Ebiram

  • Overview
  • Medical
  • Water
  • Business
  • Public Health

Overview

Ebiram is located near the coast in the Central Region of  Ghana. A typical home in Ebiram is made of mud bricks, concrete blocks, or wood. People in Ebiram are primarily dedicated to farming and charcoal sales. There is a kindergarten, primary school, and junior high school in Ebiram. The nearest health center to the community is in Ekumpoano, about a 40 minute walk away. Currently, standpipes provide access to safe drinking water to only 2% of homes in Ebiram. Around 5% of homes have their own toilet facilities. Ebiram has no community bank offering savings and loans services. To alleviate issues with water quality and quantity, GB built a rainwater harvesting unit in the community in 2012. The community expressed that their top needs are improved toilet facilities and opportunities for credit to support local business.

District: Ekumfi

Region: Central

Homes : 250
Population : 1158
Water System : Yes
Community Bank : No
Electricity : Yes
Health Center : Yes
Midwives : No
Homes with toilet facility : 5%
Education : Up to Junior High School
Distance From Lodging Facility : 45 Minutes

Medical

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

HEALTH CARE ACCESS:

There are two types of public health clinics available to rural Ghanaians: Health Centers and Community-Based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compounds. Health Centers serve large geographic areas within a district and are staffed by physicians. CHPS compounds serve small clusters of communities and are staffed by live-in nurses. The nurses provide basic services and, if capacity allows, they conduct home visits to families in the communities. 

Even with this coverage, it is important to note that medications, equipment, and essential infrastructure are often not available in these clinics and the physician density in Ghana remains around 0.2 physicians per 1,000 people. According to the World Health Organization, there should be a minimum of 2.3 physicians per 1,000 people to qualify a country as having adequate access to medical attention.

Another key factor for health care access in Ghana is insurance. Ghana’s National Health Insurance plan offers universal coverage, but few rural community members are actively enrolled. During Medical Brigades, community members are educated about the benefits of health insurance, and are encouraged to enroll (or re-enroll) in the National Health Insurance Plan.

Ebiram does not have its own CHPS compound, but community members are served by the nearby Ekumpoano CHPS zone. The most common illnesses in Ebiram are malaria, diarrhea, and arthritis.

*These statistics reflect data from historical Medical Brigades in Ebiram. Medical Brigades are now held in the community of Ekumpoano, where community members from Ebiram attend mobile clinics.

87

Volunteers

126

Patient Consultations

N/A

Vision Screenings Provided

8

Health Education Workshops

BRIGADE INFORMATION

A nurse from the Ekumpoano CHPS Compound provides a patient consultation during a Medical Brigade, 2019

Community members in Ebiram attend Medical Brigade clinics hosted in Ekumpoano’s CHPS compound. Volunteers assist local doctors and community nurses to serve patients at each station of the clinic. More information is available on the Ekumpoano profile.

MEDICAL VOLUNTEERS IN EBIRAM:

Chapter Date # Of Volunteers
University of Virginia Medical Brigade January 2013 25
University of Missouri Medical Brigade May 2013 23
Santa Clara University Medical Brigade March 2014 39

Water

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

EBIRAM’S WATER CHALLENGE:

The two main water challenges in the Ekumfi district are: water access and water quality. Where piped water is not available, rainwater is the most culturally accepted form of drinking water. When rainwater is not available, community members will often go to rivers or small dug out ponds for water.

Ebiram’s residents fetch water for domestic use out of a stagnant pond on the West side of the community. Many community members drink and cook with this water as well as use it for bathing purposes. Furthermore, most women and children spend many hours a day collecting water in open containers and carrying it back home.

The water from Ebiram’s pond is rarely treated before consumption and using this water for personal consumption can lead to diarrhea, cholera, skin rash, bilharzia and other water related diseases and infections. One of the few safe water options for Ebiram’s community members is purchasing water sachets but this is an unsustainable practice as well as an unreliable and in the long-term expensive option for drinking water.

10

Volunteers

1

Rainwater Harvesters constructed

EBIRAM’S WATER SOLUTION:

In January 2012, Dublin City University constructed a School Rainwater Harvester in Ebiram to improve student health and studies as well as helped set up a School Water Club responsible for gathering clean water for each classroom. Each class was given a Family LifeStraw filter of Sawyer filter to use.

WATER VOLUNTEERS IN EBIRAM:

Chapter Date # Of Volunteers
Dublin City University January 2012 10

Business

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

EBIRAM’S ECONOMIC CHALLENGE

Rural communities in Ghana face a number of structural obstacles when it comes to economic growth. Access to credit is limited by physical barriers in transportation and exclusion from formal financial institutions. If community members aren’t able to access these institutions, their only option is to solicit credit from loan sharks, who charge exorbitant interest rates. Additionally, maintaining savings is not a common practice in rural communities in Ghana. The main source of income in Ebiram is farming.

57

Volunteers

N/A

Savings Accounts Opened

N/A

Loans Disbursed

N/A

Capital Invested

EBIRAM’S MICRO-FINANCE SOLUTION

GB Ghana Business Program Manager, Shiella, consults with an MHope Group in Ekumpoano

The GB Business Program works with Microfin Rural Bank to stimulate the local economy by organizing community volunteers around a community bank which is entirely owned and operated by its members. Focusing on providing access to credit and savings for their fellow community members, its volunteers are tasked with socializing the community bank and managing the funds. Microfin and the GB Business Program provides training and support to help strengthen these community banks and stimulate the flow of capital within the community. These financial services are especially beneficial for subsistence farmers and entrepreneurs, who can invest more heavily in their production with a loan, pay back the loan after sales, and generate an income with any excess.

Ebiram has not yet established a Microfin “MHope group,” but will begin as soon as feasible. The shareholders of the MHope group will weekly to deposit savings and manage loans which are approved by all the bank’s members.

EBIRAM’S BUSINESS SOLUTION

A Brigader consults with a businesswoman in Ebiram

In addition to working with the community banks, the Business Program provides support and technical skills in establishing anchor businesses that generate additional capital. The goal is to better integrate isolated communities into the local economy and allow for growth. During this process, interested community members receive training to increase their familiarity with business terminology, develop their business administration skills, and promote innovation and diversification in the types of business ventures they pursue.

 

BUSINESS VOLUNTEERS IN EBIRAM:

Chapter Date # Of Volunteers
Dublin City University Microfinance Brigade 2013 22
University College London Business Brigade 2013 11
Pennsylvania State University Microfinance Brigade 2013 19
University of Oxford Microfinance Brigade 2013 5

Public Health

Program Status

  • Planning
  • Active
  • Complete

Global Brigades is working on the implementation of the Holistic Model in Ebiram but has not yet begun with the Public Health Brigades program. Now in the planning phase, implementation of a public health solution will start as soon as feasible.

Homes with toilet facility : 5%
Common house materials : wood, mud bricks, concrete

Local Reference Points

View the map to see the closest volunteer lodging facilities, hospitals, and other relevant points of reference.

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