Internal Migration, Socio-Economic Status and Remittances: Experiences of Migrant Adolescent Girls’ Head-Porters in Ghana

Kennedy A. Alatinga, University for Development Studies

This paper examines the relationship between internal migration, SES and remittances drawing on the experiences of migrant adolescent girls head-porters in Ghana. Through an explanatory sequential mixed methods research design involving 503 individual surveys and 24 in-depth interviews, the paper established that 61% of adolescents migrated from the north to the south to escape poverty while 29% migrated to work and raise money for school fees. A logistic regression model showed that older adolescents 15-19years (AOR=7.32, p<0.05, CI=[1.999-26.802] number of year spent working as head-porter, 3-years (AOR=3.97, p<0.05, CI= [1.633-9.677] and SES—not poor (AOR=8.63, p<0.001, CI=[4.761-8.435]) influenced remittances. In the short-term, adolescents working as head-porters to raise money for school must be identified and enrolled in school through the Free Senior High School Policy, while the establishment of factories and industries in Northern Ghana to create employment opportunities could be a long-term measure.