AMADAA is a small village located about six kilometres away from

Nkrumah Nkwanta on the Kumasi-Nyinahin road within the Atwima

Mponua District of Ashanti Region; about 40km from Kumasi. This village
is named after a god in the village called “Amadaa” The village of about
700 inhabitants whose main occupation is farming with most of them
being peasant farmers enjoy neither electricity nor, pipe-borne water;
however there are some bore-holes which serve as their source of
drinking water.
The Amadaa District Assembly (D/A) Primary School is a six-
classroom block which serve as the only school for the village. The six-
classroom structure has no fixed doors nor windows. Furthermore, all
floors within the structure have not
been cemented. Pupils, who manage
to go through their six-year primary
education, walk for about 6
kilometers on daily basis to and fro
A VISIT TO AMADAA
Nkrumah Nkwanta, the nearest village for the three-year Junior High School (JHS) programme.
The standard of living is so low that only few pupils who are fortunate are given 20 Ghana
Pesewas a day as pocket money. Some of the rest rush home to eat during the break period and
quickly run back to continue classes.
Amadaa can boast of no cement block house. There are only mud houses of different
types and sizes. Close to the school is a six–bedroom mud house with a detached kitchen built
to accommodate teachers. As at the time of the visit, the roof of four rooms in the teachers'
residence had been ripped off by a mighty wind which blew some months before vacation.
The unbearable devastation compelled the teaching staff to move to Nkrumah Nkwanta, the
nearest village for accommodation.
The only motorable road leading to the village is untarred and easily gets eroded during
the rainy season. The situation gets worsened during the rainy season when the main bridge
on the road is submerged by the Offin river which flows through the village. These conditions
have led to uneasy access to transportation since drivers find it very difficult to ply the road.
The few old taxis that ply the road do so at a cost of 0.50 Ghana Pesewas per head with a
minimum number of six passengers excluding the driver. This is the main reason why pupils
walk since their parents cannot afford the fare. Incidentally, our visit coincided with a heavy
down pour of rain in the morning and even travelling in a saloon car we had our experience
of struggling with the poor condition of the road.
Next to Amadaa is a hamlet called Asuogya which means (beyond the river). This settlement is
separated from Amadaa by river Offin. The inhabitants cross the Offin river everyday in order to
undertake their daily routine activities within its surroundings with an old community canoe built some
years ago. The same river serves as their only source of drinking water. Because there is no school at
Asuogya, children of school going age who live in the village attend primary school at Amadaa D/A
Primary, and continue with their Junior High School education at Nkrumah Nkwanta. This means pupils
in the Junior High School who live at Asuogya have a daily routine of crossing the river with a canoe and
afterwards walking a distance of about 8 kilometres to get to school. The situation has deprived
children below the age of six the right to equal education because it is unsafe for them to cross the
river daily to attend school at Amadaa. During the rainy season the river overflows its banks posing
more danger to the school pupils. It would simply be understatement to mention health hazards since
the nearest hospital is about 10km away.
The people of Amadaa touched our hearts with their hospitality; they welcomed us to their homes;
the children never left us. The smile on their faces make one feel welcome and comfortable even before
a word is spoken.
Stationery and some clothing we took along with us were distributed to school pupils and the
community in general. We left Amadaa with a profound memory of the people, especially the
children, and a longing to go back one day. We are currently mobilizing resources to organize a medical
screening exercise in the two communities.