The search for sustainable disposal of dead bodies: the case of Botoku, rural Ghana

Globally, it is widely acknowledged that we need to find more sustainable ways of disposing the dead bodies of our loved ones. Yet, there is hardly any publications in the development literature about ways in which researchers and development workers can engage and support communities towards the changes in attitudes, emotions and feelings that are required to let go of traditional religious beliefs and rituals in regard to unsustainable funeral practices. This paper uses an autoethnographic approach to narrate the story of Botoku, a rural community in south-east Ghana's ongoing search for sustainable burial practices and the associated community conflicts involved. At issue is the challenge of sustainability, how to ensure that burial practices meet the land usage needs of the present populations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs for land. The paper highlights the importance of good negotiation and mediation skills that are underpinned by a deep understanding of local context, norms and values, in an attempt to engage and support communities to change deeply engrained practices such as funerals and burials

Botoku/Dzali: history, culture and governance. A learning resource for teachers, parents and students interested in African knowledge traditions

[Extract] Before the second Avazoli celebration, hosted by Botoku, on the first to the third December 1989, the Botoku Traditional Council set up a History Committee comprising Lt. Col (rtd) F.M.K. Asamoah as the chairperson and Dr. Komla Tsey as the secretary. Other members of the History Committee were Osofo C.K. Akatu, Afeno Elizabeth Adams and Afeno Patience Adawrama. The History Committee was tasked to write a history of Botoku Dzali from their migration as part of,the Avazoli family group from Notsie, in present day Republic of Togo, to present day Botoku in south-eastern Ghana. It was realised that there were discrepancies in the oral history of Botoku Dzali as narrated by the various oral historians. A reliable written history of Botoku Dzali was therefore necessary for the present and future generations. It was also realised that due to the influence of Christian religion, the traditions and culture of Botoku people were eroding fast. For instance, it was noted that the chieftaincy institution which was the core of the culture of Botoku for administration and unity of the traditional area, was in jeopardy as many of the stools were without occupants because the eligible people who were nominated to be chiefs refused the offer on the ground of their Christian religion. There was yet another negative factor which was undermining the culture and the tradition of Botoku. It was noted that the majority of the children of Botoku citizens living outside have little knowledge of the culture and traditions of Botoku. Some of them could not even speak the Ewe language properly. This was due to the fact that they spent very little time at Botoku when they accompanied their parents to funerals or other events. They left immediately when the events were over. They spent most of their time outside Botoku, attending school and spending their holidays with their parents who were not residing at Botoku. They finally stayed away working. There was a feeling that a written history would serve as a useful resource for parents interested in educating their children about their ancestral roots

How Are We Doing: project evaluation of community organisation and development certificate III delivered by Wontulp Bi-Buya College, 2008–2010

The Wontulp Bi-Buya (WBB) College teaches a range of courses for Indigenous Australians with a view to empowering, promoting and achieving personal, professional and spiritual development of individuals. The College is funded by TEAR Australia to deliver the Certificate III Community Organising and Development (COD) for community leaders. The two-year course has been operating since 2006 and graduated over 50 students. A team from James Cook University evaluated the COD course to learn more about the impact the course is having in Indigenous Communities. The evaluators found that there is a strong correlation between Indigenous training in community development, and Indigenous empowerment, both at the personal and community level

Cultural competency in the delivery of health services for Indigenous people

Aim and objectives This review aims to examine available evidence on cultural competence in health care settings to identify key approaches and strategies that can contribute to improving the development and implementation of Indigenous health services and programs. The objectives are to: 1. define cultural competency –– we consider the significance of cultural competence and how it has been defined in international and local literature, including the use of similar terms and meanings 2. report on the quantity, nature and quality of available evidence –– we look at available evidence on cultural competency in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States, including how cultural competence has been measured, and assess the quality of the evidence against basic methodological criteria 3. identify approaches and strategies that are effective in improving cultural competency among health services staff 4. examine the relationship between cultural competency and health outcomes 5. develop an evidence-informed conceptual framework of cultural competency

The feasibility of cassava as sustainable source of clean energy production in Ghana: a concept proposal

The aim of this concept proposal is to invite interested development partners to work collaboratively with rural communities and other stakeholders in Ghana in order to determine the feasibility of cassava as a sustainable source for clean energy (ethanol) production. The proposal arose directly out of a paper titled, 'The search for sustainable disposal of dead bodies- the case of Botoku rural Ghana', which the lead of author of the current paper(KT) presented at the International Conference on Sustainable Development, Oxford UK 2018. The current paper is a follow-up and attempts to mobilise support for rural communities such as Botoku to explore the feasibility of growing cassava for clean energy production. At the core of the proposal is the challenge of sustainability: how to improve the lives of the world's poorest people in ways that have co-benefits for climate change mitigation and adaptation? After presenting the background and overview of the concept proposal, we highlight ways in which interested development practitioners, researchers and funders might be able to help determine the feasibility of the concept proposal

