Faces Of Urban Struggle

My Life is a Struggle Voltaire There’s a lot of struggle in Ghana’s impoverished urban environment — urban poverty, wretched housing, environmental crisis (air pollution, plastic pollution, etc.). Thousands of people in Ghana flee their towns and villages to cities in search of employment opportunities every year. Many end up in urban slums, where the […]

December 9, 2019

Muntaka Chasant

December 9, 2019

14 Min read time

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

My Life is a Struggle
Voltaire

There’s a lot of struggle in Ghana’s impoverished urban environment — urban poverty, wretched housing, environmental crisis (air pollution, plastic pollution, etc.).

Thousands of people in Ghana flee their towns and villages to cities in search of employment opportunities every year. Many end up in urban slums, where the living conditions are even harsher. They cannot go back home because it is just as worse in their towns and villages as it is in the cities. Their lives are immersed in sadness and pain no matter where they find themselves.

Some hawk on the streets in the day and take up a slice of the night-time economy through prostitution or makeshift food joints in the suburbs at night. Others sleep on cement sidewalks with their only possessions as pillows and wake up to labor in the most toxic environment imaginable.

The stress and strain of living in this rapidly changing urban environment are becoming unbearable for many young people in Africa.

Capturing their unrelenting struggle for survival in this harsh and brutal city life comes with a price for me — sleepless nights.

Also Check out This Crucial Article & Documentary

Children of Agbogbloshie: Malik, Adama and Twum

Urban Outcasts: Children of Agbogbloshie

See hazardous child labour at Agbogbloshie and a missing child found through this article.

For me, some of the faces below reflect the harsh conditions and mass struggle in Accra, home to one of Ghana’s functional urban cores.

Enjoy the portraits of these men in good health, and don’t forget to check out the other galleries below!

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African man working and smoking photo. Thousands of young people with no education flee rural hunger and poverty to cities in search of greener pastures every year in Ghana. Many end up in urban slums, where the living conditions are even harsher due to sanitation collapse and lack of essential services such as safe water and healthcare. Over 40% of people between 15 – 35 in Ghana have no education, according to a Ghana Statistical Services report. © 2019 Muntaka Chasant — African man working and smoking photo. Thousands of young people with no education flee rural hunger and poverty to cities in search of economic opportunities every year in Ghana. Many end up in urban slums, where they lack basic sanitation and other essential services such as safe water and healthcare. Over 40% of people between 15 – 35 in Ghana have no education, according to a Ghana Statistical Services report. © 2019 Muntaka Chasant

Hard-working man photo: Urban poor man looks sternly at the camera in Accra, Ghana. More than 55 percent of the population 15-35 years in Ghana live in urban areas, and 90 percent of the currently employed population 15 years and older are in the informal sector. © 2020 Muntaka Chasant

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

Man Smiling Photo: An urban man smiling at the camera. More than 40% of the youth between 15 – 35 in Ghana have no education. To escape rural hunger and poverty, thousands of them flee to urban slums, where the living conditions are even harsher. © 2019 Muntaka Chasant

An elderly struggling urban man contemplates his life, the passing of years, and the journey towards the unknown. Social security pensions are essential to ensuring that older persons receive stable income after the end of their working life, but many older adults in poorer countries had worked in informal employments that did not provide for such end-of-work protections. © 2019 Muntaka Chasant

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

Old African Man Thinking Photo. Around 90% 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. © 2019 Muntaka Chasant

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