Few issues have dominated public discussion in recent weeks as much as rubbish, blocked drains and flooding. The conversation has often been emotional, reflecting the frustration of many Ghanaians who feel the problem can no longer be ignored.
Following the devastating floods in Accra, President John Dramani Mahama personally joined residents clearing drains and called for regular national clean-up campaigns Hundreds of kilometres away in the Upper West Region, however, one community had already begun putting those ideas into practice.
Five years after first introducing the world to Ghanaian musician Wiyaala, the German international broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) returned to Funsi. This time, they weren’t looking for a pop star. They came back to see what had happened after she returned home
International broadcasters rarely return to the same story five years later. When they do, it usually means something important has happened.
As Ghana debates how to build cleaner communities and reduce the impact of flooding, DW’s return offers a reminder that lasting change often begins long before it becomes part of the national conversation.
In 2021, the broadcaster travelled to Funsi to tell the story of an artist who had made an unexpected decision. At a time when many successful African musicians were seeking opportunities abroad, Wiyaala had chosen to build her future in the village where she was born. It was an unusual story.
But, as DW discovered, it wasn’t the whole story.
Watch the first documentary: https://p.dw.com/p/3tLvW
When the broadcaster returned this year, it wasn’t to review a new album or measure streaming figures. It wasn’t interested in awards, celebrity lifestyles or commercial success.
Instead, its cameras found Wiyaala carrying a rake through the streets of Funsi, clearing rubbish from public spaces and inviting everyone watching to join her.
There was no stage. No spotlight. No audience waiting for an encore. Just someone prepared to lead by example.
At a time when leaders across Ghana are encouraging citizens to take greater responsibility for their environment, the scene feels remarkably timely.
Yet in Funsi, this was not a response to recent events. It was simply another day in a community where leading by example has become part of everyday life. Five years ago, the story was about a musician returning home.
Today, it is about what happened after she arrived. It is also about why that story suddenly matters to the rest of Ghana.
Watch the latest documentary: https://p.dw.com/p/5FfPT
Five years later, DW returned to discover that the story had grown far beyond music.
The contrast between the two documentaries is striking.
The first asked why someone with an international career would choose to return to a remote community.
The second asks a much bigger question. Can success become a tool for building something that lasts beyond the individual? Watching the latest documentary, the answer begins to emerge.
Music has never been the destination. It became the vehicle. Music has enabled Wiyaala to travel across five continents. It introduced her to new ideas, new communities and different ways of thinking. But every journey ended in the same place. Back in Funsi.
For years she has repeated the same message to audiences around the world: every journey teaches her something, and she returns home to see what can be applied to improve life in her own community.
The new DW documentary shows that this is more than a philosophy. It has become daily practice. The Lioness Kingdom has grown into a centre where culture, education and community development meet.
Traditional music is being preserved. Young people are finding opportunities to perform and create. Community radio is giving local voices a platform.
Environmental campaigns encourage residents to take responsibility for their surroundings, demonstrating that cleaner communities depend as much on everyday habits as on government programmes.
Visitors from around the world are discovering northern Ghana through its own traditions rather than through stereotypes. None of these initiatives appeared overnight.
Like the rake in Wiyaala’s hands, they began with someone deciding to start.
Leadership by example is rarely glamorous. It rarely makes headlines.
Yet, in an age of carefully managed online images, it may be one of the most persuasive forms of leadership there is.
The issues highlighted in the documentary now extend well beyond one village.
Across Ghana, conversations about sanitation, plastic waste, climate resilience and civic responsibility have moved to the centre of national debate.
In that context, Wiyaala’s work in Funsi no longer appears unusual. It appears quietly ahead of its time. That is perhaps the most important contribution of the two DW documentaries.
The first introduced viewers to an extraordinary musician.
The second documents something even more significant.
It records the gradual emergence of an idea. That success is not simply measured by what someone accumulates. It can also be measured by what they help others create.
People will always debate how success should be defined. Some measure it in awards, wealth and influence.
Others measure it by stronger communities, preserved cultures and opportunities created for future generations. Neither definition is entirely wrong.
But they are measuring different things. International broadcasters do not usually revisit stories unless those stories continue to evolve.
DW’s return suggests that what is happening in Funsi has become larger than the career of one musician. It has become a story about culture, community and the possibilities that emerge when international success is invested back into the place where it began.
Perhaps that is why this story is only just beginning. As Ghana looks for lasting answers to cleaner communities and a healthier environment, the lesson from Funsi is both simple and profound. Real change does not begin with speeches.
It begins when someone with influence picks up a rake. And others decide to follow.
