MUNTAKA CHASANT

PEOPLE & STORIES

Urban youth, poverty, and inequality in Ghana. Copyright © 2021 Muntaka Chasant

‘I’d Never Come if I knew Life in Accra was Going to be this Tough’

Poverty in Ghana
Urban Poverty

Natural rubber in Ghana. Copyright © 2021 Muntaka Chasant

Natural Rubber (Latex) Middleman

Natural Rubber in Ghana
Society

Struggles of a single mother. Copyright © Muntaka Chasant

Single Mother

Childhood innocence: An infant smiles against her hopeless urban poor mother. Copyright © 2020 Muntaka Chasant

Centering the Experiences of Urban Poor Women.

People
Society
Urban Poverty

Children playing: Boy doing a backflip. Copyright © 2020 Muntaka Chasant

Slum Children Playing

Agbogbloshie
Urban Poverty

Fisherman in Ghana: 76 years old urban poor fisherman takes a rest under the shade of a mangrove tree (Rhizophora racemosa) in Accra, Ghana's capital city. Copyright © 2020 Muntaka Chasant

‘All the mangrove trees are gone’ — 76 Years Old Fisherman

Densu Delta
Fishing in Ghana
Livelihoods
Mangroves
Mangroves in Ghana

Urban poor African man: An urban poor old African man in Accra, Ghana, sits on a mat in a dumpsite to separate and organize recyclable waste plastics. Copyright © 2020 Muntaka Chasant

Azorkre Adarga: The 68 years old urban poor plastic waste collector

Livelihoods
Plastic Pollution Images
Plastic pollution in Ghana
Urban Poverty

Tilapia fishing in Ghana: Joseph Akagbo (front) and Selassie Tsetsogbi (back) are Atidza/Acadja Blackchin Tilapia (Sarotherodon melanotheron) fishermen. They use black mangrove woods to create brush shelters to enhance Blackchin Tilapia production in the Densu Delta in Accra, Ghana. Copyright © 2020 Muntaka Chasant

Methods of Fishing in Ghana: Atidza (Acadja) Brush Park Fishing

Acadja
Atidza
Brush Park Fishing
Densu Delta
Fishing in Ghana
Methods of fishing in Ghana

David Kpaligah (above), 49 years, is a crab and lagoon tilapia fisherman in Accra, Ghana's capital city. Copyright © 2020 Muntaka Chasant

Urban Fisherman

Acadja
Atidza
Fishing in Ghana
Society

Documentary filmmaking: Japanese photographer and cinematographer Hideyo Fukuda near thick toxic smoke grabbing a scene during many weeks of filming at Agbogbloshie, Ghana, an area ranked alongside Chernobyl. Copyright © 2019 Muntaka Chasant

Documentary Filmmaking

Agbogbloshie
Documentary Photography
People
Society

Occupational hazard: An urban poor man uses a manual weighing scale in a hazardous environment. Copyright © 2020 Muntaka Chasant

Occupational Hazard

Occupational Hazard
People
Society
Urban Poverty

Aluminium cookware: An artisan uses talcum powder during aluminium cookware making. Copyright © 2020 Muntaka Chasant

Artisan

Artisan
Society

Fish processing in Ghana: Man process yellowfin tuna in Accra, Ghana. Copyright © 2020 Muntaka Chasant

Fish Processing in Ghana

Fish Processing in Ghana
Fishing in Ghana
Livelihoods

Fishing in Ghana: Older African fisherman uses bottles as fish traps to catch blackchin tilapia (Sarotherodon melanotheron) in the Densu Delta in Accra, Ghana's capital city. Copyright © 2020 Muntaka Chasant

Methods of Fishing in Ghana: Glass Bottle and Gari Tilapia Fish Trap

Fishing in Ghana
Glass bottle fish traps
Livelihoods
Methods of fishing in Ghana

Agbogbloshie: Man is burning car steering wheels to reclaim the aluminium materials inside. They call it "Korea Aluminium" at Agbogbloshie, and sold for around GH₵1.5 ($0.25) per pound in May 2020. © 2020 Muntaka Chasant

