Head Porters Become Businesswomen in Accra's Slums

In the latest short documentary for the Informal City Dialogues, the women who perform one of Ghana's toughest jobs discover ways to improve their lives -- and their children's. Ghana's economy is surging, thanks to the recent discovery of oil off its coast. But for the people who work in its slums, low-paying, back-breaking work remains the norm. Head porters exemplify this reality perhaps more than any other worker. Carrying thousands of pounds each day, they earn little, sleep on the street and endure verbal and physical abuse. In one slum in the city of Accra, however, an informal savings association is laying the groundwork for head porters to strive for a better life. This short documentary shows how such associations can provide financial stability to those excluded from the formal banking system. This film is part of The Rockefeller Foundation's Informal City Dialogues, in partnership with Forum for the Future and Next City. The project aims to start a conversation about informality in six different developing cities, and how we might make those cities more inclusive and resilient as we move into our rapidly urbanizing future. Join the conversation. http://nextcity.org/informalcity   / nextcityorg     / nextcityorg     / informalcity   #InformalCity Video created by Still Life Projects http://stilllifeprojects.com