Ghana’s economy is surging, thanks to the recent discovery of oil off its coast. But for the people who work in its slums, low-paying, back-breaking work remains the norm. Head porters exemplify this reality perhaps more than any other worker. Carrying thousands of pounds each day, they earn little, sleep on the street and endure verbal and physical abuse. In one slum in the city of Accra, however, an informal savings association is laying the groundwork for head porters to strive for a better life. The short documentary you’re about to watch shows how such associations can provide financial stability to those excluded from the formal banking system.

Our blogger in Accra, Sharon Benzoni, wrote about one of these associations back in January.

This film is part of the Informal City Dialogues, a project supported by The Rockefeller Foundation in partnership with Forum for the Future and Next City. The project aims to start a conversation about informality in six different developing cities, and how we might make those cities more inclusive and resilient as we move into our rapidly urbanizing future.