Development Talk

Ghana proceed to the second round of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Photo: Ghana Football Association

Ghana’s football team, the Black Stars, qualified last night for the second round of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. While South Africa and other African countries have fallen out of the tournament, African hopes now rest on Ghana to keep the continent’s World Cup dreams alive.

Ghana lost last night when they conceded a goal to Germany, but they had performed well enough in their previous games to advance to the next round. They will play USA on Saturday.

If you are going to support this team, you need to at least know a little about the country. Don’t worry, Creative Consulting & Development Works will quickly clue you up:

Ghana is located in North West Africa, next to Ivory Coast and Togo and its capital is Accra. The country has a population of more than 20 million and there are about 26 different languages spoken in the country.

History and Politics

According to Wikipedia, the word Ghana means “Warrior King” and derives from the Ghana Empire in pre-colonial times. According to BBC.co.uk it was the first place in sub-Saharan Africa where Europeans arrived to trade – first in gold and later in slaves.  Ghana became a British colony in 1874, but it also became the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to achieve independence in 1957. Kwame Nkrumah was the first president. The current president, John Atta Mills, was elected in 2008.

Economy

Some of Ghana’s major exports are  gold, cocoa, timber, tuna, and diamonds. Major off shore oil reserves were discovered in 2007. Ghana is one of the leading exporters of cocoa in the world. According to Ghanaweb.com the country’s economy is dominated by agriculture, which employs about 40 percent of the working population.

Watch a video of President John Atta Mills talking about Ghana’s economy and education system below:

Some NGOs working in Ghana include:

• Rural Education Volunteering and Social Development Programme which promotes good health knowledge, good social life and dialogue among people in rural communities to enhance good democratic governance.

• Ghana Health and Education Initiative which uses peer education to inform communities about health issues.

• Ghana Outlook, a UK registered charity, with the objectives of supporting education and health through self help projects in rural communities in Ghana.

• Ghana Rights and Voice Initiative, which is targeted at strengthening the voices of people living in poverty and who are marginalised to engage with Government on fundamental human rights issues.

• Good Work Ghana, a Dutch organisation that organises trips for Dutch volunteers to go do good work in Ghana.

South Africans may be disappointed that Bafana Bafana did not advance to the second round of the World Cup, even though they definitely made the nation proud with the win over France. But South Africans now need to rally behind other teams and still enjoy this spectacular event in our country. Maybe you will support the remaining African team, or maybe you have another favourite. Whoever you choose, continue to go to fan parks and matches and make the visitors in our country feel welcome. Support the South African World Cup!