The Wielber people are believed
to have hailed from Burkina Faso and Cote d’Ivoire. With varied backgrounds,
the Wielber are located around the boundaries of Upper West Region and Northern
Region of Ghana, Burkina Faso and Cote d’Ivoire. The Wielber are closely related to the Brifos.
Agriculture is their mainstream
economic activity with emphasis on food cropping, piggery, and poultry rearing.
Pottery and basket weaving are other economic ventures they engage in,
especially the women. While official currency exist in the tribe (Souma is
their traditional currency), barter system of trade as well as the use of
cowries for customary and business activities is common practices among the
Wielber.
The people of Wielber are hard-working
yet they lack a lot of basics in life. They are being confronted by issues like
child labor, teenage marriages, high school drop outs – especially among girls
–, a rampant rural-urban drift among boys, violations of women rights, and
limited access to health and educational facilities. Most of these drawbacks
have customary undertones. For instance, girls are married out for cattle, and
women are much seen and treated as estates than human beings.