An abandoned Angel

Yesterday moning at 8am I was walking to the school centre from the nearby staff compound. It was a normal Sunday, hot and sparse of people, with church music increasing in noise as congregations flocked in to the multitude of churches under operation at Edwenase. But this was no ordinary Sunday morning. Just 2 1/2 hours earlier one of the housemasters arose to open up the gates of the Centre. After a rainy night you may find a puddle outside. Other than that you will just find broken asphalt caused by passing cars that use the school yard as a turning point, much to the disadvantage of those who are wheelchair bound and must travel on a rocky surface to and from their living quarters to the school workshops.

Sunday, March 29th, 2009, was extraordinary for a 8/9 year old girl called 'Angel'. Prior to the descent of dawn, her mother had travelled from some unknown point and decided to leave her daughter on Edwenase's doorstep. She was found by our housemaster lying on a blanket hlding a note in her hand. "Please don't think bad of me my little Angel. I'm leaving you where I think you can be best taken care of. For those who find my beautiful daughter, please take good care of her".

What drove a woman to abandon her kid on some stranger's doorstep. Well, the fact that her daughter suffers from sever cerebral palsy and is unable to walk or verbalise is a large part of the answer. Despite the fact that she was left on her own with just a piece of paper, hides the fact that she was actually well dressed and seemed to be well taken care of before she was found.

Did a desperate mother accede to the demands of a husband tired of fending for the child. Did an already abandoned wife/woman decide the child would be better of in the care of the State and that she could just not cope with the 'burden' of a disabled child any longer?

It appears to have been an act of desperation by a woman not thinking straight. She could have easily have waited for some hours, spoken to the Centre Manager, who would have arranged for the child to be sent to the Department of Social Welfare's children's home, also in Kumasi.

But now, she has obliged the school authorities to inform the police and try fill in the missing information on the child's medical and family background.

Angel will be taken care of by the State, but it is no replacement for even the occasional love of a family member. There is never a day without surprises at Edwenase, and this incident goes to prove that community based rehabilitation and much more family support for the parents and extended family of the disabled is urgently needed to avoid such abandonments in the future.

A little touring of Ghana

My peepers have had a welcome break from the screen recently as I've been playing tourguide for my girlfriend's parents over the past week. We managed to visit the Kwame Nkrumah (Independence leader) Memorial park and museum; Cape Coast and Elmina castles, both of which were used by Ghana's former slave traders (Dutch and Brits mainly) with their sinister 'Doors of No Return' leading out to the Gulf Of Guinea whereupon countless millions over decades crossed perilous waters and conditions to become slaves in the Americas and beyond. We also managed to get to the fishing and tourism villages of Akwidaa, Butre and Busua where the local people's hospitality was great and the refreshing swim in the sea a welcome change to city life.

When I get a chance I will upload photos to give you a sense of how seeped in history Ghana is and hoe beautiful and diverse is the natural environment here. We spent a beautiful day in Kakum national park where I learned that one biologist discovered more species of ant living on one tree than can be found in the whole of Ireland and Britain. This has been my first chance to see Ghana in a bit more depth as for the first four months Dorota and I decided to base ourselves solely in Kumasi and concentrate on our work.

So it has been interesting exploring the coastline, meeting Ga, Ahante, Fante, Ewe peoples and trying to bend our Ashanti Twi dialect to encompass other Akan languages. I was surprised to find out that a lot of people understood our quests at communicating. I also learned a lot from Kobina Sekyi's parody 'The Blinkards' which is written in Fante and English. It is successful piss-pulling comedy play on the elite of Cape Coast attempting to become more English than the English themselves, at the turn of the 20th century.

So as Bug's Bunny would, that's all folks! We haead to the Northern region tomorrow to see Tamale and Larabanga. We were pleasantly surprised to see the staff had already started making to wheelchair ramps at our school from the Christmas project money. Before we left for Accra last week we bought a good range of Ghanaian educational books for the library we hope to start building in 2 weeks. The plumbing has also been fixed in the school from the xmas cards funds. Lots done and looking forward to seeing the students again next week.


Until then, nante yie (goodbye)!

3 important rules when living in Ghana

Would you go to a place called 'Mama Farty Fast Food'? I think not. Well the locals of Kwadaso don't care about the ironic branding of one of their favourite joints. Mama Farty's business is near by our local internet cafe. When I first saw the name inscribed on her small roadside food cabin, I scratched my bald patch in awe as to what meaning there could be in Twi that I was missing. Unfortunately the mystery continues. I haven't yet plucked up the courage to ask for fear that I will be asked what I think it means. Maybe it's just her name, although it doesn't sound so native, does it?

Then again, neither did the surname of the honeymooning couple whom I first gave a boat driving demonstration to in banagher when I worked as a teen on the river Shannon. The newly wedded German woman seemed to have absolutely no problem becoming Mrs Wanker. I kid you not.

