Migrant involvement in community development the case of the rural Ashanti Region-Ghana

Today, the development of many rural communities in the Ashanti Region of Ghana is to a considerable extent being supported by migrants. Community development is defi ned here as the activities to arrive at an increased presence of, or improved access to, public (not commercially exploited) facilities at the village level. These include facilities that are fi nanced with both public funds and private funds, both locally and from migrants. In spite of the wealth of publications about migrant remittances and community development, few studies have investigated the processes that take place in the communities where the migrant support arrives and that can infl uence successful involvement of migrants in community development. Knowledge about these processes is important because it may explain why some communities are successful in involving migrants in the development of their communities although others are not. Some exceptions of studies that do pay more attention to these processes are Cotula and Toulmin (2004), Akolongo (2005), and Mohan (2006). However, much of the literature either describes the types of migrant support and the impact on communities, or focuses on the motivations and characteristics of senders (e.g., Addison, 2004; Levitt & Nyberg-Sorensen, 2004; Higazi, 2005; Loup, 2005; Orozco, 2005; World Bank, 2006).