Introduction:

Poor sanitation has far-reaching effects across all aspects of human development, be it education, health, economic, or social. The main objective of a sanitation system is to protect and promote human health by providing a clean environment and breaking the cycle of disease. Lack of improved access to sanitation has a dangerous impact on human health. Ensuring good sanitation is the collective responsibility of all citizens, communities, private-sector enterprises, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), and government institutions such as District Assemblies and sub-district institutions. Solid waste has been a major issue in all nations, especially in developing countries.

Poor hygiene and sanitation practices predispose the population to avoidable diseases, which exact a heavy toll on productivity. Diarrhoea is a major cause of infant and child morbidity and mortality. Poor hygiene, poor health, and low productivity combine to entrench poverty in already low or no income communities in developing countries. In Ghana, for example, it has been estimated that labour loss each year due to productivity losses whilst sick or accessing health care or absence from work or school due to diarrhoea and time spent caring for children under -5 with diarrhoea or other sanitation–related diseases amounts to USD 1.5 million (Quansah, 2011). Also, it has been noted that poor sanitation leads to water contamination and the incidence of various waterborne and water-washed diseases (UNICEF et al., 2004). In this respect, Chadwick has observed that “better sanitation is a good investment and prevention of diseases could offer greater benefit than the building of hospitals to treat those diseases’’ (Lee & Mills, 1983, in Antwi, 2008). Kendie (1992) observed that the provision of safe water points did little to reduce the occurrence of water and sanitation-related diseases in the Upper West and Upper East regions. So, the issue of the sanitary handling of the water (which is an attitudinal issue) becomes important in the prevention of these diseases.

A healthy environment is very important because the health status of a society, to a large extent, affects its total productivity and contribution to the community. Ghana is faced with environmental problems, of which the Warabeba fishing community is not an exception. Some of these environmental problems are due to poor management of solid, liquid, and garbage from our homes.

There is a cry all over the country to keep our environment clean. This cannot be achieved if household waste is not properly managed or disposed. Poor management or disposal of household waste results in several health hazards, one of which is outbreaks of diseases like malaria.

In the Daily Graphic (March 11th, 2006), the Effutu Municipal Chief Executive advised residents of the fishing communities who litter the streets and throw garbage into drains and the sea to desist from such unhealthy practices since they lead to outbreaks of cholera and preventable diseases such as malaria, typhoid fever, among others.

Living in a clean environment in the communities is the priority of every rational or levelheaded being because it brings comfort and happiness. The sight of the filth alone makes one feel uncomfortable. The continuous littering as people walk about makes the environment unsightly and uncomfortable to pass through, let alone live in, because the whole place stinks.

The sites for disposal of household waste in the Warabeba fishing community are not managed properly. Refuse containers are not provided to the community members to put their refuse in, and therefore result in burying the refuse at the seaside, and hills of garbage are created in backyards, which make the environment unsightly and uncomfortable to live in alone, because the whole environment stinks. The poor and improper management of solid waste encourages children to scavenge through the garbage. These children can contract disease from this practice, which can affect their health throughout life and deprive Ghana of health leaders in the future (Lamptey 2006).

Furthermore, livestock are seen feasting on garbage simply because solid waste is not properly managed. These livestock take in a lot of germs, and human beings consume them when they are killed, thus transferring these germs to them, which can likely result in sickness in the Warabeba fishing community.

Preparation and sale of food by vendors in this fishing community are also done under unhygienic conditions. These, among other things, bring about a lot of diseases like cholera, dysentery, typhoid fever, and malaria, which are predominant in the Warabeba fishing community.

Activities in environmental sanitation include solid waste management, provision of toilet facilities, drain cleansing, etc. MLGRD (2010) states that poor management or disposal of household waste can result in several health hazards that could be costly to families and the nation at large. Ghana is faced with environmental problems, of which Ndama and Penkye Eyipey cannot be left out.

Statement of the Problem:

The environmental influences on people’s health span, their interactions with their environment, and the conditions of that environment have shaped their mental, emotional, and physical health since the beginning of time (McGraw 1985). People’s surroundings should have clean air, free from hazardous substances; a clean environment; and an aesthetically pleasing environment, physically comfortable and sufficiently stimulating. According to the WHO (2008), if these conditions are not met, it brings about a lot of health implications on the lives of individuals who live in such communities, be it urban or rural.

According to Demedeme (2007), Ghana was almost at the point of crisis in the management of household waste disposal because, out of every 10 diseases reported at health institutions, eight were environmental-related, and this should be reversed. This was made known at the opening session of a day’s workshop for 130 sanitation guards from nine Districts in the Eastern Region at Koforidua.

Poor sanitation could therefore thwart the government's efforts to fight poverty because most of the people would fall under that problem, and increase the medical bill for treatment. Some of the major reasons for the poor environmental sanitation problems in the country, he observed, were ignorance and inefficient enforcement of laws and regulations on sanitation due to inadequate environmental officers in the country.

It was for this reason that there was the introduction of the sanitation guard concept was introduced under the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) to support Environmental Health Staff in carrying out their mandate and ensure a clean and decent environment to promote good health and socio-economic well-being of the citizenry.

The environmental sanitation guard’s concept was therefore put in towns and rural communities to bring about change in hygienic behaviours, attitudes, and practices among the people (Demedeme, 2007).

The increased volume of household waste generation has been a general concern for the Effutu Municipality waste management and disposal system, where most of the household accumulated waste ends up not being properly disposal off at the fishing community, resulting in health hazards, flooding, environmental degradation, and breeding sites for mosquitoes.

Household waste is not properly disposed of in the Warabeba fishing community, leading to unsightly refuse dumps scattered all over the area. This has led to poor sanitation coupled with numerous diseases. These diseases in the environment are carried through contaminated water, food, and waste, as well as overcrowding and air pollution. This study therefore seeks to find out the effects of environmental sanitation practices in the Warabeba fishing community in Effutu Municipality.

According to the Daily Graphic (March 11th 2006), the increased volume of household waste generation has been of general concern to the Effutu Municipal authorities. Household waste in the fishing community is not managed properly. The presence of heaps of refuse dumps, coupled with open defecation practices, is a dangerous threat to the health of the people living in this community. Therefore, the researcher believes that. The factors influencing these practices in the fishing community are not being studied to understand the underlying factors.

And that the effects of these practices on community members have not received the needed attention from researchers. This study therefore seeks to bridge these gaps in knowledge.

Justification of the problem:

The state of sanitation and its health-related issues in Waraberaba is an issue of great concern to the development of the community and, for that matter, Ghana at large. Although sanitation campaigns have gone viral, it has stalled in Warabeba Community because the people in the community do not get the chance to be educated, so they lack attitudinal and behavioural change when it comes to sanitation issues. Such acts never allow the community to grow because it always draws the community back and the nation at large, so it needs urgent attention for the betterment of their future.

It is in this light that Theatre for Development will be used as an appropriate medium to create awareness of the need to promote positive attitudes towards sanitation practices in the Warabeba community. This technique seeks to bring the community people on board to actively participate from the beginning to the end of the project by engaging them to help in the dramatisation and contribute to the project, and it is also the best medium because it gives the inhabitants the room to think, discuss, and then take their own initiatives before and after the dramatisation of the project.