Agbogbloshie: Burning Steering Wheels

Agbogbloshie
Society
Urban Poverty

Smoking in the rain: Man in Ghana smokes in the rain and use a pot to protect his hair from getting wet. © 2020 Muntaka Chasant

Smoking in The Rain

People
Smoking
Society
Urban Poverty

Child labour: An 8-year-old urban poor boy nicknamed after Ghana's current president is working in the rain. 'Akufo-Addo' is engaged in hazardous child labour in Accra, Ghana's capital city. Behind him: Debrah, 15 years old, had just smashed a CRT TV against a rock to recover the iron materials inside. Nearly 2 million children in Ghana are in child labour. More than 70 million children worldwide are in hazardous child labour, ILO estimates show. © 2020 Muntaka Chasant

A Child Labour Scene

Agbogbloshie
Child Labor
Child Poverty
E-waste
People
Society

Human suffering: Poor man carries a plastic sack on his head with liquid dripping from it. More than 700 million people worldwide live on less than $2 a day. © 2020 Muntaka Chasant

Urban Suffering

People
Society
Urban Poverty

Urban Poverty: Young men burn waste cables in the rain to reclaim copper at Agbogbloshie, Ghana. Many of them had escaped hunger and poverty in their villages to Accra in search of economic opportunities — only to end up in a harsh urban environment. © 2019 Muntaka Chasant

Agbogbloshie: Rain and Fire

Agbogbloshie
Society
Urban Poverty

Child labour image: 14-year-old Bright Ankrah (left) is about to smash an old CRT TV against a rock to retrieve the shadow mask and other iron materials inside at Agbogbloshie, Ghana. Osei (right), 15, is shouting at Bright: "be careful I'm here! be careful!!" Roughly around 31.5 million children in Africa are in hazardous child labour, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates. © 2020 Muntaka Chasant

Child Labour in Photos: Electronic Waste

Agbogbloshie
Child Labor
E-waste
People
Society

Child labour image: Kwaku Debrah, a 15 years old adolescent, has just smashed an old CRT TV against a rock to reclaim the iron materials inside at Agbogbloshie, Ghana. A piece of CRT glass stuck in his hair fell past his left eye, overshadowing it. Debrah is already blind in the left eye and wears a prosthetic. More than 60% of children in hazardous work worldwide are boys, according to ILO estimates. © 2020 Muntaka Chasant

E-waste Recycling And Child Labour

Agbogbloshie
Child Labor
People
Society

Urban mining: 17-year-old Akwah is carrying an old CRT TV on his head at Agbogbloshie, Ghana. The old television set was "urban mined" for iron materials. © 2020 Muntaka Chasant

Urban Mining

Agbogbloshie
E-waste
Society

Pain and struggle image: Photograph of a young man in a desperate struggle to survive in a cold, harsh urban environment. Copyright © 2020 Muntaka Chasant

Pain and Struggle

Poverty in Africa: Kwaku Debrah is a 15-year-old adolescent boy engaged in hazardous child labour on the margins of Accra, Ghana’s capital city. Wearing a prosthetic eye on the left side, he spends his days cannibalizing from e-waste on the margins of Agbogbloshie as a livelihood strategy. Around 385 million children worldwide live in extreme poverty and survives on less than $2 a day, UNICEF estimates show. © 2020 Muntaka Chasant

Poverty and Child Labour

Child Labor
Society
Urban Poverty

Child labour: A 15 years old boy (Emmanuel Osei) engaged in hazardous work sifts dirt from rusty nails and other small metals before selling them at around $0.15 per kilo at Agbogbloshie, Ghana. An estimated 152 children worldwide between 5 and 17 years are in child labour. 62% of all children in hazardous child labour are boys, according to ILO statistics. Copyright © 2020 Muntaka Chasant

Urbanization And Child Labour

Child Labor
Child Poverty
Society

Isolation Image. © 2020 Muntaka Chasant

Urban Isolation

Child Poverty: Smiling Kwadwo Michael is a 7 years old urban poor who lives on the fringes of Agbogbloshie, Ghana. He uses his bare hands and stones to break apart e-waste for the precious metals inside, exposing himself to heavy metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium, and arsenic. Worldwide, 73 million children between 5 and 17 years are in hazardous child labour, according to the ILO. © 2020 Muntaka Chasant

