Being White in Ghana

As a typical stereotype here, one may deem that the absence of melanin from our skin (and resulting whiteness) due to our temperate climate in Europe/N. America is generally correlated with the notion that we are weighed down with banknotes and potentially invaluable assets. There is nothing too out of the ordinary with this concept really. How else did you, the white person, afford your plane ticket, mobile phone, digital camera, laptop? How can you manage to keep yourself fed and clothed when you are volunteering? How come you can travel so extensively without any standard work-related income? Somebody must be paying! Indeed, somebody or some institution is.

Namely, governments who have a long past history and current practice of plundering the resources of Africa (yes, the whole continent of 922 mn. people and 54 Euro-constructed states). Or, in my own case, my own savings from work and generous family/friend donations. So despite the fact that we, Obronis, get annoyed with the fact the majority treat us like we have more than them and could potentially be a route to assist their education and so forth, lets put our hands up and admit that this may well be the case, whether we like to admit it or not.

A quick class analysis of volunteers in the Global South will not turn up legions of the West's underclass, nor the children of the traditional working class. We, white volunteers all, when all is said and done, are extremely secure in relative terms. Of course, there is nothing revelationary about this information. But it seems to me more and more that the recipients of our 'charitable' time and efforts are innately more aware of the almost inescapable differences between our circumstances. Out of this guilt we feel, maybe a feeling of charity arises - problem is, are we really affecting any change that is sustainable or are we just mopping up, providing a smokescreen for nasty folks in suits who are working hard to undo small steps we may be making in the 'right' direction. Yes, the dreaded 'M' word - the multinational!
Think Shell, Anglo Gold Ashanti, Firestone - the list is almost perpetual.

We, the pale folk, seek potential sponsors so that we can carry out good deeds for the needy other. Our governments, or a host of NGO's may grant us the possibility of a career break, a post-high school transition, an escape from the boredom of our lives at home. Our job, as volunteers and workers for these institutions, is to make ourselves jobless – that is, we have to try and facilitate the reintegration of refugees, help ensure HIV/AIDS education is effective, teach numeracy and literacy to those excluded from the mainstream school system.

Making oneself jobless is not a great motivation to achieve one's goals, especially if you are a paid development worker with dependents. But then again, are these goals (for example the UN Millenium Development Goals really achievable by 2015) desirable or even achievable. At the current rate, the answer is a plain and simple 'No'. This has already been widely accepted by the UN and mainstream NGOs.

Dropping one's expectations may reduce the disappointment we will all feel when the Western government's promises of 0.7% of GDP is allocated to Overseas Development Aid budget. Of course, it's not justified that we have to do so. But it has always been this way, and always will until radical changes occur on our own home turf. There is no political will. There is no social demand from the masses for things to change. In other words, do we really give a shit whether things change or not. It's a question I ask myself daily here. For fear of coming across as a cynic, I beg to differ.

But hand on heart, when one sees the neglect of many children both from Dublin to Hebron, Warsaw to Kumasi - the prospect of ever reaching these UN MDG's, which I think are quite moderate anyway, seem a million years away, and not the 6 years which is the desired deadline for poverty and hunger to be abolished, primary education to be universal, gender equity achieved, etc.

It just ain't happening. Some solutions and less complaining will follow next time.

Christmas at Edwenase Rehabilitation Centre

Thanks to the students, staff and volunteers' collective efforts with the Christmas Card Project, the food and drinks generously donated for this year's Christmas party by various churches and individual benefactors could be supplemented to ensure there was also entertainment and enough chicken, fish, rice, salad, beverages, juice and biscuits for all concerned. So as the students return home to be with their families for the coming two months thanks to all who bought the cards or otherwise supported the project. Rest assured Christmas time was very enjoyable for all concerned.


Nobody needs encouragement to dance at Edwenase. Here, the students are dancing to the tunes of a local DJ who once again donated his time to create an atmosphere of fun for all. A small sum of money was charged to provide 8 hours of entertainment. Drinks and biscuits were donated by the DJ's wife.

Canopies were also provided to protect all from the 33 degrees C of heat


Anita and Dorota enjoying the beats

Our first game of basketball after a long quest for a ball that didn't cost an enormous sum of money. Unfortunately, somebody decided to pump the ball up too much afterwards and it blew up. So it's back to the market next week


Party in the Centre Assembly Hall. The 55 or so students who remained at the Centre for Christmas were joined by about 10 members of staff and volunteers along with their families and friends. Everybody was stuffed after the beautiful food. Thanks to the catering staff for their culinary skills and Madame Rita, Mr. Modesto and Mr. Oduru for all their hard work.

6 things an Obroni should have in Ghana

Some of the following may be obvious, others lifesaving, while others you may deem ridiculous. Judge for yourself if you ever venture to this neck of the woods.

Mosquito repellent and net - Unless you want to suffer from extreme fever, loss of appetite and the feeling that your life is about to end prematurely, then it is worth keeping a good eye on your mosquito net, ensuring there are no wholes nor minor gaps for one of the little terrorists to enter and suck on your sweet blood. The evening anepholes mosquito are particularly nasty so cover up head to toe. If you're taking a break on the beach, do likewise. Many volunteers letting their hair down make this mistake and come back with a parasite in their blood and an empty pocket with all the treatment they require. Some of the medication to combat malaria may cause stomach problems, possibly due to the aspirin content. Get advice from the doctor how to alleviate the problem, Injections against malaria cost a bit more but are a quicker solution. Oral medication can take at least 5 days to effectively work and may suppress your appetite despite the fact that it is essential for you to eat (light soup, non-fried food).

