Many of Ghana’s community needs are similar to what we’re used to in America. A local police station is right across from my school campus, which is about two minutes from my house. The local emergency number is 18555. Large garbage trucks come around twice a week, playing a specific garbage truck tune every time. I used to think it was an ice cream truck when I first arrived. I was a little disappointed when someone told me that rather than announcing ice cream, it was garbage. (Side note: instead of ice cream trucks, they have ice cream bikes!) Although I do not see firetrucks very often, there are fire departments around East Legon. Even on the University of Ghana campus, a small fire department sits near one of the popular eating areas. A lot of us don't think about the gutters we pass by every day, simply because they don't stand out to us. In Ghana, open gutters have become an issue that still persists today. In this article I will focus on dissecting this issue and the need for change.
A unique need to communities in Ghana is the draining of open gutters. The gutters here are the same as a sewer system in the United States. Normally the gutters are situated on the edge of roads where a a sidewalk would be, or they can be right next to a sidewalk. Essentially a gutter here can be defined as a deep, long trench.