Child Poverty

Child Labor
Child Poverty
Society

E-waste Image: Man carrying e-waste on his head at Agbogbloshie, Ghana. The e-waste was dumped near the Korle Lagoon in Accra, Ghana. © 2020 Muntaka Chasant

Electronic Waste

Agbogbloshie
E-waste
Society

Child Labour: An 8-year-old boy engaged in hazardous child labour is having fun on an e-waste dump at Agbogbloshie, Ghana. Around 19 million children below the age of 12 years are in hazardous child labour worldwide, the ILO statistics show. UNICEF estimates that nearly 2 million children in Ghana aged 5-17 years are in child labour. About 385 million children worldwide live in extreme poverty and survive on less than $2 a day, according to UNICEF. This represents about half of the world’s extreme poor. © 2020 Muntaka Chasant

Child Labour In Ghana Photos

Child Labor
Child Poverty
Society

An urban poor woman in Accra, Ghana's capital city, is unhappy that free food and other goodies that went around during Ghana's 3 weeks lockdown did not reach her. © 2020 Muntaka Chasant

Urban Poverty Amid Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Coronavirus
People
Society

Hard working man: A semi-naked man is sweating working near a fire in the early morning light. Thousands of young people in Ghana flee rural poverty to cities in search of economic opportunities every year. With no education, many of them turn to the informal sector, where some of them engage in hazardous works. © 2020 Muntaka Chasant

Hard Working Man

Man Working Photo: A hard-working, sweating urban man smokes and works near a fire. More than 40% of people between 15 - 35 years in Ghana have no education at all, according to a Ghana Statistical Services report. Thousands of young people flee hunger and poverty in their villages and towns to urban areas in search of economic opportunities every year in Ghana. With no job prospects due to a lack of education, many end up in the informal sector where they engage in hazardous works.

Man Working Photos

A 'burner boy' holding freshly recovered copper wires and smoking a cigarette at Agbogbloshie, Ghana. Agbogbloshie 'burner boys' use styrofoam packaging and scrap tires as fuel to burn insulated copper wires in the open to reclaim the copper materials inside. This is a major source of air pollution Accra, Ghana's capital city. © 2019 Muntaka Chasant

Urban Miner Smoking At Agbogbloshie, Ghana

Agbogbloshie
People
Smoking

Happy Man Photo: A 23 years old happy, hard-working urban poor man smile at the camera in Accra, Ghana. Over 40% of the youth between 15 – 35 in Ghana have no education, thus forced to fend for themselves in a harsh urban environment. The unemployment rate in Ghana is relatively higher for persons with education than those without education, according to a Ghana Statistical Services report. © 2020 Muntaka Chasant

Happy Man Photos

People
Smiling
Society

Hazardous child labour: Poor boy with a prosthetic (artificial) eye at Agbogbloshie, Ghana. © 2020 Muntaka Chasant

Poor Boy With Prosthetic Eye

Child Labor
Child Poverty
People

Poor Child: 'Akufo-Addo' is an 8 years old boy engaged in hazardous child labour on the fringes of Agbogbloshie, Ghana. According to the International Labour Organization, more than 75 million children who are victims of child labour worldwide are aged 5-11 years. Up to one-fourth of all hazardous child labour worldwide (19 million) is done by children less than 12 years old. Ghana has a high youth population, with people aged 24 years and below making up more than 55% of the population. According to UNICEF, around 28% of children in Ghana live in poverty. © 2020 Muntaka Chasant

‘Akufo-Addo’ – The Urban Poor Child

Child Labor
Child Poverty
People
Society

Urban Poverty: Poor Woman Crying Photo in Accra, Ghana. Around 55% of women in Ghana are in informal employment in urban areas. More than 46% of women in Ghana did not attend school because their families did not allow schooling, according to a 2016 report by the Ghana Statistical Services. © 2020 Muntaka Chasant

Poor Woman Crying Photos

People
Society
Urban Poverty

Smiling urban poor boy: 15 years old Kwabena — nicknamed Sugar Daddy — is a child labourer at Agbogbloshie, Ghana. © 2020 Muntaka Chasant