First Aid medical knowledge - Many private clinics just have doctors a few hours a day. Most public hospitals are full to the brim with patients. So remember, prevention is better than cure. Avoid going to clinics and hospitals by using common sense for common sicknesses. Don't take risks with unfiltered or unboiled water - your insides are just not used to it. Drink lots of water as a daily habit. Don't share water you have back-washed into, if possible - you are likely to either catch a bug or pass on one. Eat lots of fresh fruit. Avoid midday sun. Walk in the shade when possible.

If you need hospital care, ask for embassy and local advice. When you get there ask for everything (a bowl to puke in, balm to relieve muscular pains, etc.)as many times as it takes you to get it but be respectful to the probability that others may have been waiting prior to your arrival for attention. Be patient with what may seem casual attitudes from nursing and even senior medical staff. They will usually get the job done, just not in a way you are accustomed to.

Appropriate clothing – Yes all the guides say it. So though your pre-trip advisors and volunteering counsellors. But it sometimes just does not sink in. Nakedness, even if you are a hunk guys, is culturally disrespectful. Ladies, the less revealed the less hassle you will get – seems like a fair bargain. Yes, you may be boiling hot, but just get used to it and keep your pale, hairy chest covered. Trousers below the knee are (i) more attractive (ii) more respectful (iii) more practical if they have pockets. Nice clothes to wear on Sunday are also a good idea. You will be amazed how beautiful Ghanaians look for their religious services. No tracksuits, t-shirts, wellington boots, etc. Even if you are a die hard atheist or an a la carte Christian, it's best that you do not stand out like a sore thumb. Keep your shades, basketball top, Nike Air locked up. Smart and casual is also fine.

A sponge – They cost 1.50 Ghana Cedi for and will help scrub off the layers of dust that gather on you skin each evening. Washing yourself 5 times daily without one will not suffice. Get it, scrub like hell, and avoid being and smelling dirty (you won't see it from your own naked eye as mirrors are a rarity), looking tanned (it's actually dust). You will feel a lot better afterwards.

Small change - Traders often do not have change of 5 or 10 cedi. Therefore the water, ice cream, chocolate fix, newspaper, orange or banana you desperately want may not become yours unless you carry small coins at all times.

The ability to say 'Hssst' - This is how Ghanaians grab each others attention. I don't really know how a trader 40 metres away can distinguish the sound of a 'hssst' from a potential customer while she is walking in the opposite direction, but it is a quintessential part of his or her doing business. It's kind of 'one of those things you have to see and hear to understand'. It may seem rude to you, but it is perfectly acceptable for you to use this mechanism of communication also.

Ghana leads the way with peaceful elections

The results have poured in and Ghana is not much the wiser. With the nominally centre-left National Democratic Congress winning 113 parliamentary seats, the current ruling centre-right regime of New Patriotic Party came a close second with 108 seats. 4 Independents were elected, although they are all former NPP and are expected to support their former colleagues. The People's National Convention received 2 seats while former Independence leader Dr. Kwame Nkrumah's 'rejuvenated' but ultimately 'decimated' pseudo-socialist Convention People's Party just received 1seat.

The separate presidential race was won by NPP's Nana Akufuo-Addo, tipping Professor John Atta Mills of NDC by a slight majority (around 1.5%). The president holds alot of power in Ghana and the fact that parliament may swing to a party different to the president's political base leaves Ghana in unknown territories. But the elections passed peacefully and fairly and all Ghanaians are to be commended for avoiding tribal politics that have marred Kenya and Nigeria recently. Personally, I think little if anything will change for the majority marginalised whether NPP or NDC come to power.

2 constituencies are being disputed, one because members of NDC allegedly tried to run off with 3 ballot boxes! What this all means is that a run-off is required between the two leading parties. A new election will take place on Dec. 28 and New Year 2009 will literally ring in a political party who may transform Ghana into a prosperous nation - that is, if they used the expected oil revenue of US $billions from the western region for the benefit of the public. If you're a gambler, put your money on it being soaked up be a handful of cronies. But maybe I am just being cynical. Hard not to given the experiences of Nigeria, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Sierra Leone when it comes to natural resources exploited to the detriment of local communities.

Keeping it simple and saying it often is the favourite style of politicking in Kumasi. A massive turnout is expected again (over 60%). But one thing is for sure, education on voting is needed. 2.4% of those who voted used their little finger instead of their thumb. Who knows what awaits Ghana in 2009!

The face of joyful learning

I am on computer number 13 in Patase's internet cafe. Before me, written in black pen on the wooden desk which holds the monitor, is written: "Women are very wicked." Evidently the last customer had some serious angst to project. One can't help but determine religious undertones in many such strong comments from Ghanaians pointing out human flaws. Deviators, fornicators, sinners - the rapture seems to be soon expected in many quarters. End time service banners abound. I hope it is not a premonition for things to come following the Sunday general elections.

Students and teachers who are allowed and have registered to vote are moving out this evening and tomorrow morning to make their way home in order to cast their ballots on Sunday.

This evening I tuned into BBC's radio world service to catch worrying news regarding Jewish settler evictions in Hebron, West Bank, a city I lived and volunteered in with the International Solidarity Movement for about 2 months in the summer of 2007. Reprisals have already begun to occur for my friend Fawaz in Tel Rumeida district. Just 37 minutes ago he reported that his house was under attack from settlers.

So things get somewhat depressing when such news pours in and one is so far away and helpless to show solidairty apart from a message.

On a more positive note, photos of our Centre's students joy at receiving their copybooks below show how enthusiastic and willing they all are to utilise their talents.


Rita, Norah, Naomi and Agnes in the school assembly hall after receiving their notebooks, pens, pencils,erasers, and pencil sharpeners. These were bought from funds raised through our Christmas card project. The students are very motivated to learn numeracy and literacy and have been working hard filling up their copy books practising their skills this week. Thanks to all who bought the cards and supported the project.


