely endorsed it. Can’t our leaders think of better ways of resolving this issue? What happened to the railway system? We seem to know what to do, but are unwilling to do it.
I cannot simply fathom why I have to leave home at 5:30 am to make it to work by 8:20am, then close at 5:00pm and get home at about 7:00pm. I am just imagining what will happen if I have editing and proofreading jobs to do, kids to take care of, and a home to keep.
More frustrating is the fact that our traffic situation is not convenient enough to allow for making some productive use of it. Sit in a trotro on any working day, and you risk being ‘disturbed’ by a preacher throughout the journey, or a drug seller who wouldn’t stop blackmailing you when you refuse to pay attention to his rants.
Even if you plan to read a book or reply some emails whilst in the trotro, you may be unable to. Some may say it is better being in your own car, but if we are all going to buy cars, can we survive on these already choked roads? Besides, with how reckless some people drive in this side of town, you risk being fixated on another activity, especially if you are the one behind the steering wheel. Some motorbike would have hit your car and sped off before you lift your head.
I don’t even know what I am writing about but it is getting frustrating living in this ghetto we call a city. Imagine paying huge sums of money for rent, and then spending just a few hours there all week – even the weekends are spent outside of home for weddings, funerals and other programs, and then the heavy vehicular traffic one has to endure; Gosh! I hate traffic!
We need a very serious government to completely decentralize the economy and our system of trade. It shouldn’t happen that everything we need is found in bulk at Makola. Can’t we build district trading centers and commodity hubs so that we all do not need to go to Accra every Monday for restocking?
All our stress, tiredness, and struggle to make ends meet – are our ends really meeting?
Do our leaders care?
Have we come to accept this as our lot?
Do we consider what the future of our homes, and the entire nation will be?
Hmmmmmmmm!
The Writer is an Occupational Therapist, a Human-Security enthusiast, and a phenomenal Multipotentialite.
You can contact her on: maamek2216@gmail.com
