The Kayakaya girls
The main way of transporting heavy loads in Ghana has traditionally been in the hands of Kayakaya girls, the indigenous “porters”, but the question remains why, given the availability of more modern mechanical means for many years.
This situation begs the question: is there an opportunity to be exploited by the more enterprising Kayakaya girls by embracing technology or a market for an innovative inventor to produce a product for use in this area?
The Kayakaya girls are girls who mostly hail from northern Ghana, who have generally dropped out of school or run away from home due to being forced into early marriages. These girls are vulnerable and have no career prospects to reach their full potential due to poverty. In view of their difficult situation, life can be a very challenging time for these girls and they face many dangers, including physical and sexual abuse. Yet these women come together to form a support network for themselves.
They see this business as a form of self-sufficiency, to gain their financial independence in the city centers. The reason these women can operate is because they can easily maneuver through the busy and congested alleys of the city center without creating any problems. They seem to blend in seamlessly with the business activities around them. If wheeled transport were used, it would cause serious inconvenience to customers and merchants.
In the local supermarkets where customers carry items in shopping carts it is a different experience compared to the open markets that use the services of the Kayakaya girls.
In the busy streets of Accra, one can easily see middle-class people using the services of Kayakaya girls while shopping in the open market. The services of these girls are cheap and fast and help you complete and transport your purchases quickly to your car or taxi at a minimal cost. They have a reputation for honesty and dependability and are popular in city centers as a result.
Risks evaluation
Most of these Kayakaya girls do a quick risk assessment of their cargo. They don’t have a health and safety checklist to work with. However, given the nature of their work, one would expect they would have checklists available. Kayakaya girls tend to be younger, under 40 years old. It is not a job you can do after the prime of life.
Health and security
There seems to be no first aid point in most open markets. In addition, basic health education is not routinely provided to raise awareness about the occupational risks associated with this type of business activity.
Concerns that need to be addressed.
It would be useful to promote better health with regard to good posture and the introduction of posters at bus stops / train stations in African countries would increase that awareness.
It would be useful to raise awareness through the media about the plight of these girls in all local languages.
There is no first aid kit available in open markets in case emergency treatment is needed. This is an area worth exploring.
Basic manual lifting / handling training would benefit these Kayakaya girls and train them to know more about the ergonomics of lifting techniques and the essence of health and safety regulations, if any locally.