Purpose of the Study:

To examine how Theatre for Development can be used as an intervention or measure to promote and sustain positive attitudes towards sanitation practices in the Warabeba fishing community.

Objectives of the study:

  1. The main objective is to assess the perceived effects of sanitation practices among the people of the Warabeba fishing community in Effutu Municipality.

Specifically, to:

  1. Describe sanitation practices among households in the Warabeba fishing community.
  2. Assess households’ sanitation facilities in the Warabeba fishing community
  3. Identify the factors influencing sanitation practices among the people of the Warabeba fishing community.
  4. Assess the health effects of households’ environmental sanitation practices among the people of the Warabeba fishing community.
  5. To examine how Theatre for Development or Popular Theatre can be used to promote a positive attitude towards sanitation practices in Warabeba Community.

Research Questions:

  1. What are the waste disposal practices among households in the Warabeba fishing community?
  2. How are sanitation practices among households in the Warabeba fishing community?
  3. What is the level of households’ access to sanitation facilities among the people of the Warabeba fishing community?
  4. What are the factors influencing sanitation practices in the Warabeba fishing community?
  5. What are the health effects associated with poor household waste disposal in the Warabeba fishing community?
  6. How can Theatre for Development or Popular Theatre be used to promote positive attitudes towards sanitation practices in Warabeba Community?

Delimitation of the Study:

The study is limited to the Warabeba fishing community because the researcher is familiar with the sanitation problem there and wants to develop measures to curb the situation, with cooperation from the good people of Warabeba.

Significance of the Study:

In Ghana, efforts have been made to raise awareness and educate people about current sanitation issues. Environmental health hazards that come about as a result of improper disposal of household waste have been among the oldest health hazards. This problem continues to be widespread in Ghana, particularly in the rural, poverty-stricken communities. Contamination through drinking water and food sold in the community can be contaminated and cause sickness and the spread of diseases.

The findings help identify and design the best environmental sanitation practices and management strategies for the people of Warabeba. This ensured that proper measures and sustainable plans were undertaken and implemented to improve the community’s sanitation situation. The people of the Warabeba community understood the health implications in respect of waste disposal at the end of the project dramatisation.

The findings of this study are of great importance to Environmental Health Personnel and the Government, as well as Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) interested in rural communities' sanitation problems or issues.

Lab Site Profile:

Warabeba is a small island fishing community surrounded by the sea and the Barka or lagoon. Dysfunctional toilets, open defecation, and other poor sanitary conditions have been a major challenge, as filth welcomes visitors to the community. It is about a twenty-minute drive from Winneba to Warabeba. It is a beautiful village with brick houses and a few block houses. The community has three (3) Churches. Namely: Warabeba Peace Baptist Church, the Church of Pentecost, and the Church of Christ. It has only one shrine in the community. The rest of the gods are situated in the bush and then in the sea, either in the form of trees or stones.

The Toilet Facility in the Community:

The whole community has only one public toilet for its members. When the Ex-President John Agyekum Kuffour came to office in 2000, Environmental Sanitation Officers visited the community.

Below are some of the demands made by the community members to the officers as their basic needs:

  1. Luck portable drinking water
  2. No electricity
  3. No toilet facilities

But the officers chose to build them a toilet facility as the most pressing need because they defecate in the bushes around the Barka, and when it rains, the water washes everything into the Barka because that is their only source of drinking water. This contaminates the Barka and could possibly give them diseases, which would be very hazardous to their health.

The Project was co-funded by the government of Ghana, the European Union, the Micro Projects Programme, the local community, and the District Assembly and was handed over to the community in 2007. The Queen Mother, Nan Ama Akyere, took charge of the management of the toilet, so she got someone to take care of the facility by then.

The Problems Associated with the Community Toilet Facility:

The Queen Mother is a strong New Patriotic Party (NPP) sympathiser, so she was the one overseeing the management of the facility. She asked that the community members pay Gh₵0.20 pesewas before using the facility, so that in case of any eventualities, they can rely on or fall back on that money. But she was misunderstood by her own brother, Nana Obuamaah II, and most of the community members, as they perceived that move as a business that could bring some money into her pocket.

Therefore, when the National Democratic Congress (NDC) also came back to governance in 2008, the Queen Mother was ordered to step aside and hand over the facility to her brother, who is also an NDC faithful, with immediate effect by the Effutu Municipal Assembly. She peacefully handed over the facility to her brother as demanded by the assembly, but then took away all the items she bought for the management of the facility, together with the caretaker as well.

When Nana Obuamaah II, her brother, took charge of the responsibility, he gave it for free use, so the community members were using the facility anyhow. They now use all sorts of materials like pieces of wood, coconut bark, and rags to clean their behinds, and the worst of all is that they dump these materials in the toilet after that.

The facility is now choked with solid materials, and how to get these materials out of the facility is now a problematic issue, and nobody cares about that, not even the chief who agitated and masterminded the whole idea of eliminating his sister from manning the facility. Wind had blown part of the roofing slates away, so the toilet is full of water and solid materials because of the rain. The worst of all is that the whole community has only one public toilet, but because it is left in a dilapidated state, the only option for members is “open defecation,” which is very dangerous to their health.

Sanitation Facilities in the Community:

The community has no sanitation facilities to use. Zoomlion Ghana Limited gave the community ten (10) dustbins for waste management, but the Chief kept all of them in his house. Upon further interrogation, the chief revealed to me that he won’t give them out because the community members would destroy them. For now, the dustbins are used for decoration at the chief's palace, for which purpose I am not much aware whether to showcase his power or selfishness. The dustbins were not serving the purpose for which they were given to the community.

Waste Management Practices in the Community:

Warabeba community members manage their waste in two (2) ways.

  1. At the seaside, they dig a hole and bury the waste materials there.
  2. At home, they either leave them in open places or in their backyards.

Fig.1 Seaside waste management in Warabeba: Source: Binji S. Zakaria

LITERATURE REVIEW

This paper reviewed related literature on sanitation and the role of TfD as a potent tool in promoting positive attitudes toward sanitation in communities.

Introduction:

Household waste disposal is a big problem in our fishing communities. Therefore, there is a need to adopt a positive attitude to be able to manage it effectively. This chapter, therefore, is meant to deal with the literature on what other researchers have found concerning the issue of poor sanitation as a result of improper household waste disposal.

This literature will be discussed under the following headings: Concept of Sanitation, Waste Disposal Practices among Households at Warabeba Fishing Community, Ways of Household Disposal at Warabeba Community, Causes of Poor Sanitation at Warabeba Community, The Health Effects Associated with Poor Household Waste Disposal at Warabeba Fishing Community, Measures to Curb Poor Sanitation Practices, etc.

Theoretical Framework:

This paper employed Participatory theatre theory and Paulo Freire’s concept of the Forum Theatre approach as captured in Paulo Freire’s (1972) classic book on education, “Pedagogy of the Oppressed”, utilising Participant Observation, Interviews, Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and participatory performance analysis of TfD interventions or approaches from a student facilitator/practitioner perspective. This is further underpinned by Social Engagement Theory proposed by Johnston and Taylor’s. These theoretical underpinnings formed the foundation of this paper. The paper highlights the facilitator's engagement with the community and how his intervention positively affected the participants' and community attitudes towards sustainable sanitation practices.