The other night I went to get bread from a lovely old woman who lives in the locality. En route I passed by the trader who I sometimes buy eggs from and opposite her an orange and banana seller. The latter had her baby girl strapped to her back, as is the way of life here for most young kids whose mums work for a living. The local creche ends up being observing your mum's interactions with scores of neighbours and buyers from the area. As a kid your every need is attended to by your mum who is as close to you as physically possible. There's no Barbie, Ken or any other Disney figure to brainwash you. just real people going about their daily business all the time. But there's gotta to be a catch, huh! Well there is, given the subject matter I am addressing is somewhat related to names, you'll never guess what the kid's name is? I won't even bother wasting your breath.

Me: „Oh, and this is your beautiful daughter. Efre no sen (What is her name)?”
Trader: „Lady.”
Me: „Sorry.”
Trader: „Her name is Lady, like Lady Diana.”
Me: „Oh, well, wo ho te sen (how are you) Lady?”

End of conversation as Lady can't speak yet.

Rule No. 1- Never judge a fast food joint nor a person by their cover. Mama Farty's serves good food, Mr and Mrs Wanker were a lovely couple and Lady was the cutest baby I've seen since I came here.


Would you pray in a ramshackle chapel called 'Kingdom of Fire' above a bar with blaring music? I didn't think so. It may seem an odd place to go in order to get in touch with your Creator, but no divinity is beckoned in quietude here. Heaven is a long way away, so you oughtta scream out loud and get good amps if you want to be heard. Afterall, a lot of people are out there trying to get God's attention.

Maximise the noise till your ear drums have popped and your head is spinning with the rythmn of drumbeats, keyboards, trumpets and any other musical instrument lying around. For me, raised an Irish Catholic, the fact that people dance, wave handkerchiefs and voluntarily remain active participants in a religious service for 3+ hours is hard enough to fathom. And all of it is done, believe it or not, without the consumption of alcohol! Song, dance and a whole load of preaching is the protestant sect recipe of the day. Catholics do the same but with a lot more attention to sacramentalism. Just add candles, incense, altar servers, proclamation of faith through the creed, general confession and absolution, eucharist and you get your main differences.

A House of Rhema pastor comes down the steps while my friends and I are waiting for the Ghana Book Trust to open. He seems younger than me, but maybe that's just cause he shaves more regularly. „Hello friends, how are you all today?” Focussing his attention on me he stresses that it is God's plan that we met. He wants my phone number, to know where I live, what I am doing in Ghana, when will I visit his church. All within the first minute of our encounter. I was quite proud of the fact that I refused to give out my number, stating that I only pass on my details to people I know. I take his 'business card' to be respectful but as soon as he is gone I leave it on top of a shelf nearby. Why pretend a guy I met for 1 minute is a friend and God predestined us to meet when in actual fact he just happened to be coming down the stairs going somewhere while I was waiting to look as some books for our school library. That's it Pastor, there ain't nothing divine about it.

Fast forward two weeks – I am going towards the local porridge seller at 7.30am to get my daily fill. I meet my former neighbour (before he got kicked out for overstaying his welcome and here he had us conned that he was best friends with the director!) and local hairdresser. He makes another attempt at me to go to his church.

D: „I want you to come to my church, when are you going to come and worship with me?”
Note – He belongs to the protestant sect 'Assemblies of God' that are quite popular in this part of Ghana.
Me: „Well, we don't believe in the same thing so thanks but I'd rather not”
D: „Oh, why? Lots of white people come to my church. There is English translation on a screen for you to read if you don't understand the Twi.”
Me: „Ok, but it doesn't really matter what if white people go or not. You worship the way you want to and that's fine, but I come from a different background.”
D: „You are Christian, aren't you?”
Me: I was raised Catholic but......... (I don't need to fill in theg gaps here. Suffice to say I am a doubting Thomas).
D: „But you can still come and read the bible.”
Me: „Well, I don't believe the bible is the literal truth like your church does.”
D: You don't believe in the bible”
Me: ”I think it has interesting moral messages to teach us but I don;t believe it is literally all true. For example, take the two creation stories in Genesis.”
D: „But there is only one creaton story, God made everything in 7 days.”
Me: „Hmmm, I have my doubts. Isn't there the creation story of human's that Eve came from Adam's rib but also that man and woman were made simultaneously?”
D: „Where is that?”
Me: In Genesis, read the early chapters. If the bible is the literal truth how can you have two creation stories. One of them must be wrong. And if one is wrong, then the bible can't be the literal truth. Listen I should go got my porridge, I'll talk to you later.”

Rule No. 2 – Beware of constant church invitations. The fundamental reason is to get you to become a member of the church; the second so the inviter can look good bringing a white heathen to worship; the third, however, may just be out of common courtesy from a nice person who bids you no ill. Judge which invitation you have received carefully and don't be duped into saying yes cause you think it's bad manners to say no.