Lydia, Lydia, Kwaben and Emilia putting their notebooks to good use in literacy class.

Fire, Hell and Brimstone: Ghana style

Do you like quizzes?

If yes, then try to guess who said the following:

"The United Nations have not brought peace to any country........... Only Jesus Christ can bring peace to Ghana............ Nevermind what these soldiers and their AK47s can do. God's AK47 can wipe out whole nations: landslides, fire, water"

I don't expect you to know his name. Not even I know that. But you get first prize if you thought a Pentecostal preacher could be one of the few to utter such bizarre words. Attending a ceremony out of interest and invitation recently the sermon kept me alert despite my evening drowsiness. Nothing like a bit of brimstone to put fire in your belly!

Religion plays an interesting role in Ghana. Christian signs are everywhere: on buses, food shops, hair salons. But by far the best I have heard about was the restauraunt called "Let's crap for Jesus". It doesn't get much more ironic than that.

Ghana's Rice, Elections, Students and Traders - Photoblog

Methodist Women's Fellowship from Patase last week donating Brazilian sugar, Uruguayan rice, Malaysian cooking oil, and Italian tomato sauce

Women traders who requested a photo from Dorota in the National Democratic Congress stronghold section of Kejetia market











With its school rooms available from 4pm, Edwenase Rehabilitation Centre attracts a wide variety of extra-curricular activities. On any given Sunday 6 churches have services around the school, all at the same time. Not a very peaceful place to be

Kitchen staff at Edwenase


Dorota and I had been looking for weeks for locally produced rice. Last weekend we found it at Kejetia market in Kumasi. Undercut by U.S. and Asian rice imports since large-scale privatisation policies imposed since the early 80's after Jerry Rawlings coup d'etat, the IMF and World Bank's financial 'support' towards Ghana has devastated rice farming. 2 weekends ago there was a massive protest in Accra by rice farmers from all over the country appealing for support from the gvt. to grant subsidies and support their livelihoods to regain and exceed subsistence level. It's very doubtful anything will change though. Market forces rule the roost here now, and rice farmers will unfortunately have their slogans of 'Developing or Developed Countries, Who Needs Subsidies?' heard by officials.



First Aid, Health Screening and Hygiene School Assembly we recently organised at Edwenase. Thanks to Gloria Quist and her sister Esther for their skills and time.






Literacy and Numeracy classes at Edwenase. We have just implemented a programme to include all 59 students, regardless of their disabilities. We have spent a long time trying to experiment with different groups and methods to see what works best. Still a work in progress, but the students seem happy so far.

Getting ready for Dec. 7th elections

Ghana's Lotto - curse or a blessing?

L. is our local shopkeeper. Her blue and white painted store made from corrogated iron is a hive of activity on Edwenase Road, just 40 metres from the Rehabilitation Centre where we work. Her opening and closing hours are dictated by the lotto man next door. He brings regular custom. People aspiring towards gaining profit to better themselves can cool off with a drink of non-alcoholic Malt Guinness. The majority work hard, very hard here. 17 hour waking days and 15 hours of work 6/7 days a week are common amongst traders. Problem is though, it's quite hard to win anything in the 30 year old Ghanaian State lotto system. Not surprising, seen as the numers range from 1-99 and you can choose a maximum of 5 numbers. A BBC article 2 years ago entitled 'Is the lottery a curse?'

Throughout both the developed and developing worlds, state lotteries are a voluntary tax on those who can least afford it. The English proverb that "A fool and his money are soon parted." may be true, but a government that taxes the poor is just as foolish. Unfortunately with state lotteries both those who stake the lottery and the governments who run them quickly get addicted to them.
Kwabena Peacock, Nkonya Ghana

The national lottery in Ghana has contributed to the development of roads and other social amenities. it has contributed to employment especially to university students who are on vacations. but we should not forget that this same thing is causing the break down of families. money to buy food and pay fees are used to gamble. to a larger extend I think lottery has helped in the development of my country.Daniel Bassah, Accra- Ghana

But there is a secret system of success that not so many know about, according to L. In the event of a car crash, witnesses or those who hear the crunch of metal upon metal and the shattering windows best get to the scene of the accident as speedily as possible. Why? Well, the registration number(s) of the car which has just crashed into something or somebody, in particular if blood has been spilled, holds particular significance if it falls on the same day as the lotto draw is due to take place.

So with lotto card at hand, one should immediately note down the numbers on the battered car reg. I hinted to L. that it would be worth us buying two old bangers and staging a 'crash' so we could split the profits. I added that I wouldn't mind bumping my head off the steering wheel and shedding a little blood to up our chances of success. She laughed and said it doesn't work like that.

I remain confused as to whether a car reg. numbered 972635-GH holds a lucky combination of 97,2,63 and 5 with one number missing or 9,7,2,6,35 or 9,7,26,3,5 or anything else you can think of. Truth is, I don't think L. will be winning the lotto anytime soon. There are just way too many car crashes here to figure out which combination of numbers are the luckiest ones!

Photo blog from Edwenase Rehabilitation Centre, Kumasi

Old sign at the staff compound in Edwenase Rehabilitation Centre, next to the vocational school

Our room is in the centre of the photo, with the curtain
(traditional cloth we bought at the market) drawn. One the right is the wash room (no running water) which is opposite the toilet (no running water). The yard is usually a hive of activity with the kids of the staff doing their homework and playing from early till late, maize being pulled asunder for packing in bags and cooking purposes, dogs and their puppies battling with cocks, chickens and guinea fowl for territory.

