24 August 2008 -  Ada Revisited

In August 2008 we organized a visit to a village called Totope in the Ada area of Ghana for members of some environmental NGOs and international press who were taking part and observing the UNFCCC climate change talks in Accra.

For the full story click here

25 Oct 2007 -  Floods in Northern Ghana

Many African Nations have in recent times experienced severe rainfall causing flooding which has resulted in the death of some 200 people and 650,000 others losing their homes according to the UN.  Ghana is one of the countries worst hit by these torrential rains. The Northern and Upper regions and parts of the Western region of the country were the most severely hit in the month of September 2007.

  
Left: Family of flood victims 
Right: Collapsed bridge

These regions are relatively poor and most rural homes are built from mud and thatch. Figures from the government of Ghana indicate that 332,600 people have been affected and 56 others have died as a result of the floods. In addition 35,000 houses, 1500 kilometres of road, bridges and schools have collapsed and thousands of hectares of crops, livestock and water supply systems in many areas have been destroyed .

For the full story click here

1 Oct 2007 - World Habitat Day 2007

This year's World Habitat Day in Ghana held on 1st October was organized by the Ministry of Local Government for and on behalf of UN-Habitat.  Having been asked to sit on the planning committee in order to represent the climate change agenda, Stuart Gold gave a solidarity message on the day to the gathering which was held in Ashiaman, Tema on Oct 1st.  A round-table event was held at the British Council in Accra on Oct 4th.

The theme this year was 'A safe city is a just city'.  Although climate change was not a main element of the theme, UN-Habitat recognized that it has a considerable impact on safety within cities in the form of natural disasters and resource scarcity.

 
Left: Stuart Gold giving address at the event in Tema
Right:  Okyenhene (Paramount Chief - Eastern Region) speaking at the British Council

July 2007 - Tree Planting

Over the past two months we have been working closely with government officials of the Greening Ghana Initiative (GGI). The GGI aims to use the Golden Jubilee celebrations as a focal point to resuscitate and restore Ghana's natural environment.

 
Members of the SKU team distributing teak seedlings

On behalf of the GGI and the Ghana Forestry Commission, our team transported and distributed, 352,000 seedlings in June - mainly teak with some citrus and mango, to farmers in the Afram Plains region. In order to avoid confusion and to establish an efficient distribution mechanism, the team drew up lists of farmers and posted them in public places in the villages prior to arrival.

12 Jun 2007 - Arc En Ciel Project Completed

This week sees the successful completion of the outsourcing project carried out by GC Projects on behalf of Arc En Ciel Ltd - a UK company.

Our two staff members Ibrahim and Michael took time away from their usual duties and worked long hours identifying and documenting over 12,000 places in the UK using various GIS software tools.

Tony Reynolds of Arc En Ciel said: "As we expected the Ghanaian boys did a great job in compiling the data and they did it in record time.  We are very pleased with the result". 

April 2007 - Water Filter Project - Boakye Krom in Afram Plains - Eastern Region

In April 2007 on a visit to distribute tree seedlings as part of a collaborative project with Greening Ghana, the SKU team transported and distributed fifty water filters to a poor community in Afram Plains in the Eastern Region of Ghana.  The water filters were donated by Gold Coast Projects SKU's umbrella organization.

The community currently obtain their drinking water from an area of land that has been dammed to contain rain water and is also used for washing and by cattle taken there by the local herdsmen.

The water filters are made in Ghana and using a clay pot suspended in a plastic water container, are very efficient and easy to use.  The clay pots last for up to three years with regular cleaning.

23 Mar 2007 - World Meteorological Day

To mark World Meteorological Day the Meteorological Agency of Ghana organized a public event at the Science Museum of Accra.  The theme was Polar Meteorology. Understanding Global Impact.

Keynote speeches were delivered by Mr. Minia who is the director of the agency and a representative from the Ghanaian ministry of communications.

The SKU campaign of GC Projects was happy to print special t-shirts for the occasion which were designed for the event and donated to all the attendees. 

15th Mar 2007 - UK Press Release

Climate-Change Group Gets Outsourcing Contract 

In Ghana, which celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of its independence last week, climate change isn't a problem you solve by turning up the air conditioning. In a largely rural economy a degree or two of temperature or a little less rainfall can mean starvation. A British expatriate, Stuart Gold and  Kwabena Osei Bonsu, a Ghanaian, together with a team of local activists, are doing their bit by setting up a group called StopKillingUs to combat the effects of global warming in Africa. 

StopKillingUs - website www.stopkillingus.org - is emphatically not just a talking shop or pressure group, but is organizing practical action to help improve the situation and to gather hard evidence to identify problems.
 
In January fourteen students visiting Ghana from the University of Milwaukee accompanied members of the SKU T-Shirt Task Force to deliver 480 tree seedlings, including Mango, Acacia and Coconut plants, to seven schools in the village of Ada on the coast of Ghana, where serious coastal erosion has occurred.  The students and SKU volunteers helped the children to plant the saplings and encouraged them to water and care for them in the future.
 
Last month, the SKU task force visited villages in the Eastern Region of Ghana to investigate reports that migration of Fulani herdsmen from neighboring countries is causing conflict.  They found that the Fulani are moving into Ghana with their cattle because reduced rainfall in their homelands has left them with insufficient grass to feed their animals.

StopKillingUs is also trying to provide employment for young people in Accra, where unemployment levels average 30%. They have just landed a contract, to help fund their campaign, with a London software house, Arc en Ciel Ltd (www.arcenciel.com). The project is to compile a gazetteer of place names in the UK for use on the Internet.

Tony Reynolds, the Technical Manager of Arc en Ciel, says: "Ghana has some advantages over India, which is the traditional choice for outsourcing.  They speak better English and they're in the GMT time zone so we can discuss problems during the day as they arise." Stuart Gold's previous company worked on projects for NASA carrying out computer simulations of lunar exploration vehicles, so he is ideally suited to act as technical backup at the SKU offices.
 
Contacts:
Stuart Gold, StopKillingUs, Ghana. 
Tel: 00233 24 293 4021.  Email: sgold@stopkillingus.org
 
Tony Reynolds, Arc en Ciel Ltd, London.
Tel: 020 7281 9885. Email: tony@arcenciel.com

1st Feb 2007 - T-Shirt Task Force investigates Fulani migration                 

The SKU task force visited Mamekrobo and other villages in Afram Plains in the Eastern Region of Ghana in order to investigate reports that migration of Fulani people from neighboring countries is causing conflict in that area.  Our initial investigation indicates that the Fulani are moving in greater numbers from the surrounding countries with their cattle as there is no grass there to feed their animals due to reduced rainfall.

A full report and footage from the TV3 crew that accompanied the expedition will be available soon.

17th Jan 2007 - T-Shirt Task Force tree planting project                               

Fourteen students visiting Ghana from the University of Milwaukee in the USA accompanied members of the SKU T-Shirt Task Force to deliver 480 tree seedlings which included Mango, Acacia and Coconut among others, to seven schools in the village of Ada on the coast of Ghana in the Greater Accra area.

The students helped the school children to plant some of the seedlings and encouraged them to look after and water them regularly.

4th Jan 2007 -TTF visits Nkonya Wrupong in the Volta Region                             

SKU T-Shirt Task Force visited the Volta Region to investigate problems relating to lack of rainfall that are affecting the fish stocks in the Volta and reducing the cocoa crops.

For more information click here.

28th December 2006 - T-Shirt Task Force visits Afram Plains

The SKU T-Shirt Task Force visited Donkokrom (in English, Slave Town) in Afram Plains in the Eastern region in order to investigate various problems relating to cocoa farming and deforestation.