The Concept of Sanitation:

Sanitation is the process of keeping places clean and hygienic, especially by providing a sewage system and a clean water supply (Collins 1992). According to Brew and Ekuban (1991), sanitation is the practical application of measures to safeguard and improve health.

Sanitation can again be defined as the practice of keeping the public healthy by providing clean living conditions, which include removing garbage and keeping drinking water clean McGraw (2002).

From the above definitions, sanitation can be viewed as a hygienic obligation observed by individuals to promote good health; this includes a good water supply, proper handling of food, keeping the general environment clean by proper disposal of household waste, and prevention of rodents and other disease-transmitting insects.

Again, sanitation is the practice of improving and protecting our environment so as to avoid those conditions which contribute to diseases. Individuals can therefore prevent diseases by following a lifestyle that is conducive to good health, which is made up of a score of food and water, disposal of excreta, disposal of household waste, and regulation of the environment, all focused on the preservation of health and prevention of diseases (Blumenthal, 1985).

The Webster Dictionary (1997) defines sanitation as the study and use of sanitary measures for the prevention of diseases. According to the World Book Encyclopedia (2005), sanitation is the set of measures used to protect public health through proper solid waste disposal and cleanliness during food processing and preparation.

Sanitation, therefore, involves human behaviour. A discussion around the health aspects of sanitation must therefore centre on the user to ensure that a sustained sanitation system ultimately improves human health.

Waste Disposal Practices among Households at Warabeba Fishing Community:

Warabeba Fishing Community is littered with rubbish dumps. Rubbish can be found in heaps on the streets, in gutters, in people's backyards, in front of houses, and almost everywhere. The community is always reeking of unpleasant smells.

People urinate and throw rubbish around the houses. There is no communal labour activity at these places, and they keep on dirtying their surroundings. The markets of this fishing community are a sad sight; foodstuffs are not protected against houseflies, and it is so appalling. People keep on living in homes surrounded by debris, eating contaminated food, with mosquitoes accepted as common visitors in most homes.

Domestic solid waste is disposed of openly within the community. Rubbish is thrown everywhere, and some is heaped in places unattended to, and people inhale the unpleasant scent as they walk along the streets. (Naa Lamily 2008).

Uncontrolled disposal and burning of waste at dump sites create poor visibility. Birke (1999) mentioned that the areas of dumping sites are not protected from rain or sun, which causes odour pollution. The dumping site is also exposed to animals like dogs, cats, vultures, and other animals, which, during scavenging, scatter waste in the surrounding area.

This means that waste management is crucial in a healthy practice that keeps the environment clean and become environmental conscious. Bergin and Grandon (1984), cited by Babatunde (2005), stated that if solid waste is not managed properly, many negative impacts may result; these include.

  1. Uncollected waste often ends up in drains, causing blockages that result in flooding and unsanitary conditions.
  2. Flies breed in some constituents of solid waste, and flies are very effective vectors that spread disease.
  3. Mosquitoes breed in blocked drains and in rainwater that is retained in discarded cans and spread malaria.
  4. Rats find shelter and food in waste dumps. Rats consume and spoil food, spreading disease.
  5. The open burning of waste causes air pollution; the products of combustion include hazardous dioxins.
  6. Uncollected waste degrades the environment, discouraging efforts to keep streets and open spaces in a clean and attractive condition.

Household Waste Disposal Practices at Warabeba:

Household waste can be defined as any material that has been used in the house and is no longer wanted by Collins (1992). Again, household waste is a substance that the holder wishes or is required to dispose of in solid form. Household waste is a component of all waste. Solid waste, therefore, comprises industrial waste, institutional waste, commercial waste, household waste, and other miscellaneous waste (Olajoyegbe 1995).

Anyakohe and Eluwa (1994) stated that household waste includes all the rubbish that households accumulate, such as empty tins and bottles, ashes from fire, waste food, pieces of paper, and clothes. Stressing further, Onibokum (2000) observed that household waste is any garbage, rubbish, and other discharge materials resulting from domestic activities.

Garbage also falls under solid waste disposal, and the most common solid waste disposal methods are dumping, burning, and burying. Dumping is problematic for valuable land resources. Household garbage or waste is dumped openly at the Warabeba Fishing community and is not transported to the landfill site.

A sanitary landfill, according to Webster (1996), is a site that relates to the preservation of health, cleanliness, or disease prevention in a site often used to build up swampy or shoreline.

A sanitary landfill, therefore, is the process of disposing of household waste in excavated earth, which is covered by suitable soil and usually compacted.

The government also, on its own part, collects the waste at irregular intervals and takes it to an authorised dumping site and dump in an open way, and this has been the practice in all towns and fishing communities, as no efforts are made either to recycle or dispose of it more hygienically.

Most of the household waste generated from homes in the Warabeba fishing community ends up in the following places: vacant or used land, plots in the community, and the back of homes. Landfills, unauthorized locations for refuse dumps, roadside walks, drains, streams, and at times the sea. All the locations mentioned are improper, but are mostly and widely used by all, including prominent people who should know better. (Olajoygbe 1995). According to him, these wastes have polluted our soil and water bodies, choked drainage systems with their seasonal floods, associated with tremendous loss of lives and property.

Water in choked gutters has also provided or produced odour in the environment, coupled with the transmission of diseases.

Causes of Poor Sanitation at Warabeba:

Everywhere in this fishing community, you see people urinating indiscriminately without regret. Others just throw household waste or plastic bags indiscriminately and explain right away that there are no litter bins to dispose of the waste. This is everywhere one goes; he or she comes across refuse, plastic bags, and empty water sachets littering the community and the streets.

Landlords are also guilty of the deteriorating sanitation situation at the Warabeba Community, and many of them have put up houses without providing sanitation facilities. These tenants have to either defecate on the beach sides, in the bushes, into plastic bags, and dump them into gutters or anywhere deemed fit without thinking of the consequences. It appears there is no authority to check and ensure that landlords do the right thing.

The researcher observed that the traders who engage in business activities at the seaside use empty margarine cans as chamber pots, urinating right at the seaside by only covering themselves up with cloths and pouring the urine into the sea.

With these practices, many would readily grumble when the call comes for all to join hands to tidy up the environment that we ourselves have helped to destroy.

Insanitary conditions could be chiefly induced by hazards of waste; hazards can be physical, biological, or chemical agents of disease (Robinson 1986). Waste is the remains of substances, goods, crops, animals, etc, which are of no practical value or use and hence have been cast aside as worthless, worn out, and discarded (Amankwaa 2002)

Poverty has a direct relationship with sanitary conditions in an area. The report released by the World Bank's Water and Sanitation Programme (WSP) in December 2012 reveals that more than 114 million people still defecate in the open in eighteen countries in Africa. According to the report, in all countries, the poorest communities’ people are more likely to practice open defecation than the wealthiest people (World Bank 2012). Cornie and David (2000) also hold that overcrowding and its resultant slums induce insanitary conditions in an area. A slum is an area of a city that is very poor and where the houses are dirty and in poor condition (Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary 2006).

