Climate Change

There are two seasons in this region of Ghana, the dry season and the rainy season. The dry season is just that; HOT and dry! There is no vegetation and everything is brown.  

It is not uncommon to have bush fires at this time of year. Several have come very close to my bungalow. The girls here at St. Anne’s Girls’ Sr. High School where I live are used to battling the flames, one bucket of water at a time. At first I ran in the other direction when the blazing flames were approaching. Now I help fill buckets.

The rainy season has just begun. It is beginning to look more like a jungle than a desert. It is amazing how quickly brown turns to green. 

While fire destroys the environment during the dry season, rains and wind will take a toll during this season. This year’s rains and wind, however, have caused immense damage not typical for this area.  Roofs have been blown off homes and shops, and floods have washed away entire dwellings. Here at St. Anne’s several sections of the wall surrounding our compound have been washed away.

Climate change is occurring here as it is all around the world. The changes can be devastating not only to the environment but also to the health of those already marginalized. Flooding increases cases of malaria and cholera. A decrease in the water supply due to an extraordinary dry season, which we had in Damongo last year, increases the incidence of guinea worms, and an increase in temperature causes more cases of cerebrospinal meningitis. Unfortunately, these are just a few examples of how climate change can affect the health of those I live amongst. Living in this part of the world makes me realize more than ever how important it is for us to slow down the global warming that our way of living in excess has caused. Let us pray that the world comes together to save our planet as well as all of us who call it our home.