Child Poverty Photos

Child Labor
Child Poverty
People
Society

Tokyo Street Photography: Ginza, Tokyo, Japan. Ginza is the most expensive area in Japan, with land valued at ¥57.7 million ($546,000) per square meter. © 2016 Muntaka Chasant

Tokyo Street Photography

Japan
Street Photography
Tokyo Street Photography
Travel

Old African Man Thinking Photo. More than half of the world's extreme poor live in Sub-Saharan Africa, according to the World Bank. Old age poverty in countries such as Ghana and Nigeria are more pronounced due to inadequate social protection. The World Bank fears that nearly 9 out of 10 extreme poor will be in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2030. © 2019 Muntaka Chasant

Old African Man Thinking Photos – The Silent Tears

People
Portraits
Sad Photos

Thinking Man Photo: A struggling urban man contemplates his life. More than 40% of the youth between 15 – 35 in Ghana have no education, thus forced to fend for themselves in the informal sector. Many of them engage in hazardous works that may be detrimental to their current and future health. © 2019 Muntaka Chasant

Man Thinking Photo

People
Portraits
Sad Photos

In The Rain: A 16 years old boy works in the rain. © 2019 Muntaka Chasant

In The Rain Photos

Man Smiling Photo: An urban man smiling at the camera. © 2020 Muntaka Chasant

Man Smiling Photo

People
Portraits
Smiling

Urban man portrait. © 2020 Muntaka Chasant

Urban Man Portrait

People
Portraits

Agbogbloshie slum children play in sawdust inside Sodom and Gomorrah near the center of Accra, Ghana's capital city. Poor urban children in many developing countries have no real chance of competing with their wealthier peers as they lack essential social services such as basic sanitation and even playgrounds to nurture their dreams and aspirations. Agbogbloshie 2020. © 2020 Muntaka Chasant

Agbogbloshie Slum Children Play in Sawdust

Agbogbloshie
People
Society

Sad Man Thinking Photo: Urban poor man thinking in Accra, Ghana. Many young Africans, who have no education, flee hunger and poverty in rural areas to live in urban slums, where their situations are further worsened by lack of basic sanitation, housing, and other essential services. Over 40% of the youth between 15 – 35 in Ghana have no education. © 2020 Muntaka Chasant

Sad Man Photo

People
Sad Photos
Society

Man Smiling Photo: Poor hard-working African man smiling at the camera. © 2019 Muntaka Chasant

Man Smile Photo

The Real Honno-ji Incident Spot in Kyoto, Japan. By Muntaka Chasant

Photo of The Real Honno-ji Incident Spot in Kyoto

Man Smiling Photo: Old African man smiling at the camera. Ninety percent of the employed population 15 years and older in Ghana are in the informal sector, with 14% of those above the age of 55 in urban areas. More than half of the world's extreme poor live in Sub-Sahara Africa, with over 40 countries in the sub-region having the highest poverty rates in the world. Old age poverty in countries such as Ghana and Kenya are more pronounced due to inadequate social protection. © 2019 Muntaka Chasant

Men Smiling Photos

Men smoking portrait by Muntaka Chasant

Men Smoking Photos

Japan Food Street Photography by Muntaka Chasant

Tokyo Japan Street Photography

Japan
Street Photography
Tokyo Street Photography

Mobile Street Photography: Dotonbori at Night, Osaka, Japan. © 2017 Muntaka Chasant

Japan: Osaka, Kyoto, and Hiroshima Street Photography

Japan
Mobile Photography
Street Photography

Working In The Rain Photos

Agbogbloshie
Society

Man Smoking Cigarette Photo: Millions of young people in Africa flee rural poverty to cities every year in search of greener pastures. Many end up in urban slums, where living conditions are much tougher than where they came from. To make it worse, a lot of them have no education at all. For instance, over 40% of the youth between 15 – 35 in Ghana have no education. © 2019 Muntaka Chasant

Faces Of Urban Struggle

People
Sad Photos
Society

All photos & text on Muntaka.com are copyrighted. Do not copy or reuse without permission.