Some women and children at the Siriyiri community in the Wa West District of the Upper West Region depend on a landfilled site at the community as their alternative source of livelihood.
They pick empty cans and metals from the site to sell as scraps to dealers who visit the community on daily basis to earn an income.
A visit by the Ghana News Agency (GNA) to the dump site spotted some women and children busily picking metals from the refuse to sell.
One of the women who refused to disclose her identity told the GNA that she had no other alternative source of income to cater for the educational and health needs of her children, hence, her decision to resort to picking the empty cans and metals from the refuse site to sell.
"I don't have any other work to do, so when I collect these things I sell them and I am able make between GH¢5.00 to GH¢10.00 a day.
“I have been doing this for about six years now. This is what I use to farm and pay for my children's school fees. I have five children two are married leaving three with me and my husband is dead", she added.
She said though she was aware of the health hazards associated with their activities, there was little she could do and appealed to government and benevolent organisations to come to their aid by providing them with alternative sources of income.
The Siriyiri landfill was acquired by the Wa Municipal Assembly and Zoomlion Ghana Limited, have been contracted to manage waste products in the municipality.
The residents of the community, particularly women and children, had access to the site because it was poorly managed, exposing them to sanitation-related diseases.
Published on GNA
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