TO
KAYORO
Bringing Reproductive Health to a Village in Ghana
MARGARET CATLEY-CARLSON
POPULATION COUNCIL
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FROM TO KAYORO Bringing Reproductive Health to a Village in Ghana
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| A final conversation
with the chief of Kayoro. Let me end my description of how Cairo affected Kayoro village by recalling a conversation with the chief. He is a traditional chief and greets visitors wearing a red cap with a pointed straw hat over it. Accompanied by the elders of the village, we are summoned to his presence. The straw hat is removed once the ceremonial greetings are finished. He asks us to make our remarks to the elders. He is young and his election as chief by Kayoro village was a surprise. He points over his shoulder to Burkina Faso and the Sahara desert beyond. We talk of the rains that, once again, did not come. El Niņo is mentioned. Life could hardly be more basic than it is for his people. We let him choose the topic. And he says, "In the times of our fathers, a man could have 20 children," meaning twenty sons. "Today a man cannot do this because the family will not prosper. Our people must change." The elders nod. The visitors are astonished. The dust swirls down from the desert to the north. Between the women and the chief, the demographic change will begin. And Cairo does touch Kayoro—but there are many miles to go.
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