Improper waste disposal is another cause of poor sanitation in Ghana. As one report by the Environmental Protection Agency states. Municipal solid waste has been disposed of everywhere, anywhere, without regard to the nuisance and harm to the environment. All kinds of waste, regardless of their nature, are being dumped indiscriminately into depressions, pits, old quarries, beaches, drains, and even in certain areas along streets (EPA 2004).

Poor sanitation in some countries could be attributed to less commitment on the part of the various governments to invest in sanitation. According to a report by the World Bank’s Water and Sanitation Programme released in most countries, current investments in sanitation are less than 0.1% of GDP (World Bank 2012).

Inadequate waste management systems also have the potential to induce insanitary conditions in the area, as Keraita and Drechsel (2001) have observed. The current system of human waste management at the Warabeba fishing community is inadequate. Waste removed from the public ends up in dumping sites outside these areas, creating an unhealthy environment.

Health Effects Associated with Poor Household Waste Disposal at Warabeba Community:

According to Ezeoguine (2002), improper household waste disposal practices constitute a great health hazard for the people living close to dumpsites; she went on to say that it encourages the transmission of communicable diseases, resulting in epidemics and short life expectancy.

Anyakoha and Eluwa (1997) mentioned two insects, the housefly and mosquito, as insects that breed in filthy environments such as rubbish heaps, refuse bins, and dirty latrines, as well as in stagnant water such as ponds, water accumulated in empty tins, pieces of broken cups, plates, bottles, etc. It explains further that the housefly speeds disease like dysentery and typhoid fever, while mosquitoes feed on human blood and transmit the malaria parasite.

Improper household waste disposal can lead to outbreaks of diseases and epidemics like cholera and malaria, in addition to unpleasant smells that emanate from the waste (EPA 2004). Household waste dumped in an indiscriminate manner in the fishing communities attracts various kinds of birds like vultures, kites, etc., which float around for hours close to the airfields in search of food, thereby posing a serious health hazard to human beings living in the communities (Tweneboa, 2003).

The government also, on its own part, collects the waste at irregular intervals and takes it to an authorised dumping site and dumps it openly, and this has been the practice in practically all towns and fishing communities, as on effects are made either to recycle or dispose in a more hygienic way. Most of the household waste generated from homes in the Warabeba fishing community ends up in the following places: vacant or used land, or plots in the community, at the back of homes. Landfills, unauthorized locations for refuse dumps, roadside walks, drains, streams, and at times the sea. All the locations mentioned are improper, but are mostly and widely used by all, including prominent people who should know better.

According to Olajoyegbe (1995), these wastes have polluted our solid waste, water bodies, and choked drainage systems with their seasonal floods, associated with tremendous loss of lives and property. Water in choked gutters has also provided or produced odour in the environment, coupled with the transmission of diseases.

Past studies suggest that some malaria mosquitoes are adapting to the urban environment in Ghana, with, for example, increased breeding in household water containers. As a result, malaria, which is already endemic, remains the single most important cause of ill-health even in urban areas in Ghana due to poor sanitation (Benneh et al., 1993, cited in Dorvlo, 2009). Poor sanitation also affects the national economy; significant funds are spent on health care and medicines to combat disease, while many school and working days are lost to ill health resulting from poor sanitation. Ghana’s economy loses GH¢ 420 million (US$290 million, 1.6 per cent of GDP) each year due to poor sanitation (World Bank, 2012).

Dorvlo (2009) summarised the effects of poor sanitation on health in his assertion that: “We are therefore living in filth, which carries the seeds of ill-health: we also breathe filthy air; and we contaminate our food and drink with filth. Our health, therefore, is at the mercy of a septic environment, all because our provisions for waste management within our lifestyle are unequal to the standard required for possible salubriousness.

Sanitation, which refers to the practical application of measures that are put in place to safeguard health, has a lot of health implications. Health in itself is the condition of the body. It can again be defined as the state of the body to become fit and well without diseases (Collins 1992).

Good sanitation therefore leads to good health, whereas improper sanitation will bring about poor health. The sanitation conditions of an environment strongly influence people’s health status and well-being (Spradley 1990).

The environmental influences on people’s health span their interactions with their environment, and the conditions of that environment have shaped their mental, emotional, and physical health since the beginning of time (McGraw 1985). Health practitioners need to determine the causal link between people and their environment to improve the health and well-being of both.

Different sanitation environments pose different health problems and benefits. The effects of acid rain, soil erosion, and insect invasion on the inhabitants of rural communities, as opposed to the effects of industrial toxic waste and vehicle and noise waste on those living in urban settings (Dewally 1986).

Environmental health implications are a means of assessing the quality of the environment where conditions of both man-made and natural environments combine to provide a health-enhancing milieu. People’s surroundings should have clean air, free from hazardous substances, a clean environment, and an aesthetically pleasing environment, physically comfortable and sufficiently stimulating. According to Purdom (1980), if these conditions are not met, it brings about a lot of health implications on the lives of individuals who live in such communities, be it urban or rural.

According to Demedeme (2007), Ghana was almost at the point of crisis in the management of household waste disposal because, out of every ten (10) diseases reported at health institutions, eight were environmental-related, and this should be reversed. This was made known at the opening session of a day’s workshop for 130 sanitation guards from nine Districts in the Eastern Region at Koforidua.

Poor sanitation could therefore thwart the government's efforts to fight poverty because most of the people would fall under that problem, and increase the medical bill for treatment. Some of the major reasons for the poor environmental sanitation problems in the country, he observed, were ignorance and inefficient enforcement of laws and regulations on sanitation due to inadequate environmental officers in the country.

It was for this reason that the introduction of the sanitation guard’s concept under the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) was intended to support environmental Health Staff to carry out their mandate and ensure a clean and decent environment to promote good health and socio-economic well-being of the citizenry. The environmental sanitation guard’s concept was therefore put in towns and rural communities to bring about change in hygienic behaviours, attitudes, and practices among the people (Demedeme 2007).

Measures to Curb Poor Sanitation Practices at Warabeba:

In Ghana, particularly Warabeba, over time, the people living in this fishing community engage in indiscriminate littering and disposal of household waste, and these result in rubbish piling up and insanitary conditions. Indeed, one realises that poor sanitation and water supplies are the engines that drive cycles of disease and poverty in the area. There is a need, therefore, for the Municipal Assembly to invest massively in sanitation and improve water supplies. Investing in sanitation generates massive returns on health, the environment, and the economy of the communities.

In fact, as the UN States, the evidence is that there is no single development policy intervention that brings greater public health returns than investment in basic sanitation and hygienic practices. There is therefore a need to call for collaboration among the Government agencies, Effutu Municipal Assembly, private companies, and the University of Education, Winneba, to work out solutions to clean our environment, which is being engulfed in filth.

There should also be a national programme that will help raise awareness among the fishing communities to stop creating filth, thereby reducing the incidence of malaria and sanitation-related diseases. The people of these communities could do this by jealously ensuring that no waste is dumped in backyards, in streams, and in seas; they could do this by planting trees and grass along the banks of the rivers and garden seats for relaxation.