Apart from ants and geccos in our room this part of the layout. It's about 7 by 4 metres in size, consists of a desk, bed, mosquito net, a socket and some shelves. I got this guitar from a German volunteer for 25 Euro so at least I won't get too rusty over the coming months. I hope I can start doing lessons for some of the trainees soon.

Our route to the school and centre which is next to the living quarters for staff. We are usually tempted to decapitate this cock as he has a tendency to drive us mad from about 5 in the morning.

Guinea fowl lazing around, looking for old corn cobs, getting ready to fill their bellies before annoying us in the evening as their headquarters are 5 metres from our bedroom.

Mr. Modesto, Director of the Centre, pumping up the wheels on some of the new wheelchairs presented by the Mormons in early November. 750 wheelchairs were granted to the Social Welfare Department this year, 250 for the Ashanti region where we are based. 8 of them were put aside for residents of the Centre, but the trainees are still using ones they received last year. Why? Well, some families have a tendency to sell new wheelchairs during school breaks and send their kids back to school without wheels and a chair.

Some of the recipients of new wheelchairs, including David Nkrumah, resident at Edwenase. David recently made me beautiful leather sandals at the school workshop. He has been trained at Edwenase for the past 3 years and hopes top set up his own business from next year. Grants are hard come by in Ghana despite the fact that disabled persons have the statutory right to receive start up funds.



Trainees waiting for the ceremony to commence. In the foreground is Gifty; the student looking towards the camera is Naomi. All photos of this ceremony were taking by Judith, one of the trainees with my digital camera.



Lake Bosumtwe near Kumasi - from left: Dorota (Poalnd), Mattia (Italy), Lena (Germany)

Students dancing at recent ceremony welcoming new wheelchairs for Edwenase Centre and Ashanti region

Volunteering in Ghana - some challenges

Wheelchair beneficiaries at ceremony in Edwenase last week. The Mormons soponsored 750 wheelchairs for Ghana

I am 3 weeks in Ghana today. as is often the case when one embarks on a journey, characters who cross your path in the initial stages of assimilation have a tendency to pop in and out to varying degrees of friendliness.

This coming Thursday, I am hoping that Gloria Quist, a Ghanaian native and nurse educator who has lived in the US since 1991, will give some First Aid training to staff and students at Edwenase. Gloria was in seat 28A on our British Airways flight from London Heathrow. We got talking about racism in the US, Ghanaian culture and politics mid way through the flight.

Her short trip back home had been filled with drama. 10 days after arrival, travelling with her nurse friends over from the US for the first time (among their questions were: „Does Ghana have cars and tomatoes?”). Anyhow, too cut a long story short, travelling near Kumasi last week a drunk stepped out in front of their car, they knocked him down and he died soon after in hospital. Although he was at fault, the shock remained with Gloria and that as the reason why she hadn't managed to visit our project with her friends.

Thankfully though she is due to come soon and her skills and authority will be a great asset in convincing students and staff alike that one teen girl who has epilepsy is not actually possessed by demons. In addition to this we are hoping education about early intervention in keeping wounds clean and dressed properly will reduce the amount of infections we see here daily. Lastly, we hope this will be a trust building exercise amongst us, the volunteers, and the staff.

At this stage, it seems to me that we are courteous up front but both sides are highly critical of the role being played by the other. From my perspective, it doesn't inspire confidence to see the hairdressing teacher sit in a chair for 2 hours in her classroom with an air of disinterest, while her 3 students teach other. Or that the head of the visually handicapped, literacy and numeracy department only had his first lessons last week for this semester (which officially began in late August). His 56 students have therefore received no tuition on these issues for 4 months as prior to the start for the school year they were back with their families.

On the other hand, with little interaction between us or a clear vision as to what role the volunteers play here, it's difficult for them I think to see us as anything other than naive well do-wishers who really are out of touch. I reckon we have a fair idea as to why there is little motivation or opportunity for them to drive their department to vocationally train students.

Broken machines, lack of material, little positive affirmation of their work in difficult circumstances, solidified by years of neglect by the Social Welfare department and harsh judgements by the rest of society upon those with special needs and their potential role in the future of their communities, combine to create a recipe for educational disaster. Though despite all of this, most of the teachers do what they can to pass on their excellent skills in needlework, shoemaking, tailoring, and dressmaking.

The catering, hairdressing an rural craft sectors have need for much investment and assessment to determine how they can address the difficulties of their students and the obvious lack of material to use in order to train them in their trade.

With time I am confident that we can forge a path together. Tomorrow we will kick start literacy and numeracy classes. The Christmas card project is off to a flying start and we are already running out of cards, and banana leaves! The dry season is kicking in, sweat is rolling down my forehead like a waterfall and evening showers are a joy to behold.
Our Ghana flag project with the rural craft department. Green leaves used for the Ashanti region's garden city, Kumasi

The final product. Red for blood flowed, gold for their rich mineral resource, black star for Pan-Africanism

Welcome to our Edwenase Christmas Card Action - Appeal for support

Edwenase Rehabilitation Centre Staff and Students

For more info about Edwenase please visit our new website: www.ercghana.blogspot.com

Even great potential and enthusiasm needs money to start off, so as Edwenase's 5 volunteers from Germany(Lena and Markus), Ireland (me, Damien), Italy (Mattia) and Poland (Dorota), we decided to make use of the art skills and amazing creativity of the students to generate funds for their different needs in the centre.

With Christmas approaching it seemed like handmade cards for friends and family at home would be worth exploring.

The teachers of the Centre came up with the idea of creating more "Ghanaian" cards bearing Adinkra symbols, typical for the Ashanti region which Kumasi is the capital of.

How the cards were made

We tried to make the cards as natural as possible by using banana leaves as the base creating the shape of the card. Inside a piece of paper is sewn in order to allow you to write a personal message for a friend or family member.

