Kparlwogo, a community in the Upper West Region for the first time in many years, has received a communication mast that is providing communication services to members of the community.

The mast bridged the communication gap between members of the community [who previously had to travel several miles before having access to communication networks] and the rest of the world, years after there have been no communication networks in the town.

Residents of the community, who previously felt cut off from the rest of the world because of the problem are now pleased with the new development.

They say communication is easy and faster now because the mast has been provided.

Illiasu Halidu, a member of the community lost his pregnant wife in labour because there was no network to communicate with the ambulance service to come to their aid.

He stated that if the community had a proper communication service, perhaps his wife would have been transported to the hospital in time and would have not died.

“Now we’ve had a change. If we have any emergency, we can place phone calls to communicate with each other to help ourselves,” he told JoyNews.

The communication mast which was built in 2019, has not only solved communication problems but has also bridged the economic gap in the community.

Members of the community can now make transactions over mobile networks, which previously was not possible.

Residents say beneficiaries of the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) program now have access to their monies without having to travel long distances to neighbouring communities before having access to their payments as they used to.

“Before the network, this community used to go to other communities several miles from here for their monies and even after going there, sometimes the network is poor,” a beneficiary told JoyNews.

Some members have also seized the opportunity to set up new businesses using mobile networks.

Abubakar Salia, a farmer in the community has acquired a second source of income aside from his gains from his farm after the main farming season is over.

Abubakar started the community’s first and only mobile money centre which provides him with enough money to cater for his needs ahead of the next farming season.

“People from the surrounding communities all come here to make withdrawals or send money to their relatives,” he added.

The mast was built for the community in 2019 after pleas were made by community members for better communication services.

Members of Kparlwogo can now make calls, communicate over the internet and engage in various services that mobile networks provide.