Typical of the innovative nature of managers of Citi TV, the About Town show was birthed during the lockdown to show the world the impact of the intervention on the national capital and its people.
After the ending of the lockdown, the programme combed deeper exposing some of society’s forgotten parts to bring to the fore the challenges of its people, their joys, and their aspirations.
One of such places is Buduburam which has always been in the news for all the wrong reasons as far as crime is concerned.
Here, the story of Asayatu Kuyateh touched many hearts. The mother of four boys narrated how her husband passed away painfully when he returned to Liberia to put things in place for their relocation.
As a cleaner who does laundries for clients in Kasoa, Asayatu was hit hard by the lockdown as the city was impacted by the lockdown. She and her boys went hungry for days because the rush to stock up ahead of the lockdown shot up the price of gari from GHS15.00 to GHS25.00.
Her greatest fear is that some of the criminal elements in her vicinity may give money to any of her boys and introduce them to deviant conduct.
Touched by her story, many viewers who wished to remain anonymous called in to request for her mobile money contact to help her get by.
Others like Lawrencia Yaa Dziffa Asare, Seraphim Akpene Gbemou and their associates at Others At Heart, contributed to purchase a chest fridge and bags of water to help her continue selling pure water, a business that stalled because her fridge had broken down. Some too sent the family foodstuff promising to help relocate the family.
More recently is the story of Kekeli, a 19-year-old young man who was seen at 3 am walking to work from Nima to Airport. As a cleaner without money for transportation, Kekeli told us he sets off that early to get work done and then move to another location for his second job.
He’s positive outlook despite a hustling reality attracted many benevolent viewers from all over the world to reach out to him.
One of them who wishes to remain anonymous gifted him with a bicycle to help ease his hustle. Many others have shared tokens of love to help see Kekeli through the coming days while others are considering options to help him pursue his aspirations by first getting the much-needed education Kekeli desires.
With a determination to bring to the world real stories of the everyday Ghanaian, the team sometimes sets off at odd hours where the reality is seen as it is. The story of Favour, a sex worker for instance, caught the attention of many as she eventually opened up on her reality, narrating the social ills that push people like her into a business of intimacy badly hit in times of social distancing.
About Town has pushed the envelope, highlighting social ills that leaders will rather not see. Like the crude manner in which fish is processed at the Tema Fishing harbour and the environmental hazards Ghanaians are exposed to at the Tema Newtown Waterlands.
Fishmongers smoke fish on the banks of the Chemu Lagoon, a waterlogged area filled with refuse. They openly defecate there as well.
The Chemu Lagoon has been heavily polluted by the release of chemical waste from factories along the Lagoon. Though the attention of authorities at the Environmental Protection Agency has been drawn to this debilitating situation, nothing has been done about it yet.
The show airs at 6:30 pm from Mondays to Thursdays only on CitiTV. Stay tuned for more intriguing episodes shedding light on the good, the bad and the ugly sides of our society.
The post Citi TV’s #AboutTown changing lives a day at a time appeared first on Citinewsroom - Comprehensive News in Ghana.
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