Trainees have different skills and so patterns were prepared to help them draw certain shapes. Sometimes they needed help with cutting them out, but the composition on the card or the choice of colours (i.e. red palm tree) is completely their own creation which we dared not to intervene with. Students also participated in collecting the banana leaves.

At the back of the card there is a sticker with: Made by the students of Edwenase Rehabilitation Centre for the disabled, Kumasi, Ghana - www.ercghana.blogspot.com - so the receivers of these cards will know who they were made by, why they are special, and how to receive more information about our work here.

There are therefore two types of cards :

with an Adinkra symbol cut from a Ghanaian cloth


with different shapes ( Christmas tree, angel, shooting star) cut from paper or banana leaves and coloured

How will your donations be spent?

All the money raised from the Christmas cards will be used for the benefit of students. Three main issues we hope to address with the donations are:


1. Wheelchair ramps

The centre has ramps for the the trainees who use wheelchairs, apart from the steps to their dormitories. These steps mean that to go in and out of their room they need to get off the wheelchair, bring it over to the other side and climb on it again. During the day there may be 10 to 15 such journeys. Concrete ramps would solve the issue.

2. Library
Evening time is usually boring for all, apart from the time when TV is on. There are few games or books to compete with the box and develop different skills of the students. This is what we aim to change by introducing a library, where trainees will be able to choose from language (Twi and English), art and song, literacy and numeracy books; games (e.g. table tennis, boardgames, music practice) to fill in free time, enjoy communally and practise important skills.


3. School kit

Numeracy, Literacy and English classes are to be introduced for all the trainees, but in order to practise and be able to fully benefit from them each of the students should have a school kit containing: notebook, pencil, pen, ruler, eraser, pencil sharpener.

After the end of the action we will include a detailed report including photos of how the donations were spent.

If you would like to get more information about the centre, order a card or make a donation please contact us at erc.kumasi@yahoo.com

How you can buy them

If you are interested in receiving cards then please email me at dbamoran@yahoo.com, send me an sms at 00233240020157 with your name, postal and email address, amount and type of cards you would like.

Cost

There is no set price for these cards. They were handmade by the students at Edwenase with the assistance of volunteers. A suggested donation would be €0.50-€2 per card depending on the size and whether you purchase those with traditional kente cloth in the shape of Adrinka symbols or those with coloured Christmas symbols.

For example, a mixture of 10 cards may average out at €10. If you can afford less or more that's also ok. It's important for me to stress here that these cards are special because they are handcrafted and each is unique. There is no chance you will receive a duplicate card as the shape, size and colour of each card is different.

Volunteering in Ghana and exploring Kejetia market

Outside the tailoring room. Boys dormitory and toilets in the background. Immanuel taking a beak.

Edwenase Rehabilitation Centre - Staff and Students

I've been just over 2 weeks in Ghana now. Tonight I found a great internet cafe so hopefully I can update this blog a bit more. The below entries have been waiting patiently to be uploaded for a week. At last they can see the light of cyber-life. I hope they can give you some insight into daily life here from theperspective of an 'Obroni' (Twi word used to describe anybody with white skin).

Kejetia Market

The livelihoods of thousands of Ashanti region families rely upon daily business at Kejetia market in downtown Kumasi. From the fishermen who supply dozens of fresh choices to the traders, to the weavers who provide yards and yards of traditional, beautifully coloured kente cloth for people to use as curtains, dresses, trousers, shawls and shower towels, amongst many other purposes.

From a high vantage point, the sprawling mass of individual units and mobile sellers seems to be a chaotic mess. But everything has it's own 'way' here, and once one steps of their global northern horse for a moment, the particular districts specialising in certain commodities become more apparent. Entering from the tro tro (minibus) station side, one approaches the stationary area, advancing eastwards towards sweets, lanterns, cups, buckets, brooms, and general household materials. After a few hundred metres one may stumble upon a disused railway track (Ghana's railways are somewhat obsolete and unused nowadays) is home to general clothes, progressing from menswear trouser and shoe wear to women and children's casual western style clothing. It reminded me of images I have seen from a great distance of the Kibera slum district in Nairobi, Kenya – though trading actually occurs on a live railway there and traders have to be efficient in gathering their stock out of the way when trains appear.

Branching off to one of the labryinthine side streets after 200 metres of railway, with a quick sniff you will wander into the nut quarter, and soon afterwards into the massive fish section. Before coming to Ghana I rarely ate fish, but given the fact that I have no or little other source of protein apart from daily fish portions served at dinner, my past habits have gone to the wayside.

Even for carnivores I would imagine that the sight of cows' heads in the back seat of a car are enough to speed up your departure from the meat section. The more pleasant smell of peanut butter and colour of traditional cloth stalls attracted our eyes and we ended up having a useful Twi lesson from the owner. Dorota bought 2 yards of beautiful cloth for a trousers to be sewn in the tailoring workshop at Edwenase Centre. I got 2 yards of cloth to work dually as a cover in bed and a spare, quick to dry shower towel.

After about 3 hours we had pencils, pens, rulers, sketch pads, cups, traditional cloth, soap, a clothes brush and other assorted items in our bags as we headed back to the Centre for lunch.

Edwenase Rehabilitation Centre

Well, my first full week at Edwenase should have been a week to remember but it was so full of activities that I can hardly believe it is already over.

Monday saw Markus from Germany, Mattia from Italy and I cover for the rural craft teacher. We had already done 3 days of his class the previous week, though given the lack of materials, and the students' multiple special needs the class is usually somewhat idle. So after playing Uno playing cards for numeracy and colour recognition, basketball and bowling for fun and accuracy, dominoes, paper plane construction and flying competitions, we decided to keep the inclusive and participatory nature of the class going.

