Ghana’s Sehwi people set to experience
the richness of literacy

SEHWI WIAWSO, Ghana — Ghana’s 500,000 Sehwi people inhabit an area in the west of the country which is rich in natural resources. Located within the tropical rainforest belt, the land is very fertile, producing large quantities of cash and food crops. One of the main crops is cocoa, and the rhythm of village life is still determined by the demands of cocoa planting and harvesting. Reflecting Ghana’s former name – the Gold Coast – the region also has significant gold reserves. Bibiani, one of the main towns, has the second-largest gold field in the country.

Mr Gyamera teaching Ms Yaa Atea and her friends at an Esahie literacy class in the village of Amafie. The Bible Society of Ghana is supporting the establishment of literacy classes for Esahie-speaking Sehwi people in western Ghana. Photo: BS Ghana/Nathaniel Nunoo (GHA04DJ-3.JPG)

For the vast majority of ordinary Sehwi people, however, the richness of these natural resources has not brought material wealth. Most are poor subsistence farmers living in villages located some distance from the main towns along dirt roads. In addition to material poverty, the Sehwi have also traditionally been poor in terms of literacy. According to the 2000 National Census, only 53.3 per cent of the population as a whole was at that time literate in either English or a known Ghanaian language. Literacy levels for Esahie, the language spoken by the Sehwi, are particularly low.

Asante, a major language spoken just over the border in Côte d’Ivoire, has traditionally had a strong influence on Esahie, and even now many Sehwi prefer to speak Asante when travelling outside their home region. In both schools and churches, the absence of printed material in Esahie has for many years forced people to use Asante books and Scriptures. Even government literacy projects in the region have focused on the teaching of Asante, not Esahie, and have therefore met with little enthusiasm.

It was not until the mid-1990s that the Bible Society of Ghana and the Ghana Institute of Linguistics, Literacy and Bible Translations developed a full orthography for Esahie. Once the orthography existed, rapid progress was made with translating the Scriptures into Esahie. The first fruit of this work – and the first text in Esahie to be recorded by the Ghana Bureau of Languages – was the Gospel of Mark, launched to the accompaniment of joyful singing and dancing in April 1998 (see World Report 334/12). The full Esahie New Testament is now in its final stages.

Eager to ensure that the Sehwi people will be able to experience the richness of reading God’s Word in their own language when the New Testament is launched, the Bible Society has developed an Esahie literacy program. With several training workshops for tutors now having taken place, literacy classes have been launched in a number of Sehwi villages. Earlier this year, a Bible Society team headed by Senior Programs Officer Nathaniel Nunoo made a visit to the region to assess progress.

In Amafie, the team met Yaa Atea, a woman in her mid-20s. Having never attended school, Ms Atea was initially very reluctant to join the literacy class set up by a local man, Mr Gyamera, in mid-2003. With no experience of formal learning, she feared that she would not be able to cope. However, she was finally persuaded by some friends from the Presbyterian Church, which sponsored Mr Gyamera’s training, to join when the class resumed in January after the cocoa harvest. Using the special Esahie Primer, she has found learning to read and write easier than she had thought it would be.

First sentence

“I never thought that I would be able to read and write,” she told the Bible Society team. “I was wrong. At the end of my first day in class I was able to read my first sentence.”

With the support of four student teachers, Mr Gyamera is now bringing basic literacy skills to 30 people.

At another village, Ampekrom, the Bible Society team found a similar number of people attending a literacy class led by Evans Effah and a catechist from the local Roman Catholic church. One of the oldest members of this class is Elizabeth Atobrah who, in her mid-60s, is having her first contact with education. Welcoming the opportunity to learn to read and write in Esahie, she told the visitors that her ultimate aim is to be able to read the Esahie New Testament when it becomes available. As well as giving her access to God’s Word in her own language, literacy skills will also allow Mrs Atobrah to write letters to relatives and friends who no longer live in her village.

With adult classes now flourishing, the Bible Society is looking to extend its Esahie literacy program. It is working through the Education Service to encourage the teaching of Esahie in schools, and is also planning to enter into collaborative ventures to produce health information materials in Esahie. (WR 386/1 - 6/7.04)