The CFC Trust

Welcome to Hangaland 

Who are the Hanga people, and where do they live?

The Hanga have lived in the Northern Region of Ghana for generations. Located to the west of the city of TAMALE and along the eastern fringes of the MOLE GAME RESERVE, they live in the heart of the GONJA Tribal Region. The Gonjas are the predominant tribe, having migrated south from Mali and Senegal several centuries ago. Being a warrior tribe, they subjugated all the peaceful farming tribes in the area, including the Hangas. The Northern Region is relatively poor in comparison to the more affluent south. This is due to several factors; - political, tribal, geographical and religious. 

Due to being scattered across a wide area, it is hard to know exactly what the Hanga population currently stands at. We believe that they number around nine to twelve thousand, living mainly in villages dotted around the region, which is split by the White Volta river and many tributaries. In the rainy season, these bodies of water effectively cut off many from any amenities and leave them helpless, without medical aid, access to markets or education. They still scratch a meager living from the soil, and are always the last in line for jobs, education and opportunities.

Most of the older generations are illiterate, as education was denied them due to their language being oral only up until quite recently.

Their language was first written in a form that could be read by Wycliffe Bible Translators Geoffrey and Rosemary Hunt in the 1970s.  Luke’s Gospel and the book of Acts were the first available works to be provided for everyone to read. Recently, through the work of GILLBT, the whole New Testament has been written in Hanga, and they are working on the Old Testament.

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Tim & Marion first met Malcolm Spreckley on a trip to Ghana in December 2006. The trip was arranged so that Geoffrey hunt (the Bible translator) could return to Ghana to speak at a Christian conference and to revisit old haunts.  Tim & Marion wished to see the area and meet Joshua, as they'd been supporting him (& his motorcycle) for a number of years. Indeed, the original motorcycle had worn out, so they had recently sent the funds for Joshua to purchase a new one, so they were anxious to see both Joshua and the bike in action.

While in Ghana, Marion (as a trained chef) found the pressures on the women to prepare ans cook food were incredibly overbearing. The women often had to walk long distances to collect water (even in the worn of Damongo). The large containers were very heavy, yet they had to walk back again, and repeat this several times a day. They also had to collect firewood and charcoal and then prepare the food in large pans/pots over open fires on the ground. Apart from the environmental effect it was having, by denuding the area of any substantial trees, there are many health issues that concerned Marion.

• Spinal/back injuries due to the weight of water and other burdens.
• Spinal/back ailments due to constant bending over food containers on the ground and cooking.
• Respiratory problems due to constant inhalation of smoke from the open fires.
• hygeine issues due to contaminated water, proximity of domestic animals to food preparation and cooking areas.

After she returned to the UK, she sought out a possible solution. She found one in the form of SOLAR UTILIZATION NETWORK based near Accra  in the south of Ghana. This company is run by an American called Ron Pickings, and he imports solar ovens that are perfectly suited for the rugged conditions in the north.

The ovens are made of sturdy plastic, with glass doors and rugged reflectors. With a simple metal cradle inside, the oven can be turned and adjusted to be facing the direct sun's rays and can attain high enough temperatures to bake bread and cake, cook yam, cassava, potatoes and rice, as well as cook stews and other things such as biscuits. If nothing else, they can be set with pots of water in them, to maintain a pot of boiling water all day if necessary.

On Tim & Marion's nexrt visit to Ghana, in December 2007, they bought a number of these ovens, and set about introducing them to the Hanga people.

It didn't exactly go down a storm, for several reasons: -

• there were insufficient numbers of ovens to allow many people to see the benefits
• there was insufficient time to teach everyone how to use them
• the cost of each cooker, although inexpensive by UK standards was out of the reach of most Ghanaian in the north.
• Change is not a concept that immediately grabs the people of northern Ghana.

Marion ran some cookery lessons, and then, on their return in 2009, brought more cookers and conducted even more lessons. Indeed, Ron (of S.U.N.) arranged for Sammy, one of his technicians, to accompany the Coxes to the north, and Sammy helped by running extra sessions to teach people the benefits of the ovens.

It is a slow process, but with time and patience and (God willing) sufficient funds to fuel the project, the Trust is optimoistic that the ovens will make an enormous difference to the quality of life of the Hanga. The advantages of having free solar energy for most of the year is beginning to sink home.

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Not to be outdone, Tim (as a Management Training Consultant) put his professional hat on, and for the last two years has run a series of management and personal deveopment training sessions for the benefit of anyone who cared to attend.  Each time he found over 50 people from all walks of life who were only too willing to receive input on a variety of training topics, from presentation skills, Objective Setting and delegation, Conflict management, change management, Coaching skills and others.

Indeed, both Tim and Marion found a warmth and friendliness from the people who had in the past viewed foreiners with some degree of suspicion. As so few foreigners seem to take the time to stop and try to help them improve their lives, this is hardly surprising.