The Effutu Municipal Authority could do well to provide many refuse containers at the vantage points for the disposal of household waste or waste from the markets.

When these are available and refuse is collected regularly and promptly, the people might be motivated to help keep their environment clean. Effutu Assembly should take it upon itself to encourage landlords to have toilet facilities in their houses.

Health officers play a lot of roles in maintaining sanitation in the fishing community, but most of the time, the members of the fishing community are fond of dumping household waste in the environment. The health officers can assess the environment and detect health hazards to implement programmes that will help to prevent health threats. This can be done through intervention (WHO 1986). Health officers should be able to determine causal links between people and the household waste in the fishing community with an eye to improving the health and well-being of the people. They must also be aware enough to prevent environment-related illness. Also, Health officers can examine household waste from the vantage point of the fishing community. This will enable them to control the incidence of illnesses that might be related to the dumping of refuse.

The government of Ghana has established a sanitation directorate at the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment (MLGRDE) to be the leading agency responsible for sanitation, where, under the Youth Employment Programme, waste and sanitation corps have been formed and provided with tricycles to assist in the collection of waste. This body can also be directed to fishing communities to collect household waste that has been dumped indiscriminately in the communities. The staff of the Environmental Health Unit of the Municipal Assembly, which has been provided with vehicles, training uniforms, and identity cards to enable them to fully implement the expanded inspection (Adedze 2007), can also be directed to the fishing communities as well.

The service of Zoomlion can help to keep the Warabeba fishing community in Effutu Municipality clean by occasionally moving to these areas to minimise filth (Apponsah 2007). Sanitary Inspectors can also monitor garbage clearance in the rural fishing communities. These Sanitary Inspectors should build a rapport with residents of the fishing communities and encourage them to segregate household waste at the source. They have to be authorised to collect fines from people who dump garbage on the streets. (Ablekpe 2008).

All diseases can be prevented if the waste in homes is properly managed and disposed of, and if residents endeavour to keep their surroundings and environments clean always.

Bike (1999) also mentioned that improving the condition of household waste management required coordinated and collective efforts. Regular campaigns, education, and training programmes should be carried out at workplaces, marketplaces, and schools to create public awareness. Educating women should be given the highest priority since, in Ghanaian society, cleanliness in the family, housing units, and immediate surroundings is the responsibility of women.

Theatre for Development (TfD) or Popular Theatre in Ghana:

Theatre for Development (TfD) or Popular Theatre helps in a greater understanding of issues, leading to greater consciousness on the part of all members of society. This is the intention of an alternative type of theatre which has emerged in different parts of the Third World.

Popular theatre is a dramatisation of local episodes mirrored back to the people. It utilises indigenous familiar communicative systems such as town criers, drums, folk songs, and local entertainment institutions like concerts, poetry, storytelling, festivals, funerals, among others, promoting development. It goes directly to the community in a challenging way, focusing on their problems and prospects such as shelter, food, clothing, and health. It is not a play directed from above but planned by the people to entertain and educate themselves on local issues.

Popular Theatre draws on communities’ awareness, shows what has gone wrong, what must be done, how it must be done, and encourages community members to take appropriate measures to improve their conditions. In any campaign for development, for example, Popular Theatre is a viable tool for community mobilisation. It also, in a way, helps development facilitators or animators to understand more clearly why a community behaves in a particular way. This helps the facilitators or animators to review their developmental assumptions.

Popular Theatre, thus, becomes the people’s medium through which members of the community can discuss and analyse issues of common concern. Further, since the ideas of a performance belong to them, it is easy for community members within the locality to accept and identify with the characters and issues in the performance. This medium encourages collective participation, which in turn necessitates and encourages dialogue. For any education and development strategy to become effective and authentic, it must engage in some sort of dialogue.

Popular Theatre could be said to be a theatre for the people, of the people, and by the people. It is for the people because it is taken to the people in their community and performed free of charge in public places. It is of the people because members of the community are involved in identifying problems and felt needs, and in arriving at a solution to the problem. It is by the people because the actors in the performance are usually members of the community. It deals with local communities and their problems and situations that people can understand. The local language of the people is used. This is because the local communities would understand it better and more easily. The ease with which popular theatre is accepted as a medium and tool for development to take place in developing countries like Ghana is due to its interactive communicative ability and its participatory approach to development.

Western and urban-oriented development strategies that viewed indigenous culture as heathen and fetish, that, which hinder rather than promote development and must be ignored in development programmes in Africa. In recent times, some development strategies in Africa and elsewhere in the development world tend to focus on the developing world and pay some attention to indigenous culture because it supports development and change.

Cultural variables are now perceived as very important in any attempt to generate behavioural change among people and therefore should receive due attention in any development effort.

Ansu-Kyereme (1998, P.17). “A culture-based development strategy enables new knowledge and skills, and attitudes to be introduced within the framework of existing knowledge, cultural patterns, institutions, values, and human resources. Indeed, the indigenous culture is the fabric within which development can be woven”.

This recognition of the importance of cultural variables in development has generated worldwide interest in the use of traditional media, especially the performing arts, in the promotion of development. Development is centred on people, as acknowledged by the former President Nyerere of Tanzania: “People cannot be developed; they can only develop themselves”. (Ansu Kyereme 1998:54).

In other words, people’s participation and self-reliance are vital ingredients in development. This fact, in the African context, makes clear the potential of folk media such as drama, theatre, folk play, oral tradition, and folk entertainment or popular theatre in promoting such self-reliant development. Media that address local interests and concerns in the language and idioms with which the people are familiar and understand are appropriate communication channels for the people. Any development-oriented ideas disseminated through them are more likely to involve and motivate a larger number of people to participate in the development process. Moreover, research has revealed that the success of development requires popular participation, and any communication media that are popular tend to be more effective in stimulating such participation than those that are not Ingle (1972).

A research finding from communication studies contributes to the explanation of the use of folk media as appropriate channels for disseminating development ideas.

“To convey a message with effect, one has to use the language, symbols, and styles familiar to the audience” Ingle (1972:30).

Behavioural change is more persistent over time if the receiver actively participates in it rather than passively receiving the communication. The findings on the indigenous media have convinced scholars like Ingle of the advantages of using traditional media in promoting development in largely rural and illiterate populations, as we have in Ghana. In his view.

“These traditional media are not merely a form of art expression but a way of expressing knowledge in a manner which is acceptable and functional. The poorest man in the land has access to his culture, expressed either in the story, poem, play, song, proverb, customs, ritual, rites, or a variety of other ways characteristic of folk culture” Ingle (1972:29)

These theories have reflected the advantages that folk or traditional media have over the modern mass media; the folk media are more familiar and closer to the ordinary people at the grassroots level. This fact would seem to make them more effective channels through which ordinary people can be presented with new and developmental ideas. Being personal forms of entertainment as well as channels of communication, the folk media, such as traditional drama, storytelling, and folk singing dare an effective role in the way of life of the people and thus provide fruitful means of disseminating ideas to them.

Again, being grassroots entertainment media, they cover primary and intimate social groups, and any message they carry reaches such groups and, therefore, reaches the well-established communication network of any community. Traditional modes of communication deal with the values and beliefs of the people, and this would seem to make them useful means through which development facilitators can bring about behavioural changes in the people. This is because the researcher believes that people’s values and beliefs play a vital role in the acceptance or rejection of any innovation.

