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Posted November 21, 2011
West African truck drivers face daily hardships as they travel the truck routes. Overloading is a common practice to help make ends meet.
Truckers are faced with many obstacles as they begin their trip from the port cities along the coast of West Africa.
In the past five years, cell phones have revolutionized communication between the truck driver and his employer, wife and family.
A good driver with a truck in good condition finds that the poor condition of the roads makes trips a challenge.
The few official truck parking areas often take a full day’s drive to reach. Here, rest and attending to business matters are the work of the day.
Truck drivers who park their vehicles at truck parking areas find little to do. Most of their time is spent waiting. Statistics reveal children of transient drivers are found in concentrated numbers along the truck routes.
Lack of official parking areas cause many to rest by the side of the road. Statistics indicate that the spread of AIDS is higher along the truck routes.
The majority of truck drivers are Muslim. They carry with them just enough water for ritual washing and drinking.
As Muslim investors build roads, they also build mosques to accommodate the majority Muslim drivers. In Togo, most roadside villages have at least one Mosque.
Breaking down along the road is common. Drivers and apprentices stay with the broken-down truck waiting on help to arrive.
One or two apprentices usually accompany the driver. The driver is responsible for their food and expenses.
To warn others on the road, pulled grass or plants from the roadside are lined up behind and in front of a broken-down vehicle.
Used tires and parts are what mechanics have to choose from for repair to trucks.
The truck repair yard will hold a truck until money for the repairs arrive. The wait can last from a day to more than 6 months.
The driver will use the $240 to $400 that is given for the trip expenses to buy the parts.
Charcoal sits on the side of the road for sale to passers-by. Truck drivers resort to unapproved activities such as buying and reselling charcoal, to make money on the trip.
Charcoal that has been transported as an extra load is unloaded by apprentice drivers. This load is repayment for a loan.
Trucks line the road for miles at an inland port waiting to pay the government for the rite of passage through their country.
Jerusalem Temple Baptist Church sits directly on the inland route where many truck drivers stop. Churches that are situated along the truck routes have great opportunity to spread God’s story.
Christian businesswoman Ann Johnston* works in her office. The bronze truck sits on her desk declaring the goal of the trucker ministry. *name changed
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