With 'Mikado' game sticks we made the outline of a Ghanaian flag: red (representing the blood of their ancestors), green (for the beautiful fauna throughout large parts of the country) and gold with a black star representing one of their key resources (exploited by Anglo Ashanti Gold) and pan-Africanism, respectively.

Other stuff I have been involved with is our Christmas Card Action, teaching the director basic computer skills, teaching English to Rita, the Needlework teacher and Centre supervisor, co-planning literacy classes for the 70 students (due to commence soon), sports games and activities, general maintenance, manual and cleaning work around the Centre, helped organise the Centre's first group photo, amongst many other things.

I'll write more details in my next blog.

One thing is for certain, there is always something to do at Edwenase Rehabilitation Center in Kumasi.

I'll upload some more photos of our work as soon as possible.

Hope the photos included here satisfy any hunger for images and less text. I'm grateful to Dorota and Lena for allowing me to use them from their blogs.

Dorota's blog

Lena's blog

Blogging obstacles in Kumasi

Sometimes it's a dead slow connection. Other times, like today, the internet cafe will not accept my usb device as it exceeds the power limit. Therefore, the stuff I wrote offline will just have to wait before I can upload here.

Suffice to say that all is going well in Kumasi, Ghana. Time is flying by already and all of us at Edwenase are kept very busy. Once I get the usb working I will upload photos of our Christmas card project and other impressions of my 2nd week in Ghana.

So far, so good.

First Impressons after 6 Days in Ghana

Dublin to Accra

I was lucky to be sitting beside the woman in seat 28A. Gloria, a nurse educator and Ghanaian native has been living in Virginia, U.S.A., for the past 17 years. A Barack Obama supporter and woman acutely aware of African American history and the undercurrents of racism in US society, the paralysis of their media, the corrupted nature of their political system that spouts freedom on one side of its mouth and blows innocent people asunder from the other side.

The trip of 6 hours from Heathrow passed by like a soft cool breeze, a rare act of nature in Kumasi where I currently reside. I have now been in Ghana for 6 days and after calling Gloria yesterday it seems like she will come to Edwenase Centre to give some First Aid training for the teachers and talk on a range of other necessary health and safety issues for the betterment of the project.

Accra

Dorota met me at the airport and she was grateful for myt swift arrival as a number of men had already apporached her to talk about Jesus. It seems the locals are not so good at the chat up lines when it comes to European women. We got a taxi to Date Hotel (a hostel that has dropped the 's' for marketing purposes), stayed 2 nights in the Adabraka district, had some lovely street food from the local roadside eatery, picked some shells and stones on a beach walk and soaked up the rays, though we were a little roasted afterwards.

I was hesitant at first, as the only way we seemed to be able to get access to the beach was through the Afia village hotel. Naomi Klein's tales in her wonderful book on disaster capitalism, 'The Shock Doctrine', sprung to mind as I pondered whether I should ruin a nice sea side walk as a result of my angst against privatised beaches.

Thankfully the beach was public so no such worries came into play.

It's silly to even begin giving impressions of a place one has only visited for a 36 hour period and I have no intention of falling into the usual trap that visitors, volunteers and journalists from the west fall into, as Binyavanga Wainana writes of in my last blog.

So suffice to say that Accra is alive and kicking, buzzing with colour a friendly smiles and a hectic rythymn that would put the fastest of Irish music to the test.

Accra to Kumasi

The tro tro (minibus transportation) station was about a 20 minute walk from our accommodation, so well sweated I arrived and Dorota found us our link to Kumasi. We waited 45 mins for it to fill up, had to endure a Christian preacher barking at us with a bible aloft for the first 20 minutes of the journey (3 or 4 passengers enjoyed his speech and gave him some money at the end), 6 police checkpoints to check the driver's licence and monitor his speed, a good few dozen overtakings performed by our good but fast driver, heat pelting down upon us like we had hit the earth's core. And its not even dry season yet.

All in all it took 5 hours. We arrived at Kumasi around 2.30pm and a short walk brought us to another tro tro en route to Edwenase, my present home until August next. Dorota both me a vanilla icecream on the way so that helped cool the body temperature. They cost 25 pesewas (about 16 euro cents) from the traders who walk around with them on their heads. They are stored in a special wooden casket with a transparent screen and taste like heaven (if heaven has a flavour) when your boiling up.

Edwenase

I have just being at Edwenase Rehabilitation Centre for 3 full days now, but already things are going well for me. There are about 70 residents who learn tailoring, dressmaking, shoemaking, practical agriculture, rural craft, hairdressing, as well as common life skills and a wide variety of games. I will write more about my activities and post some photos taken by the students over the coming days.

I am happy that I have concentrated totally on the life of the Centre thusfar and slowly integrating, getting to know the students special needs. Some are deaf, others blind, quite a number have mobility difficulties, while many have multiple disabilities. Despite the mnay challenges they face they are inspiring people to look at in training, intelligent in mnay ways, some not so obvious from the outset.

The best drummer in the centre, for example, is blind and almost completely deaf.

From Wednesday to Friday I helped organise class activities for what is usually the 'rural craft group', as their teacher had left to attend a family funeral. The class became more a games and activities centre including making paper airplanes, playing bowling, basketball, drawing and colouring, card games to help with numeracy and colour recognition. All games focused on student participation and positive affirmation as the norm unfortunately ends up that many are just unable to perform their class activities without special assistance and constant repetition.

The challenges and needs are many at Edwenase. Due to the fact that it is a Dept. of Social Welfare project the funding is sporadic yet the land and dedication of the staff is really great. The participation of the students in the everyday life of the centre is fantastic and they are always willing to help 'obroni' ('European' or 'white person') find his or her way.

