Kyekyewere Affiliate

Location of affiliate:
The Kyekyewere affiliate is located in the village of Kyekyewere in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. It is situated in the Bosomtwe / Atwima / Kwanwoma District. Kyekyewere can be found off the main Kumasi - Obuasi road. Upon reaching Kortwi, Kyekyewere is 5 kilometres away.

Vision:
The Kyekyewere affiliate believes that shelter is a basic need and a responsibility for every family to provide. In pursuance of this, the affiliate seeks to eliminate poverty housing in the Kyekyewere community and its environs by building simple, decent, and affordable houses with all the people in the community. The affiliate hopes to:

+ Build simple, decent, and affordable houses with Gods people in need.

+ Developing a sustainable program that will address the housing problems in Kyekyewere and its environs.

+ Create a means of sharing between the affluent and the poor through the building of houses.

Brief history of the Kyekyewere community:
Many years ago, a woman by name Nana Sefah got married to the King of the Asante kingdom, Nana Obiri Yeboah. They had three children. When Nana Obiri Yeboah died, his successor, Nana Osei Tutu gave the land upon which Kyekyewere is currently located to Sefah and her three children. The offspring of the 3 children of Nana Sefah are the current inhabitants of Kyekyewere.

History of Kyekyewere Habitat for Humanity:
The chief of Kyekyewere, Nana Boakye Ababio learnt of Habitat for Humanity during his visit to Nkwantakese town, where the Nkwantakese affiliate is located. On his return, he sent an application letter to HFHG in Accra. A staff member of HFHG visited the community and gave them training and education on the operations of Habitat. The community mobilised some funds after signing the release from liability and constructed the first house. An affiliate committee was also put in place.

Population profile:
The Kyekyewere village has rather a small population of 3,560 persons. Out of this figure 1960 are females while male constitute 1,600 (2000 Ghana Population Census). Kyekyewere is composed mainly of Ashantis who are the indigenes and migrant farmers from other ethnic groups in Ghana. Asante Twi is the local language widely spoken.

Religious denomination:
The vast majority of the inhabitants of Kyekyewere are Christians. The existing denominations include Pentecostals, Adventists and Presbyterians.

Occupation:
The majority of the population in Kyekyewere are farmers. The main crops grown include maize, cassava, tomatoes, okra, and garden eggs. Women mainly assist their spouses on the farms. There are also carpenters, masons and teachers in the village.

Climate, vegetation and land use:
The Kyekyewere area has two rainfall patterns, the major season, April to July and the minor season is from September to November. There is a dry spell in August, which divides the two rainfall seasons. Temperatures range between 23 and 32 degrees Celsius, while rainfall amounts are between 80mm and 100 mm. The dry harmattan winds blow over the area during the dry seasons between the month of December and February. The vegetation is a mixture of the savannah grassland and wooded rain forest. Greater parts of the land are put under cultivation.

Housing situation on the community:
The community has very serious housing problems ranging from poor roofing and heavily cracked walls, causing serious health hazards when people are forced to cook inside their rooms because there are no kitchen facilities in most homes.

How the community improves their housing situation:
Homeowners in Kyekyewere try to renovate their houses with their small income when houses collapse. Walls are often rebuilt with locally moulded bricks when they collapse; and when roofs blow off during rainstorms, the roof is replaced with galvanised sheets. Few new houses are built annually but 80% of these attempts tend to be uncompleted due to financial problems.

New houses as a solution:
The Kyekyewere affiliate seeks to reduce poverty housing from the community. The Habitat for Humanity housing program would also help reduce the health hazards associated with housing condition, which includes poor ventilation, sanitation, and falling walls, as well as blown off roofs during rainy season.

Affiliate address
P.O.Box 842, Kwanwoma-Kyekyewere, Ashanti Region.

Monday, December 14, 2009, Administrator