Story

Ghana's Kayayo: On Myths and Poverty

August 31, 2009 | Pulitzer Center
By
Peter DiCampo, for the Pulitzer Center, Ghana
1

Kayayo girls apply makeup and look at soap to purchase in a small room where 16 of them sleep every night in Sodomandgomorrah, February 15. Image by Peter DiCampo. Ghana, 2009.

1

Children read the Koran by flashlight at a mosque in Wantugu, May 13, 2007. At the time this photo was taken, power lines had been in place since 2000, but seven years later government officials had still failed to connect them to a power source. Finally, in November 2008, electricity was provided to half of the village. Image by Peter DiCampo. Ghana, 2007.

1

Young girls laugh as they fetch water from the Wantugu Dam, August 18, 2007. Image by Peter DiCampo. Ghana, 2007.

1

'The first time I went to the Agbogblushie Market area of Accra, the taxi driver did two things. He started by charging me three times the real price....The driver's next move, on the ride over, was to warn me that I shouldn't be going to Agbogblushie at all.' Image by Peter DiCampo. Ghana, 2009.

1

In Agbogbloshie Market, a load of yams is lifted onto the head of 25-year-old Lamisi from Tumu in the Upper West Region, February 13, 2009. Lamisi is a high school graduate, but with few options for employment in Tumu, she traveled hundreds of miles to Accra to find work. Image by Peter DiCampo. Ghana, 2009.

1

Fatima stands on the backs of other Kayayo girls while playing on a beach in Accra, October 12, 2008. She is from a village in the Northern Region, and had never seen the ocean before coming to Accra a few months prior. Coming from a predominantly Muslim society, she says she likes swimming, but doesn't like that boys and girls swim together on the beach. Image by Peter DiCampo. Ghana, 2008.

1

A Kayayo girl fixes her hair while looking into a mirror in her lap, February 15. Image by Peter DiCampo. Ghana, 2009.

Every year, thousands of women and young girls migrate from Ghana's poorer, Muslim north to the major cities of the Christian south. Known as Kayayo, they travel to work as porters in city markets, and spend their days carrying heavy loads for meager wages. Due to a shortage of employment opportunities and money for housing, many end up sleeping on the streets or being coerced into sexual servitude in exchange for shelter.