How to Write About Africa by Binyavanga Wainaina

If you have ever mentioned the word Africa from your mouth, or have written something about the continent and its inhabitants, then I hope you have read this beforehand. I hadn't, unfortunately.

I had, however, received good guidance from Dorota about the code of conduct on images and messages regarding the global south and development issues.

Both are important and substantial food for thought. Indeed, they are a life time supply of 5 course meals in wisdom and fairness. All volunteers, journalists, activists, religious, etc. should consider their content carefully. Please read on and check out the links.

Always use the word ‘Africa or ‘Darkness’ or ‘Safari’ in your title. Subtitles may include the words ‘Zanzibar’, ‘Masai’, ‘Zulu’, ‘Zambezi’, ‘Congo’, ‘Nile’, ‘Big’, ‘Sky, ‘Shadow’, ‘Drum’, ‘Sun’ or ‘Bygone’. Also useful are words such as ‘Guerrillas’, ‘Timeless’, ‘Primordial’ and ‘Tribal’. Note that ‘People’ means Africans who are not black, while ‘The People’ means black Africans.

Never have a picture of a well-adjusted African on the cover of your book, or in it, unless that African has won the Nobel Prize. An AK-47, prominent ribs, naked breasts: use these. If you must include an African, make sure you get one in Masai or Zulu or Dogon dress.

In your text, treat Africa as if it were one country. It is hot and dusty with rolling grasslands and huge herds of animals and tall, thin people who are starving. Or it is hot and steamy with very short people who eat primates. Don’t get bogged down with precise descriptions. Africa is big: fifty-four countries, 900 million people who are too busy starving and dying and warring and emigrating to read your book. The continent is full of deserts, jungles, highlands, savannahs and many other things, but your reader doesn’t care about all that, so keep your descriptions romantic and evocative and unparticular.

Read full text here

Edwenase Rehabilitation Centre

Dorota has been based in Kumasi for 2 weeks now. She is a volunteer at Edwenase Rehabilitaion Centre. I will be joining her in Kumasi on Sunday and hope to start volunteering soon after.

Edwenase Centre aims to help with the rehabilitation and provision of vocational training to disabled and physically challenged individuals. At the moment there are about 70 residents at the Centre.

Daily training provided includes catering, education, rural craft, hairdressing, dressmaking, needlework, agriculture, and basic numeracy.

Any community member who is disabled or physically challenged is welcome to join in on the activities where vocational training opens up lots of opportunities for income generation and greater access to the workplace.

Edwenase does not have a website at the moment but solidarity projects have accounts of their interactions with the residents and photos of the centre.

Worldwide Travel and Emergency Medical Insurance

I've had to do a bit of shopping over the past week. On previous travels I've opted out of travel insurance plans but given that I will be away this time for 10 months in an area where I may catch malaria or have an accident but have no medical cover, I thought it best (with some persuasive advice from loved ones and other volunteers) that basic cover is essential for Ghana.

VHI have a global health cover policy for travellers going abroad (worldwide excl. US/Canada option)for 6 months+, but that excludes dental emergency care and costs €763. Maybe they offer a cheaper option to VHI members? But it's a bit steep I think.

Quinn Direct do not seem to have an option beyond 31 days for a single trip. Multi trip does not apply for more than 30 days on any one trip. I spoke to one of their agents and was told the max. they can cover for is 6 months. I didn't get a quote but as they are a private health insurer expect a quote around €500, probably more.

USIT on the other hand have 2 options for backpackers (even though I wouldn't count myself in this category). Their work and travel section only covers US, Australia, for example, so volunteers not going through a USIT programme havethe following options:

Silver policy (10 months)- €330

Gold policy (10 months) - €345

In order to get access to either of them you have to have one of their cards. The cheapest to get if you are not a student is the backpacker card, which will set you back €25. Or if you can prove that you are a teacher (bring a reference) you can get a teacher card costing €13.

The difference between the policies is fairly big in terms of the amount you can be paid out. For example, if you die, under the silver policy you get (or your next of kin) €1 million, whereas under the gold policy you get €1.5 million. But you'll be dead so who cares! Essentially they cover the same ground, including emergency surgical or medical procedures, repatriation in the event of illness, high risk sporting activities, travel cancellation, luggage loss, etc.

Then there are some cheaper options that I searched through, but most do not have appropriate annual cover. For example, Insure have an "annual multi trip cover which means that you may make multiple journeys of up to a maximum of 31 Days duration each, subject to a cumulative 90 days during the policy period."

Watch out for this small print as Bank of Ireland have the same stipulation for their multi-trip insurance. The single trip cover is for 90 days maximum. If you are going on a 3 month voluntary trip this may work out well. It costs €68 for the first 31 days, then €9 for each additional week.

AIB probably have something similar but I don;t have an a/c with them so didn't bother checking.


Just Cover offer a Backpacker / Longstay quote of €200. With cancellation and baggage cover it moves up to €258. This might be the option that I'll take. €130 less than USIT, it has quite good coverage in terms of medical emergency, dental emergency, and you have the option of opting out of cancellation and baggage cover which USIT does not have.

If you know of any more options please add a comment.

Crisis in the West - Opportunity for Africa

Paul Collier, who directs the Centre for the Study of African Economies at Oxford University, has written an interesting article about how the global financial downturn provides a timely opportunity to root out the looters of Africa's wealth and their banking facilitators in the West. He is the author of The Bottom Billion

...........now that we have the banks on the run there is an opportunity to extend scrutiny, not only to help ourselves, but to help Africa.

