He once imagined a peaceful retirement after over 40 years of hard work around the world as a marine engineer.

His dream was to settle down and live off his investments in aquaculture and snail farming in Mepe, along the Volta River in the North Tongu District.

Godson Hlordzi poured his life savings - close to 1.8 million Ghana cedis - into building thriving snail and aquaculture farms along two different locations by the river.

Just as the business began to flourish, tragedy came in the form of floods, caused by the Akosombo Dam spillage between October 10 and 15, 2023.

In a matter of days, years of planning and hard work were washed away, leaving him devastated.

“This is my first fishpond measuring 35 by 75 feet, by 5 feet deep. And it contained 4,000 catfishes. And this is my snail pen, all were taken away by the floods” he said pointing to an area engulfed with bushes.

Mr. Hlordzi is among the many victims who lost everything to the flooding.

Despite this heavy blow, he has refused to give up entirely.

With support from an NGO, he gathered enough resources to start over, switching to okro farming on a five-acre plot of land.

However, the challenges keep mounting. After installing irrigation systems to sustain his crops, the region was hit by a drought.

Without sufficient funds to power the machines needed to water his crops, his new farm is withering right before his eyes.

“I cleared more than 5 acres of land to do irrigation farming, but where is the money? No funds, now I am staying like a cripple. No money” he lamented.

Countless others who had invested millions of Ghana cedis in their businesses now find themselves with nothing.

Sadly, many of these victims are yet to receive compensation for their losses, despite their desperate plea to the government and the Volta River Authority.

For now, Godson and others like him continue to wait, hoping that help will come soon so they can begin rebuilding their lives and businesses.