He entered at eight. He is now 16: Ghana’s children growing up in prayer camps
At eight years old, Hafiz Abdallah was taken to Nyinbonya, a prayer camp in Paga, near Ghana’s border with Burkina Faso. He is now 16. For eight years, his mother says, her son has lived at the facility without a clinical diagnosis. When his behaviour becomes erratic, she says, he is chained. “He doesn't even speak, stands often in his own world,” she said. “But this helped me a lot because I am…
At the age of eight, Hafiz Abdallah was taken to Nyinbonya, a prayer camp near Ghana's border with Burkina Faso. Now 16, his mother says he has been confined there for eight years without a clinical diagnosis. When his behavior becomes erratic, she says, he is chained and often stands alone in his own world. "But this helped me a lot because I am very much assured that he will not wander off and end up getting hurt or killed," she explains.
Hafiz's difficulties began after the death of his twin brother. He became destructive, stole a neighbor's chicken, and frequently attacked his mother. Unable to find help, she relied on herbal remedies and spent her savings. Her story highlights a common problem: in Ghana, families often turn to churches, prayer camps, or traditional healers for unexplained or disturbing behaviors.
Clinical psychologist Emmanuel Asampong notes this stems from how illness is understood. When people cannot easily explain what is happening, they are quick to attribute it to spiritual dimensions.
At Nyinbonya, staff were seen pinching and slapping patients to control their behavior. Three people were seen naked walking around the facility, and access was tightly controlled. Hafiz's mother believes keeping him there provides some reassurance, but the arrangement has meant he has spent half his life there without a clinical diagnosis.
Sarah Adjei, now 21, was sexually assaulted at age seven and suffered severe distress. Her family took her to a church, where she underwent intense prayer and healing for years. Now studying psychology at the University of Ghana, Sarah believes she needed professional mental-health support. Dr Abigail Harding of Korle Bu Teaching Hospital states that while faith is important, mental illness should be treated medically, humanely, and based on evidence.
Practices like chaining and forced fasting can further traumatize patients and delay effective treatment. The Mental Health Authority of Ghana lacks sufficient professionals, with only about 80 psychiatrists nationwide. Dr Josephine Stiles Darko suggests bringing mental-health care closer to communities by training district health personnel to identify and treat conditions at the primary level, with severe cases referred to specialist facilities.
Written by urgent.news from MyJoyOnline Ghana's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
