MEAGRE INCOME MANAGEMENT IN EVERYDAY LIFE IN GHANA: EXPERIENCES IN RURAL COMMUNITIES IN THE WA MUNICIPALITY OF THE UPPER WEST REGION OF GHANA

Abstract

The study, based in three rural communities in the Upper West Region of Ghana, focused on the ways in which the working poor manage to cope with meagre incomes. The objective was to discover the specific strategies and mechanisms that they use to manage their daily lives despite having deeply inadequate incomes for their most basic needs. Of particular interest to this study were the most essential requirements in life such as feeding, health, shelter, education, clothing and transportation. This study was based on a combination of methods, including interviews, focus group discussions, photography, and observations. In total, 30 interviews were conducted with members of the three communities, including widows, divorcees, aged strangers, and the physically challenged. Twelve focus groups were also conducted, highlighting the experiences and perceptions of women and men; specific photographs were used as a launching point for discussion and analysis in interviews and focus groups; and non-participant observations in the local areas took place over a duration of seven weeks. Snowball sampling was used to locate the key informants who have experience in the research topic. The findings revealed that individuals use creative, multifaceted approaches in making do with less. In particular, the methods used by the working poor depend on the availability of natural resources (e.g., water, land, animals, fowls, and trees), solidarity of community members, and use of the local, 'home-grown' knowledge of every individual is focal for the survival of the working poor. The analysis also disclosed that individuals ration and apportion their own food as a survival strategy. Furthermore, livestock rearing becomes significant in guiding household strength to food safety measures and challenges. Other strategies adopted by the working poor were numerous, including: striving for assistance from friends and relatives for food and money; traveling to nearby communities looking for a living; selling of firewood; borrowing food from relatives; and taking part in dangerous and strained labour. The outcome also uncovered the need for implementation of human-centered programme by the government and interested organizations in rural communities where the working poor are located. This will not only help them cope well but, also, the lives of the working poor can be drastically improved. In addition, education needs to be a core part of improving people's coping strategies, with emphasis on requirements of girl child education which is key in contemporary development.