It's not every day you talk with a bunch of miners about sex.

The Tarkwa region of Ghana is rich in the mineral for which the country was once known as "The Gold Coast." Professional mining companies and the informal mining sector fuel the economy of Tarkwa, a town of about 70,000 people. Formal gold mining began in 1877, though gold had long been used as currency and ornamentation.

Storefronts in Tarkwa look identical to those in other rural parts of the country, but the relative wealth of the area is reflected in the items sold - cell phones, brand-name athletic shoes and leather boots. The money has another, less positive, effect. The area has one of the highest rates of AIDS infection in Ghana.

Mining is a high-risk job, but these men say they are careful to protect themselves against AIDS. © 2000 Tim Zielenbach/Contact Press Images

Mining communities in Ghana are considered high risk for AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. Miners typically migrate unaccompanied from other areas, so may take new sexual partners, including the prostitutes that frequent the mining regions.

Dotting the dirt hillside along the road to Accra, miners in the informal sector known as the galamsey (gal-am-see) work day and night. The miners - mostly men in their mid-20s - burrow deep into the ground, hauling rocks to be crushed in the search for gold.

We hiked the short distance up from the road, following two CARE health advisors wearing bright yellow "safe sex" T-shirts and carrying condoms and a plastic model of a penis. Upon hearing that we had come to chat about sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS, the miners put down their tools and gathered to talk. CARE's campaign is widely publicized in the region, on billboards, bumper stickers, pamphlets and the radio, and several said they had heard the message before.

"People are beginning to talk about sexuality, because most of the AIDS issues border around sex," said Maud Nyaney, an information and education specialist with the Wassa West Reproductive Health Project. "We are becoming more open to talking about sex. In our part of the world, that is not easy."

The men collected under the thatch shelter protecting their mining shaft from the sun. In a free-flowing discussion in Twi (chwee), the common language in southern and central Ghana, the miners shared what they knew about the symptoms of gonorrhea and AIDS, and how sexual diseases are spread. Using the props, one of the men demonstrated how to put on and remove a condom, eliciting a round of applause.

CARE goes to the people, giving informal educational talks about preventing AIDS. © 2000 Tim Zielenbach/Contact Press Images

Due to the combined work of CARE, the government and other organizations, awareness of AIDS in the region is quite high, roughly 96 percent, estimated Samuel Opoku Amoah, CARE project manager. What is unknown is whether people are changing their behavior. However, the miners were quite clear about their attitude. Though willing to work a high-risk job, they are vehement about protecting themselves from AIDS, and several pocketed complimentary condoms.

As the sun bore down, the men returned to their work. On his way into the earth, one man looked up and waved, his head about six feet below the surface. Seconds later, he was gone, having turned down the tunnel to join the others.

Please give us your feedback.

Continue to Day 4 >>