Vida Duti as a child
how life without basic services shaped Vida’s mission
Published on: 01/01/2024
Vida was a child when a military regime seized power from the government in Ghana in 1979. At the time, Vida and her family were living in the capital, Accra. Many families – including Vida’s – had to leave their homes, to flee the violence and economic instability.
They went to live in a village that had no running water or proper toilet system. It was this experience that led to Vida dedicating her life to helping people in Ghana achieve their human right to these basic services.
“I decided to do development work because of the passion I have to help people, and I cultivated that passion when we had to leave Accra and move to Sefwi Bodi, the village my father comes from. This is now the capital of Bodi District in the Western North Region of Ghana.
“In Accra, we had at least the basic necessities of life to make our lives comfortable. Running water, toilets that flushed, reliable electricity and schools with suitable resources. But when we went to the village, I came face-to-face with the contrasts that we still see in Ghana.
“For the first time in my life, I had to go to the stream to fetch water. I went every morning before school, placing a plastic container on my head, and bringing it home, filled, so we could drink, wash and cook.
“In school, there was no running water, flushing toilets, or even electricity for proper lighting. There were similar conditions in the village health clinic. Diseases spread easily. I would see people carried to the hospital, and then carried back, having died on the way.
“I decided there and then that when I grew up, I would help change things for people in Ghana. So, I went to university to learn how: initially through a degree in Sociology and Law ,and then a Masters in Development Planning and Management.
“So, in my work I’ve always combined that competence and knowledge from the academic work, with the connection and emotional conscience that really drives me.
“My village now has become a small town: there is a small-town pipe system and so most of the girls and boys there don't fetch water on a routine basis as we used to. But because the systems are not reliable and they break down, from time-to-time people go back to the stream to fetch water.
“And that’s why I care so deeply about the work we do in IRC. According to the 2021 Ghana Population and Housing Census, 17% of people in rural Ghana still don’t have adequate access to water; and 31.3% still don’t have access to reliable toilets and often defecate in the open. I’ve been there – as have many of my colleagues. We work together with communities and others to strengthen the systems behind these basic services. And there is nothing like seeing our results on the ground – knowing that we are contributing to moving Ghana from where it is now to a better place. We’ve come a long way since I was a girl, but there’s so much more to be done.”
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17% of people in rural Ghana still don't have adequate access to water; and 31.3% still don't have access to reliable toilets and often defecate in the open.
Vida Duti, Country Director, IRC Ghana
