Health assistance in the labour ward.The front view of the health center, with some animals.

The dilapidated Junior High School BlockThe ceiling of the health center pilling off.

A boy with a bicycle, assisting an Elder to cross River Takpa

From: Geoffrey Buta, Kworli, Northern Region Ghana.

Kworli Area which is quite populous of over 70, 000 people, with 65 sub villages which are made up of Dagombas and Konkombas live on a very rich land, where the communities are noted for their comparative advantage in the production of Yam and Cassava. The inhabitants of the area also produce the bulk of other foodstuffs (cereal, legumes, fruits etc) emanating from the Eastern corridor of the Northern Region.

In any event it is very old and Times Photographer Geoffrey Buta, wandering off the main road into the village, found that it ways have not advanced a little since medieval times.

Many natives of Kworli have not seen electricity light and tarred road because the nearest one is about 25 miles away. The Yendi municipal highway passes kworli some miles away to the north, so almost the only automobiles it sees are a dilapidated sedan and an old station wagon for hire price few villagers can afford.

Development projects and programmes are yet to reach Kworli Area.This contributes the low standard of living in the area. For instance, the road network is very poor. Each year the area is cut off from the rest of Ghana for several months due to consistent overflow of water from river Takpa (a river that marks the boundaries between Kworli and Yelzoli Traditional Area)

 Both Zabzugu and Tatale and their surrounding villages have electricity. Kworli with its more than 63 communities has not been connected to the national grid.

In terms of Education, it is the only area with low teacher-people ratio in the District which resulted in low enrolment and retention.

Currently there is no school in Kworli that have benefited from the school feeding programme out of 30 existing beneficiary schools in the District.

In the modern world where ICT has been stressed in school curriculum, if computers are allocated to the district for distribution to schools, Kworli Area stands no chance of benefiting. Meanwhile the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) candidates are expected to write with those in the capital cities.

One of the only two Junior High Schools has become a trite for animals. Some part of roofs and windows are ripped off for months now, so anytime it’s about to rain students are told to go home.

Six teachers take care of about 256 students, where they are forced to live in dilapidated quarters.

The only health center which serves the people is home of predictors, with holes beneath the building for snakes and scorpions and animals.

The labor room is so small that, it can accommodate only one pregnant woman, while the disease control unit with peeling ceilings and cracks on the ground and walls causes death trait to the staff.

Speaking to some staff, they outline a lot of challengers facing them, which make service delivering very difficult. The denial of this entire infrastructure to the people of Kworli is a perpetuation of the backwardness exposing them to further exploitation.

In the new district carved out of the current Zabzugu/Tatale has brought another woe to them, where the town which yield more revenue compared to Tatale been neglected.

In the above view, the Chiefs and the people of Kworli Area are calling on the Government to reconsider the re-location of the district capital from Tatale to Kworli for the sake of convenience, feasibility and other obvious reasons.

 In a press statement issued and signed by the chief indicates that, the distance from Kworli in the South to the district capital is 25 miles while Tatale is 12 miles.

Mr. Saaka Aminu, the 1^st runner up of 2009 National best teacher from the village called on the Government to consider the plight of the people and come to their aid.