Outcast Camp

Over the years the missionaries at BMC have developed a relationship with the women at the Outcast Camp, or as the locals call it the “Witches” Village.  I have visited the village a few times and it is always an interesting experience.  It is located in Gambaga, the next town over (~8km away) and is a village where women accused of witchcraft live.  The idea of witchcraft runs deep in the culture here in Northern Ghana.  There are various reasons why a woman would be accused of being a witch, but to me it seems like a convenient way to take care of family or personal rivalries.   Polygamy is practiced here in a Ghana.  So for example, if one wife’s child dies, she can blame another wife for the death saying that it was due to a spell she cast.  If confirmed a witch, the wife would be killed, thus a rival disposed of.  I am sure there might be a little bit more to it than that, but as an outsider looking in, that is what it seems to be all about.  (Lucky for me I can never be accused of witchcraft because I am white.)    

Does that really look like the face of a
witch!!!

So if someone is accused of being a witch how is it confirmed?  It depends on the village they are from, but most often a chicken’s neck is cut and after the bird flaps around a bit as it dies, they look to see how the chicken finally lands, on its’ back or on its’ stomach.  Depending on how the chicken lies confirms whether you are innocent or guilty of witchcraft.  I found this a bit interesting because during the Salem witch hunts they also sometimes use a chicken or duck to prove women guilty of witchcraft.  If I remember correctly, a woman would be weighed and if she weighed more than a fowl she would be confirmed a witch.  I guess in light of that system, the women here in Ghana are lucky because they at least have a 50/50 chance of an innocent verdict. 

In the past, the women were always killed after being confirmed a witch.  In the late 19^th century the Chief of Gambaga started to allow these women to come to his town and he provided protection for them.  He said that as Chief he had powers to counteract their witchcraft and as long as they lived on his land they could not use their powers.  He set up a village on the outskirts of town where the accused live with their children still today.  There is debate about whether this camp is truly a sanctuary for the women or essentially functions as a prison where the women are forced into slave labor for the Chief.  The women work the Chief of Gambaga’s land for free and cannot leave unless they get permission.  If they want to go back home the Chief has to be bribed into performing another ceremony to assure that the witchcraft has left the woman (basically a repeat of the original sacrifice of a chicken). 

Making soap

The Gambaga Outcast Home Project works with the women at the village teaching them ways to make extra income and also trying to perform outreach and education in the women’s communities, in hopes that eventually might be able to move back home.  The women make beads, jewelry, and soap that are sold in the local market.  This year a grant was given that was able to buy land for the women to farm for themselves.  The key is to empower these women to earn money for themselves and their families and to make they realize that they are not the castaways of society they think they are, but that they have valid and important roles to play.  The work that goes on in the Outcast Camp and the Ghanaians that risk everything to work with these women is incredible.  These women come to the camp in complete poverty and shame and are lifted up to start living their lives with pride and purpose and it is truly inspirational to see. 

 

 Making jewelry

 They make not only the jewelry, but also the beads.