Unlike modern mass media programmes, which are usually produced for large and diverse audiences, the facilitator is also of the opinion that folk media can use local dialects to disseminate ideas in a most intimate, down-to-earth way at the village level in the rural areas.

Promoting Positive Sanitation Attitudes through Theatre for Development or Popular Theatre:

Theatre for development is one of the ways that theatre can be used to solve problems identified in the community. TfD portrays problems in society and provides practical solutions to such problems in a dynamic way. The audience who participate in Theatre for Development programmes are exposed to the problems that prevail in their communities. TfD, therefore, presents a good platform for addressing societal problems using theatre by putting on a performance to address identified problems in society.

Theatre for Development as a problem-solving tool in our communities:

To solve the problem of poor sanitation at Warabeba, a play would be staged at Warabeba with the Theme, Your Health First (on the side effects of poor sanitation). The community people go about their normal duties, not conforming to the dictates of healthy living. The community members do not cover their foodstuffs, and there are heaps of rubbish in the village, in the sea, and around the community. There will be a dramatisation of these pertinent and sensitive issues identified by the community folks themselves and their side effects on the comrades of the community.

After the performance, the audience will be allowed to ask questions, and answers will be provided to help curb their identified problem in the Warabeba community.

Conclusion

So many attempts have been made to establish theatre, aiding in contributing towards the development of a nation. The project’s view is that theatre, in any society, should be considered a simple activity concerned with the people trying to understand their world. It is similarly posited that it is an activity of consciousness designed to influence minds and to either change or maintain their perception of the world. This is why the study vehemently holds that individuals or a government can only ignore the potency of the theatre in promoting development, especially at the grassroots level, at its own peril.

Some scholars have cited the lack of funds and the lack of an enabling environment as reasons for the theatre not thriving and for its slipping into a coma in Ghana, as well as in most other nations on the continent of Africa. But the theatre needs to be urgently revitalised so that it can continue to play its role in nation-building, and the government has a role to play in this direction.

The problem of a lack of active government participation in cultural and sanitation-related programmes, empowerment, and promotion has assumed a very worrisome dimension. African governments and leaders must therefore show more than a passive interest in the affairs of the industry, and they must begin to recognise the place of theatre as a mobilisation tool.

It is theatre’s ability to break through language and cultural barriers, ask its audience to think about what they have seen, challenge them to face up to aspects of their lives that they try to ignore, challenge societal beliefs and forces, and mould mind and character while still entertaining that makes it such a vital medium for conscientization, mobilisation and communication.

The facilitator is of the view that, if the aforementioned factors are taken into account, many people will have a change of mind, and this will go a long way to help them not take theatre arts for granted because of its role in national development.

Methodology:

The study employed the Theatre for Development (TfD) Intervention or Approach to address delicate or complex societal issues, which will be helpful to young TfD practitioners and researchers.

Introduction:

This paper discusses the conceptual framework and techniques or methodologies that would be used in the research process and their meaning as applied in generating consciousness of the significance of promoting positive attitudes towards sanitation in the Warabeba community. For a TfD architect to be able to carry out a project successfully, the architect would have to follow a certain process, which will aid him/her in realising the appropriate methodology(ies) which, when applied, can aid the architect in addressing the issue at hand in the community. Dzakey (1991). The facilitator would have to seek information and the support of the community because they are bound by their culture, in other words, what they do as a community, such as communal labour, and whatever they do and believe in common that binds them together as a community. The facilitator shall abide by all these cultural rules in the community for him or her to be accepted as one of them, since culture plays a significant role in every community’s development. Henceforth, the TfD architect shall use an action or participatory approach in the research.

Theatre for Development Methodology:

The methodologies that would be employed by the facilitator in undertaking the project include:

  1. Determining the laboratory site
  2. Surveying the laboratory site
  3. Conducting research
  4. Data collection and prioritisation
  5. Story creation
  6. Pre-test performance
  7. Performance
  8. Post-performance discussions
  9. Follow- up
  10. Evaluation

Determining the laboratory site:

The facilitator has to make numerous walks through and clarifications in different communities by taking a walk and observing the various communities and their issues properly. At this peak, all the necessary links should be well known, and communication between the community and the facilitator would be well established for him or her to fit into the community.

Once the facilitator selects the laboratory site, the first task is to participate in the community’s activities and observe while establishing a bond of cohesion with the community to be accepted and seen as part and parcel of the community. This would bring about togetherness and go a long way toward building trust between the facilitator and the community.

Surveying the laboratory site:

At this point, the facilitator must become conscious and accustomed to the community’s beliefs and practical culture by attending the community gatherings like funerals, festivals, marriage ceremonies, and games to get a better understanding of the community and the problems facing them by interacting and creating a relationship for a sense of belonging in the community. This method promotes direct interaction and communication between the facilitator and the community. Even if the people in the community are divided along political lines, the facilitator can strategically bring them together to carry out the research study.

The facilitator gets to know the cultural activities of the people in the community and must be very smart in the process so that the community members do not become suspicious. Later, if the facilitator is satisfied and certain of the community, he or she then introduces himself or herself to the appropriate authority in the community for confirmation and acceptance.

Conducting Research:

Mda (1993) postulates that the information-gathering stage is crucial at this point, since this is where the facilitator gets into contact with the target community and assesses their need.

Research is a probing, fact-finding, and exploratory method of acquiring knowledge, enabling one to get and learn new facts about the subject. In TfD, research enables the facilitator to get to know the people and the community to discover their problems and needs. A TfD catalyst has a bank of research techniques to choose from. Information gathering is crucial since it is at this point that the facilitator comes into contact with the target group or community to assess their needs. Significant among the research options are: seeking data on the history of the community, geographical area, total land available, population, average income rate, occupation, customs, traditions, superstitions, prejudices, and many other relevant matters of the community to help in analyses and decision-making when the data about the community is eventually gathered.

The facilitator must establish a good interpersonal relationship with the pressure groups as well as the community members. The facilitator shall gather enough data about the community he or has taken into accounts with some research techniques like Homestead Method which involved living with the community and trying to pick up as much information as possible through discussion and observation, Interview Method through which informal interviews would be contacted with designated personalities in the community, Official eye Technique, which would be used to obtain information from official sources, the Hierarchical Method where the facilitator would talk with the community chiefs and councilors (Eyoh 1987, p. 8.), participant observation, focus group discussions, and one on one interactions with the common people in the community to know their problems and felt need.

The facilitator started investigating the situation of poor sanitation, and the response was that they do not have public or private toilets, which results in the practice of open defecation at the Barkah or lagoon and at the seashore; the pigs’ owners do not have a pigsty or pig pen to keep their pigs. Therefore, the result is that the pigs defecate anywhere, which in effect gives the neighbourhood a bad odour. The businesswomen from Winneba also litter the seashore and go scot-free or get away with it; the natives themselves have a negative or lackadaisical attitude in terms of sanitary issues. Thus, they do not mind sitting in filthy or untidy places. The sea also brings waste materials from different environs to Warabeba by the sea waves or when they pull their fishing nets from the sea. Sometimes they gather the rubbish and then dig a hole at the seashore and bury it, but the same waves move it to the top and then bring out or remove all the rubbish again. The worst of it all is that some of the natives go to the extent of naming those who try to tidy up the place names like madmen and women or Zoomlions, among others. Some also think it is the sole responsibility of the Zoomlions to tidy up the community and not them. Some also claimed they needed big Zoomlion containers to dispose of waste materials.

