BOMIGO, THE FORGOTTEN ISLAND

'Bomi' is the name of a shrine and 'go' is an island, hence Bomigo as the name of the village, to wit, “Bomi's island.”

Story: Victor Kwawukume

A journey by canoe to Bomigo

AS part of the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), the Volta regional branch of the association is undertaking a programme on the theme: "Operation Recover Forgotten Territories."

The programme is aimed at reaching out to areas within the region, which are not easily accessible and have been forgotten in the scheme of regional integration and development.

At dawn last Thursday, a team of eight medical doctors well equipped with supplies of drugs and assisted by one female and two male nurses, embarked on a journey to the forgotten land of Bomigo.

A group of practising journalists in the region, some of whom were hearing 'Bomigo' village for the very first time, jokingly asked whether it was in Ghana or somewhere in Benin.

When it was confirmed that it was indeed in the Volta Region but remote and could be accessed only by canoe, a good number of the journalists were crestfallen and tried to come up with reasons why they could not go on the trip.

The few who mustered courage, boarded the vehicle with sullen faces, apprehensive of an unknown future beckoning them.

The trip started from Ho around 6:20 a.m. The silence in the vehicle was loud as we were still uncertain as to what to expect in the forgotten land of Bomigo.

Bomigo is an island close to Anloga in the Keta District of the Volta Region. It is approximately 50 kilometres from Keta. The population of the village currently is about 900. Their main occupation is fishing and subsistence farming.

By 9:30 a.m., the outreach team of doctors, nurses and journalists from Ho had arrived at Tunu, a village where we had to board a canoe to Bomigo.

Now anxiety was clearly written on the faces of those who dreaded the prospect of travelling on water, and in a canoe at that.

But that was not all.

The lagoon had tree stumps protruding from virtually everywhere.

The images of the Volta Lake disasters started playing in the mind as we came face to face with the unfamiliar situation.

With visible trepidation camouflaged by jokes, we on the team removed our shoes, stepped into the cold water and boarded the canoe but not without securing the life jackets to our bodies — just in case.

Gradually and steadily, the canoe sailed and the team finally made it to the other bank where we disembarked amidst welcome sighs of relief.

Quickly, the doctors, nurses, journalists and the Keta District Chief Executive, Mr Edward Ahiabor, became veritable head porters as one and all carried the drugs and pieces of equipment on their heads for five kilometres on foot to the village of Bomigo.

The serenity of Bomigo’s environment bears striking resemblance to the ultimate resting place of man — the cemetery, since no birds chirped, no dogs barked and hardly could one notice any livestock moving about.

In sharp contrast to the city where there is so much noise pollution by machines, human activity and others, the eerie quiet that pervaded the village was enough to send chills down the spine.

Finally the team covered the five-kilometre journey on foot and stopped in the centre of the village, then there was semblance of human activity.

The heart-beat of team members returned to normal when people started coming out of their huts and welcoming us. Life astir at last!

'Bomi' is the name of a shrine and 'go' is an island, hence Bomigo as the name of the village, to wit, “Bomi's island.”

The shrine, according to the chief of the village, Togbui Akude II, was the embodiment of the souls, aspirations and destinies of the people of the island.

The shrine was considered a powerful source of protection of the islanders, and as giver of fertility and prosperity.

This is a community that has never seen electricity since life began on that island many years ago.

Children had been born, they grew up, got married and gave birth to their own children but had never seen a television set before and it is likely that some of them will go into the grave without ever seeing one.

Through the courtesy of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, the village now has a primary school called 'Bomigo E.P. Primary' but they have no junior high school (JHS) so pupils who graduate from the primary school, have to travel for two hours every day in a canoe to Anyanui, near Anloga, to attend JHS.

According to local sources, 30 children commute between the village and Anyanui in search of education to better their lot and broaden their horizons beyond what their village, Bomigo, offered them.

In the quest for formal education, the children are constantly exposed to the danger of water travel every day.

Disaster did strike in 2002, when the canoe, which was conveying some of the children to school, capsized due to the recklessness of a drunk canoe navigator.

Three of the children lost their lives, unfortunately.

Parents in the village became despondent, torn between educating their children in the face of danger and protecting them from that danger, or face the formidable problem of ignorance and illiteracy.

Mawufemor Agbeli, a 15-year-old boy, told this reporter that he was in the canoe that capsized but because he could swim, he made it to shore alive.

His close shave with death that day marked the end of his dream to become a teacher as his parents would no longer want to expose their only child to another hazard of travelling in a canoe to school again.

For him, it had been his prayer that the government would put up a junior high school at Bomigo so he could continue his schooling. For now, however, he takes solace in fishing.

In an area completely surrounded by water, the townsfolk are left at the mercy of mosquitoes, thus making the area a malaria-endemic one.

Little wonder that the commonest ailment that was treated by the team of doctors was malaria and its attendant anaemia, in addition to malnutrition in children.

Even though it was confirmed that personnel of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) had once been to the place to register a handful of people under the scheme, they could not access health care under the scheme.

For that reason, the people are compelled to travel a distance of 50 kilometres to the nearest hospital — the Keta Government Hospital.

According to the assembly member for the area, Mr Godson Gagblah, people had lost interest in the NHIS and would rather travel 20 kilometres to the nearest drug store to purchase drugs over the counter whenever they fell sick.

Mr Gagblah recounted an incident when a pregnant woman, who was encountering difficulty in labour, had to be carried on the shoulders of some of the townsfolk, who had to swim to the other shore in order to get her to hospital.

By the time they crossed the lagoon, she had died together with the unborn baby.

The arrival of the medical team to the village was therefore a godsend.

With drug supplies in excess of GH¢5,000, in addition to a free supply of 100 insecticide-treated bed nets, full attention was given to people, who needed medical attention, free of charge.

But for this outreach programme by the Volta regional branch of the GMA, the village of Bomigo would have remained an alien name.

There are several other places like Bomigo, which have become forgotten territories and the only times that their names would ever come up would be during general elections when politicians traverse even the most inaccessible parts of the country to canvass for votes.

Such forgotten territories must prick the conscience of the nation so that appropriate policies are formulated to address their needs.

For me personally, the visit to Bomigo was a journey of a lifetime. Bomigo may be a forgotten territory but whoever visits it cannot easily forget the name.