The loot-seeking elites that control parts of Africa illicitly send capital out of the region to the tune of $20 to $28bn per year. Illicit money flows are hard to quantify, but this is the new estimate by Raymond Baker of the NGO Global Financial Integrity, the most careful and ingenious study to date. Capital flight of this magnitude is roughly equivalent to the entire aid inflow to the region, so closing it would generate a similar resource transfer to doubling aid. One side-effect of the financial crisis is that aid commitments will be at the front of the queue for spending cuts. For example, in the vice-presidential debate it was the only Democratic spending pledge that Joe Biden suggested might be rethought.

While the crisis will weaken our assistance for the poorest countries by curtailing aid, it could inadvertently have an offsetting effect if we use it to close the illicit outflow. Money flows out of Africa into our banks, and into the offshore banks that depend for their existence upon being able to transact with our banks. US rules on banking transparency are even weaker than the European rules: vast sums looted from the public purse in Africa are being held in nominee accounts and moved around the world at greater speed than our cumbersome legal processes can track them down.

Western legal systems are stacked, thanks to the hired hands of skilled lawyers, to protect the rights of the crooked over the rights of Africa's ordinary citizens. At the time of the Commission for Africa, I urged that Britain revise its laws on banking secrecy. Yet despite the enormous emotional energy aroused by Gleneagles, there was no political appetite: aid, yes; banking openness, no. The silver lining in this grim cloud is that we have a second chance to clean up the banks. Which takes me back to where I began.

But why would we expect western governments to return that which is rightfully the wealth of Africa's citizens (remember: 54 countries, 922 million people)looted by Africa's elite when they've never returned the wealth (note: gold, cocoa, sugar, coffee, ivory, rubber, oil, diamonds, amongst a wide range of other minerals, agri-produce and resources including, e.g. coltan essential for mobile phones) stolen from their former colonies which they continue to plunder through brutal trade policies, etc.?

Passport arrives, Visa and Flight Ticket on the way

The Passport Office have a great service in Dublin. One can log in online and check the status of their application by entering the reference code underneath the bar code on their receipt.

So I was happy to see that my renewed 10 year passport (obligatory for travel to West Africa) is 3 days early and ready for collection.

That opens all doors for me to get a 6 month visa in the Ghanaian consulate open between Tuesday and Thursday (opening hours 10-12 noon for those interested) and also for me to get to Dublin airport in order to pay for my ticket.

As posted earlier, British Airways flights to West Africa only accept Mastercard or Visa with 'secure code' (This is not the 3 last digits on the back of our card) which Bank of Ireland for one do not even offer their customers. Most British banks do provide the service but one needs to upgrade to Silver, Executive or Gold membership. A bit of a pain really.

Anyhow, things finally seem to be working out ok, and I'm looking forward to heading off on Thursday Oct. 16th. I never realised I would have had to scale so many obstacles just to get there though.

Flights to Ghana - More hardship

Murphy's Law continues. Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong. Well, at least it tests one's resilience. After months of researching flights with limited information as to when I could exactly go ahead and book one, I tried British Airways yesterday. Unfortunately, when one is going to West Africa, your Mastercard or Visa does not have 'secure code', then you cannot book online. 

When I rang Bank of Ireland credit card services I was told that they don't offer 'secure code' services. However, British Airways claim that once you get an Executive, Silver or Gold credit card then you should be able to secure your payment and reservation.

Therefore, if you have an Irish credit card and want to travel to West Africa you have to go their Dublin office in person. The catch, you have to have your passport. Unfortunately I won't have mine back from the passport office until Thursday.

Is your head spinning yet? 

At least today I managed to put down a 96 hour reservation for departure from Dublin to Accra Oct. 16th, returning Aug. 15th 2009 for 952 euro. Let's hope they won't ask for my passport when I go to their office on Wednesday!

Hope this helps any volunteers who are planning on going to West Africa in the near future.

Cheap flights to Ghana

I thought I had struck gold last night. Ghana International Airlines gave me a confirmation number and the details of my flight - but I hadn't even paid them a cent or a penny through the booking process.

Reviews of Ghana International Airlines look like a nightmare. Maybe they write the few good ones themselves? I am not a fussy traveller by any stretch of the information, but I do not like getting screwed, so will probably end up avoiding them now.

When you try to book on their website you just get a confirmation number which it seems you have to bring to Gatwick airport. No payment is made until you get to the desk. At least they don't ask or do not provide a service on their website to accept payment for the ticket.

This seems to be what awaits me if I go down the GIA route

Looks like you just have to bring confirmation no. to the check-in desk and if you are too late joining the queue (e.g. no. 301 on a 300 capacity flight, then you don't get on the plane and have to pay a $100 fine in order to fly the next day cause you were supposedly 'late.'

Problem with going there early seems to be that there are already going to be a load of people waiting from the previous 2 days!!!! So despite the cheap prices, it seems like a major risk and may end up costing the same as British airways or Lufthansa in the long run. In addition to that, I would have to deal with getting from Dublin to Gatwick and change terminals, pick up luggage, etc.

Finally, quite a few complaints have been made about lack of or late luggage arrival. Not that anyone would benefit from going through my stock of clothes, but it just causes more unnecessary delays and hardship. Furthermore, it seems that when people get so frustrated while waiting in the queue, they are often willing to pay more for business class seats. So even if you are number 1 in the queue, you will have to wait until those who have paid more money, whether it be for refundable or business class tickets, to board first, thus reducing the posssibility you will get a seat.

Confused???? Me too...........

British Airways have a quote for Dublin-Accra of €944, departure Oct. 16th 2008 and return August 15th 2009.

Lufthansa have a quote for the same route for €918 but the flight stopover in Frankfurt means the total journey is about 3/4 hours longer each way.