The residents of Kelee, a coastal community in the Weija Gbawe Municipality of the Greater Accra Region, are living in fear as more than 40 homes have been submerged by the advancing sea, threatening to erase their entire settlement.

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According to reports, residents voiced their growing concerns about the rapid encroachment of the sea, warning that, without immediate action, the entire community could soon disappear.

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What was once a safe distance of over 400 meters between their homes and the shoreline has drastically shrunk, with the sea now swallowing houses and even a school that once served the community.

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As a result, many children have been forced to travel to Wiaboman, a nearby town, for their education.

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Joseph Addy, one of the few remaining residents whose house is on the verge of collapse, expressed his distress “I am already in the sea because right now, the sea has gone bad. So when the sea is full, the back of my house becomes its resting place and it has been eating my walls.

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“There is no money for me to go and rent another house so we are managing and we are pleading with the government to come and aid and support us.”

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Many residents believe that the connecting of the estuary to the sea, as part of efforts to release excess water from the Weija Dam, is exacerbating the problem.

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In response, Ebenezer Boakye, Principal Disaster Control Officer for the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) in Weija, assured that a sea defense construction project is in the works to protect the community from further destruction.

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