Niek, a Dutch was taking Adwoa, a Ghanaian on a visit to the
Netherlands around his neighbourhood in and pointed to a building that housed
the aged.
Adwoa shrugged and Niek noticed it, since Niek had lived
most of his productive life in Africa as a Tropical doctor, he knew how most
Africans perceived aged homes, so he quickly added, your country is developing
and soon you will find the need for such establishment.
Many years down the line, Adwoa, a Ghanaian living in Ghana
is considering setting up what she wants to term as a Care Giving Institute to
train especially the youth to take up careers as caregivers.
Adwoa, grew up in Ghana in a middle-income home, growing up,
her household always had people who were not her biological family staying with
them. Adwoa’s mum was a baker and her dad worked with an international
cooperation
She had three other siblings, however, at any point in time,
there were two extra hands living with them, those people usually stayed with
the family for a minimum of two or three years and her family would then enroll
them into a trade, such as hair dressing or dress making.
Male hands that stayed with them were also enrolled into
carpentry or were supported to learn fitting (mechanics).
In Ghana, the norm was that if you started a new family as a
young lady and you were expecting a child, you usually will move to your
mother’s home for support or your mother will move into your house to support
you.
However, Adwoa’s mother died early and by the time she was
ready to start a family, she was on her own.
It is becoming a common in Ghana to start a family and not
have anyone readily available to support your new family with child nurturing
and house keeping
What was termed as house helps have taken on a new identity,
some call them Nannies, others call them house keepers and for families raising
children with disability or special needs, they are called caregivers.
Not only that, there are families in Ghana now needing care
for their aged, and so it is common to see people advertise on social media for
care services for the aged and persons who have gotten a stroke.
Sika, a Ghanaian living in the United States who shared her
experience living abroad said in the developed countries, caregiving is a big
industry.
Termed as Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA), they are
considered an integral part of the patient process in healthcare
Also called a nurse aid or a patient care assistant they
help with tasks including turning or moving patient, bathing patients, grooming
patients by brushing their teeth, combing their hair, feeding patients and
documenting their food and liquid intake, cleaning rooms and bed linens,
assisting with some medical procedures, taking care of wounds just to mention a
few.
Sika said satirically, that “in the states you need
certification to wipe the bum of an aged person”
As Ghana continues to develop, many, especially those
starting new families have expressed the need to professionalize what we termed
house help especially for families raising children with disability.
Adwoa, sharing her experiences, said, “I am a working mother
and my children are young, I need someone with the right mind frame to take on
a career as a professional caregiver who will understand the role, I want them
to play.”
Adwoa says she has encountered a lot of wrong attitudes from
those who come in to work as caregivers for her children, attitudes ranging
from using wrong words, to hitting the children wrongly when they shouldn’t.
“I have developed a welcome pack for anybody who comes into
my home to work as a caregiver and in it I am explicit about what your roles
and responsibilities are as well as your rights and your rewards,” she added.
Adwoa says she is considering starting a caregiver institute
that will teach and train especially the youth to take on careers as
caregivers.
She says: “I want to train caregivers who respect my family
values, who do not impose their ideas on my children, caregivers who accept
that wiping the bum of a child is an important responsibility and do it
joyfully.”
In the United States Nursing Assistants earn on average an
hourly rate of 13.50 dollars, In Ghana, the Labour law states that domestic
workers are required to be paid not less than the National Daily Minimum wage
which is GHc11. 82
Adwoa says my live-in caregivers are given accommodation,
food, use of water, electricity and have other privileges of living in the
house with my family in addition to paying them between 400 and 500 cedis a
month.
Most people who work as “house helps” in Ghana are given
accommodation, food and other basic provisions in addition to their salary,
meanwhile a young man who travels to the city to look for a job as an
accountant or marketer for instance is not given these privileges.
Employment or the lack of it, remains a huge burden on
government, while many says the jobs are non-existent, Adwoa says taking on
care giving as a job or a career is a first step to solving some of our
unemployment challenges
Caregiving is not a menial job, and for some people their
future is caregiving, Adwoa says