Changing discourses in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health research, 1914-2014

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people strongly assert that health research has contributed little to improving their health, in spite of its obvious potential. The health concerns of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were largely ignored in early research published in the MJA, which reflected broader colonial history and racial discourses. This began to change with the demise of scientific racism, and changed policies and political campaigns for equal treatment of Indigenous people after the Second World War. In response to pressure from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and organisations, in parallel to broader political struggles for Indigenous rights since the 1970s, there have been significant and measurable changes to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health research. Many of these changes have been about the ethics of health research. Increasingly, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander researchers, communities and organisations are now controlling and decolonising health research to better meet their needs, in collaboration with non-Indigenous researchers and research organisations

Improving Indigenous Australian governance: the how and what of capacity strengthening

In this paper, capacity strengthening will be pragmatically explored in response to two key questions: what enabling approaches are accessible for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australian (hereafter Indigenous) organisations to effectively make governance decisions; and what approaches can facilitate partnership processes between communities and governments for improving Indigenous Australian organisational governance. In particular, it will consider 1) the need to strengthen both hard capacities such as resources, technical skills, functions, structures, equipment and so forth; and soft capacities such as values, morale, engagement, motivation, incentives and staff wellbeing; and 2) one strategy that has successfully been used to facilitate partnership between Indigenous organisations and governments - reflective participatory approaches. It will draw from reflective short case study examples in which the authors have participated to demonstrate how, where and when capacity strengthening principles have been adopted. Given the paucity of well-designed evaluations, key principles and practices that appear to work to strengthen capacity will be discussed. Key amongst these are community ownership of governance improvement, collaborative development approaches that are context-dependent and long-term partnerships between government agencies and Indigenous communities built on trust and respect. Capacity-strengthening must have a clear notion of what type of capacity is being strengthened, for whom, and how the effectiveness will be measured

Students in research placements as part of professional degrees: a systematic review

The current emphasis of Governments is on research that shows engagement and impact. At the same time, there is a focus on Work Integrated Learning [WIL] in tertiary education, however, in an increasing neoliberal climate of resource constraints, it can be difficult to provide sufficient quality placement opportunities. Student research placements are an opportunity to support the engagement and impact agenda and fill the scarcity of placements. In order to explore the viability of, challenges of and insights about research placements a systematic literature review covering the years 2008-2017 was undertaken. Findings highlight beneficial learning outcomes for students but reporting in the identified studies scarcely considers the outcomes for organisations, supervisors and academics or the impact of the research. The discussion highlights the need to establish student research placements systematically and to report on the outcomes

The evidence needed to demonstrate impact: a synthesis of the evidence from a phased social and emotional wellbeing intervention

Policy decisions are based on evidence that demonstrates the effectiveness of interventions; however, the quantity and type of evidence that is needed to demonstrate the effectiveness of an intervention is not universally agreed upon. The aim of this study was to collaborate with researchers who have not been involved directly in Family Wellbeing interventions to lead a review of characteristics of the Family Wellbeing intervention evaluation output to date, and to assess for evidence of the FWB intervention's impact on participants and their communities. The study found that where it is not appropriate or viable to conduct research, such as randomised control trials, alternative ways of providing evidence to demonstrate the effectiveness of an intervention is vital. This review suggests that Family Wellbeing interventions are having a positive impact and promoting change in the lives of participants, their families and their communities. Hence, for complex interventions, such as those with Indigenous populations, evidence should demonstrate effectiveness against prescribed outcomes, as well as critical aspects behind how and why a complex intervention was successful

Evaluating and Measuring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Maternal and Infant Health Programs: a literature review for the Apunipima Baby Basket evaluation

The underutilisation of maternal and infant health (MIH) care services by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, along with the lack of appropriate, culturally safe care, has been a driving factor behind creating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander MIH care programs such as the Baby Basket (BB) program. High quality evaluations of MIH programs are necessary for quality, evidence-based care. This literature review has been conducted to inform the evaluation design and ongoing quality improvement of the BB program. The review summarises previously used evaluation designs and available indicators for evaluating and monitoring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander MIH programs. An outline of the issues associated with these types of evaluation designs and indicators is provided, along with suggestions for improving data collection and evaluation quality