Based on their submissions, the facilitator then realised at this juncture that indeed educating them through “Theatre for Development: A Viable Means for Promoting Positive Attitudes towards Sanitation in Warabeba in the Winneba Municipality of the Central Region of Ghana” was really a felt need as they earlier indicated.

On Thursday, January 18, 2018, the facilitator was relaxing and enjoying the fresh breeze at the seaside, and also observing the businesswomen doing their buying, as some of the natives do their selling, as well as the fishermen do the parking of their boats after work. Then something dramatic happened. There was a certain businesswoman who sat at a particular point behind someone’s house, chewed sugar cane, littered the place, got up, and left. Unfortunately, or fortunately on her side and the side of the native woman who spotted her, respectively, called her back and ordered her to gather the rubbish away. It became a war between the two as they were throwing insults and offensive words at each other, but then there was little the businesswoman could do but gather the rubbish away.

The facilitator saw and heard it personally, which confirmed their claim that the businesswomen from Winneba litter the seaside. The facilitator therefore had some hope and inspiration in himself because his presence was working or impacting positively on at least some of the community members. The facilitator said to himself, wow! This would be a very good or beautiful scene in his drama.

On Friday, January 19, 2018, the facilitator went to the chief and took the historical records of the community. After that, the facilitator continued and went to all the group leaders and asked about the history of the community for verification purposes.

On Saturday, January 20, 2018, the facilitator went around and greeted all the Area Leaders and Committee Members. The facilitator told them he was now officially residing with them and, for that matter, pleaded with them to urge their youth to rally behind him for them to have a successful project for the betterment of the community. In the evening, the facilitator went to the chief and asked him to let his gong beater announce to the community that the facilitator wished to meet the youth the next day at exactly 4:00 pm at the Community Weighing Centre, and he indeed did that for the facilitator that very evening.

So, on Sunday, January 21, 2018, the facilitator went to the venue at exactly 3:00 pm with the perception that if they saw him already there, it would prompt them to also come on time. To the facilitator’s amazement, just a few people came around at 5: 30 pm or so. Upon further enquiry reveals that NGO’s give material things like money, clothing, and food, which the facilitator was not doing, hence the turnout.

This was a clear indication that the facilitator had to re-strategise again. Quickly, the facilitator went back to the chief and requested that he ask his Group Leaders and Committee Leaders to meet the facilitator on Monday, January 22, 2018, at 4:00 pm for further consultations and discussions.

On Monday, January 22, 2018, the stakeholders honoured the facilitator’s invitation, and the facilitator resold his mission and vision to them. The facilitator further cleared the air that he was just a student practitioner trying in his own small way to help the community, and he was not under the influence of any NGO or private organisation, as fabricated and speculated in the community, and asked them to urge the youth to disregard such rumours circulating in the community.

The facilitator also asked them to tell their wards to freely approach him by themselves and further give him the needed support and information. The community leaders gave the facilitator their word that on Tuesday, January 23, 2018, their wards, together with some of the elders, would meet him at exactly 3:00 pm at the rehearsal venue.

They actually came on time with their words as promised on Tuesday, January 23, 2018. Therefore, the facilitator used the opportunity for a group discussion as a method of still gathering data for the research. This research technique requires the facilitator to have a discussion with the community members, not individually, but in a group. For instance, with this project, the facilitator started meeting with the two chiefs, Nana Obuamaah II and Nana Afedzie I (the Chief Fisherman), the elders, the pastors, and all the opinion leaders who matter in the community as far back as December 2017. Then later went to the youth during his discussion on the problem at hand. Therefore, on that day, the facilitator met the men, women, youth, and elders of the community. It was not easy for the facilitator to express himself very well for them to understand because of the language barrier, but the facilitator managed his way out with the little he could speak. First of all, the facilitator asked for their pardon because he may have used offensive words that the facilitator may not have known, due to the fact that the facilitator does not understand the language very well.

The facilitator did his best and elaborated on the whole process involved in the project, since some were thinking that after the interview, that was all. So, the facilitator had to let them know that with this form of research, he would need about a month to complete it.

Fig.2. A focus group discussion: Source: Binji S. Zakaria

Fig.3. The Facilitator in a Meeting with the Chiefs & Committee Members: Source: Binji S. Zakaria

Data collection and prioritization:

Information analysis is usually done when the facilitator returns to base. At this stage, he prioritizes the issues and works out a drama based on the problems identified. After the research has been conducted and all data gathered, there must be a process of sifting and identifying which problem has the right to go first, which has precedence over the other, and which must be given the utmost priority. Information gathering can lead to so many problems and discoveries that must be addressed, but the facilitator has to be careful in order to know and select the felt need of the community, with the help of the community members, in order to bring about active participation. Failure to address the felt need of the community will constitute an imposition of prejudiced ideas on the community, which may cause them not to take the project very seriously, or they will feel alienated from the whole process. The facilitator, in consultation with opinion leaders in the community, must then select a felt need problem that eventually catches the attention of the community.

During the research, several challenges and concerns were revealed and raised about the community. The facilitator listed them for a consensus to be reached on the most pressing problem that needs to be addressed urgently. Some of the problems revealed in the research process are stated below:

  • Unemployment issues
  • Poor Road Network
  • Poor Sanitation issues
  • The remains of pigs are littered in the community
  • No health facility

From the aforementioned problems, together with some of the opinion leaders and stakeholders, the facilitators concluded the most pressing one was poor sanitation issues, and they all thought that, when tackled, it would help solve the rest through the focus group discussions and interviews the facilitators conducted with the community members.

After that, as a facilitator, from the feedbacks or data received during the discussions with the various groups that is the elders which constitute of the chief, Queen Mother, the chief fisherman, pastors, Committee Members, fathers, mothers, in the community the facilitator then came to a deduction that some of the community members were ignorant when it comes to issues of poor sanitation and its repercussions on a community. The facilitator therefore decided to treat the topic with priority based on the importance of positive sanitation practices to individuals, the community, Winneba, and Ghana at large. The facilitator’s main theme for the project was ‘Your Health First’

Story creation:

The researcher now crafts a drama based on what community members and the researcher identified as the community’s felt need, which needs urgent attention. The facilitator now has the responsibility of selecting a theme and the storyline that would arouse and provoke the thinking capacity of the community members, which will enable them to take control of their own situations with little or no external effort.

The researcher can only achieve this goal by involving the community members and bringing their contributions and criticism towards the project into harmony with the project’s objectives. The researcher has a duty to create conflicts in order to increase the tension in the drama to emphasise the characters in the play for effective and efficient communication and understanding of the drama. For effective communication, the researcher has to do good casting by involving community members who are victims of the situation because they are those who understand the issues at hand better and can give accurate information and actions since the drama is based on improvisation. With this measure put in place, the researcher and the cast are good to go and, at the end of the day, convey the message to their target audience effectively.

This next step was for the facilitator to artistically weave a drama that would affect the community folks psychologically and provoke their thoughts to take action and take initiatives to address their problems by themselves after the drama is staged. The drama was crafted based on the data gathered on the pertinent issues the community members raised pertaining to the topic. The story was based on the theme of the project, the characters to be used, the talent to be portrayed, the target audience, the story line and the language, the spectacle and properties to enhance the drama, dialogues based on improvisation was used to move the drama and the setting, space and the necessary theatrical elements that will be needed like sound, costume and props were taken into considerations. The drama was not scripted, but it was based on improvisation; therefore, the facilitator wove scenarios that were used as a guide for the rehearsals as well as the drama. The drama was in seven (7) scenarios and was episodic in nature, but had a common theme that linked them together for effective communication. With the drama, the facilitator took into consideration the attitudes of the aged community members towards sanitary issues, the attitude and passion the young ones or youth portray in getting themselves conscientized, and the attitude of some of the community folks assisting in improving the current sanitation issues for a better Warabeba community.

Rehearsals:

It is the trial performance of a play or other entertainment. This requires discipline. Rehearsals must be done in the open and allow criticisms or comments from the community or the cast. The facilitator tries as much as possible to allow members to exchange ideas and roles, as this will help them to develop their minds and skills, creating critical awareness on attitudinal and behavioural change, thus creating an enabling environment for learning. By this, the participants also get to understand and tolerate one another as they share their ideas with each other. This is also a plan ‘B’ or alternative method in times of casualties or emergency cases; any one of the casts fills the gap.

The facilitator plans the rehearsal schedules with the cast on the days and times that favour them. This is the most difficult and disciplined part of the whole process because the process is strictly based on improvisation and has to be well rehearsed to bring out the characterisation, perfection, the facial expressions, and also bring out the working theme clearly to the understanding of the target audience.

After the drama was crafted, the facilitator planned the rehearsal schedule with the cast, taking into consideration their free time. The facilitator took his time and explained the drama, scenario by scenario to the understanding of everybody involved in drama, which the facilitator was able to go through discussing entire project with the community members and with the assistance and support from some people like Minister Joseph Quainoo, Deacon Emmanuel Quartey, and especially Reverend Samuel Bonney who sacrificed their time to make the project a success and giving their church for the facilitator’s first week rehearsals.

Together, the facilitator and the participants deliberated on the time that would be favourable for the rehearsals, on which we considered the nature of work and leisure time, so that it would not appear as if the facilitator was imposing anything on them. The facilitator and participants rehearsed for three weeks because the facilitator wanted the theme of the drama to really reflect in their improvisations, maintain consistency, and get enough time to make the necessary corrections before time caught up with the facilitator. Hence, the cast had enough time to rehearse and perfect all their characterisations since they were not theatre practitioners. Therefore, participants rehearsed every day except on every Thursday which they went to Women's Fellowship at 4:00 pm.

The facilitator and participants began rehearsals on Wednesday, January 24, 2018, and closed rehearsals on Monday, February 26, 2018. Before every rehearsal began, the participants performed their usual rituals or concentration exercises as done at the Department of Theatre Arts, School of Creative Arts, University of Education, Winneba, during production rehearsals.

On Saturday, February 24, 2018, the facilitator carried out two distinct clean-up exercises, dubbed Koko and Pinkaso Clean-up Exercise and Kenkey and Fish Clean-up Exercise, which were undertaken to clean the community with the help of the members of the community, Zoomlion Ghana Company, students, and colleagues from his department. The clean-up was done from 6:30 am to 11:00 am.

Pre-Test performance:

The facilitator tests the performance and the performers a day before the performance day, and eliminates biases, cultural and ethnic misunderstandings, and other issues. The pre-test performance must be open to the larger community members to provide input. All corrections must be made at this level. The characters have to know their various exits and entries, and costumes and props are used; check their facial expressions to make sure they fully convey the facilitator's message to the target audience.

The pre-test performance was done on Monday, February 26, 2018. Before the Pre-test performance, two (2) most important things happened: the roofing of the Warabeba public toilet and the facilitator’s second clean-up exercise, dubbed ‘Kenkey and Fish Clean Up Exercise,’ was undertaken to clean and spray the whole community with the help of the members of the community, Zoomlion Ghana Company, and students from Peace Child School. The clean-up was done from 6:30 am to 10:00 am. The pre-test performance started at exactly 4:30 pm under the supervision of the facilitator’s supervisor, Dr. Samuel M. Yirenkyi, for final corrections and additions from both the supervisor, Mr. Godfred Asare Yeboah, and the community members who were present. The essence of the pre-test performance was to enable the facilitator to correct any mistakes or omissions by the performers in their delivery and improve their characterisation, exits, entries, and make sure the characters communicate the exact message to the target audience. Facilitators ensured that the project was devoid of personal sentiments, cultural biases, social interruptions, and anything that would seem offensive to other characters or the community in the performance. The facilitator carried out the pre-test performance at the proposed area of performance, and it still maintained its beauty on the day of the performance. Because the facilitator made sure all the elements (costume, sound, props, etc.) were used such that the beauty of the performance did not fade away and still stayed alive.

Performance:

The performance of any popular theatre play is not the end or solution to the problems in the community. The performance is only a catalyst to probe the minds of the community members as the audience. It must, therefore, be as brief as possible unless it has comic actions and dialogue that contribute to the meaning of the play to provoke the thoughts of the community members to capture their attention, concentration, and contribution. The performance must be nurtured in such a way that it leads to discussion, and it must encourage audience participation that will affect their instincts, thereby educating them for a change. For example, actors must ask the audience questions that will compel them to contribute either in dialogue or action. The facilitator must take serious note of the audience participation and contribution, because these come from their hearts, are very profound, and may offer some information or material the facilitator would never have thought of.

The actual performance was performed on Tuesday, February 27, 2018. The setup for the programme was done early in the morning. Mounting of canopies, arranging of chairs, and fixing of sound and everything to be tested were all checked out. This action created awareness among the community members about the project, although it was announced to them a day before, and the Ensuekyire Information Centre also did so on the same day.

The Department’s “Jama” group opened the show with entertaining music that caught the attention and admiration of the community members at exactly 2:30 pm, and after that, the opening prayer was said by Reverend Samuel Bonney. The MCs - Deacon Emmanuel Quartey and Henry Blewushie then invited Reverend Samuel Bonney to tell the purpose of the gathering.

That was followed by the First Dance Performance from the Warabeba community children. Then Henry Blewushie introduced the chairperson, Nana Ama Akyere II, who also doubles as the Queen Mother of the community. She wholeheartedly agreed to chair the occasion to a successful end.

After that, the Second Dance Performance called Bamaaya was performed by colleagues from the Department of Theatre Arts to entertain and whet the appetite of the community. The participants now zoomed into the drama performance itself, which is the main agenda of the gathering. The program was held at Warabeba Community Weighing.

Fig.5. Performance Day; Second Dance by Theatre Arts students: Source: Amir Gbankulso