******
„My friend's tell me that Irish people are cute and short”. So says the cashier at the electrical goods store where I have just bought another voltage protector. She remembers me from a previous visit with Dorota and inquires where is the lady you were with last time. I sense a subtle marriage proposal coming! But then I'm a bit slow when it comes to flirting rituals.

Rule No. 3 – Go along with flirting from natives but if you are already tied to someone, draw the line so they can see it clearly. It can be good fun but you don’t want them stalking you over the phone, which men have a tendency to do if you give them your phone number.

Being ready to live as a volunteer in Ghana

A sponge



The amount of dust one accumulates in their lungs, nose, ears, on their skin and pretty much everywhere is very hard to estimate. But by 3pm, if you rub a finger against the bare skin of your neck layers of dirt will start to show. If you have access to a shower, use it daily. If you have to use a bucket of water, then do so daily by washing yourself thoroughly. You will feel better, look cleaner and are less likely to get skin rashes, fungi, etc.

A radio



Note: Banana is just to give you an idea of the scale and is not a necessary accessory for tuning in to the airwaves.

It's important to keep tuned into local and national FM stations so you have a clue about matters that interest the general public, your neighbours, etc. and keep in touch with the news from bordering countries. Especially in Ghana, people like to and can openly speak about politics. In other countries you may want to keep a tighter lip – use your two ears and one mouth in that proportion. A lot of the radio stations, as with newpapers, are partisan and openly so. Listen and read from both or indeed all sides of the fence so you get a feel for the type of language they use to condemn each other.

Furthermore, with short wave you can keep a track on the BBC's Network Africa and Focus on Africa as well as general international news.

Sunday is reserved for God in Ghana and I suspect the same can be said for many countries in west Africa, so you can use the 7th day to recharge the batteries.

Toilet roll


When you are on a journey in the sweltering heat, your water bottle or sachet is empty, and your stomach is feeling queasy, toilet roll can come in very handy. Keep in mind there will be no stop offs at roadside garages that have electric flushes and scented roll from Kleenex. Plaintain, banana leaves are an alternative, as is your neighbour's newspaper (use the page with advertisements on it and he/she won't mind). In addition, the dust you accumulate in your ears and nose over one day of daily business here is equal to 2 weeks in the moderate climate of Europe. Unless you work in a dusty concrete factory. So blow and clean regularly. Try to get your hands on locally produced recycled paper. In Ghana it is called Rose and a pack of 10 cost between GHC2.50-2.70 or 1.50 euro.

An adaptor, intelligent voltage protector (and maybe a stabiliser)

To prevent your head being wrecked when your 2 pin round head plug does not fit the socket, make sure you come fully equipped or purchase the above once you get here. It may save you a lot of headaches and financial cost as the voltage fluctuates terribly at times and your chargers, equipment may be damaged in the process.


A brush

Not the one for your hair - guys, you are better off without any in this heat and dust. Girls, remember long, flowing (and especially blonde, fair) hair drives men crazy here. Tie it up, cut it off or let it become scraggy! Back to topic- I'm talking about a clothes brush. A scrubber to get all the dirt on your clothes is a must purchase. Then, as Tom Cruise famously said in a brutal Irish accent in the film Far and Away - "Plunge and scrub".

As regards hair brushes, I know little to the extent of their necessity as I have been in recession for quite some time. One thing is for certain though ladies, you will lose hair here due to the dryness and water quality. So get mammy to send you over some replenishing shampoo or shop till you drop in the local market – unfortunately, you may not find what you are looking for as hair materials tend to be mostly focussed on hair straightening. The majority of women in Ghana, at least, wear wigs and extensions. Afros are out sadly. The politics of African women europeanising their hair was recently covered by the Pan-Africanist publication New African in their December 2008 edition and is well worth a read.


A bucket



For washing your clothes in, splashing your face, flushing the toilet, to fill your kettle with water so you can sterilise and clean your utensils properly, to put on your head and pretend you are New Kelly, etc. etc. It's uses are endless. Turn it upside down and you have an extra seat. If you drink too much beer or get malaria you can puke in it. I think you get the idea. It really is a must as running tap water may not be in such a convenient place for you. You may be living some distance from running water if you are a volunteer on an under-resourced project or in a rural area, so be prepared. Barter hard and you'll get a gallon capacity bucket for GHC 3 or less than 2 euro.


A mosquito net


To avoid contracting malaria or more likely nasty, itchy bites that will keep you up all night. You can get them easily here and they don't cost much. Mend holes as soon as they appear and regularly spray with anti-mosq. permethrin or just ensure you have a Permanet.

Bowl, spoon, cup


A lot of food is eaten by the right hand (the left is reserved post-food digestion purposed) but every now and again your stomach will not be feeling the best so it's wise to have the basics in stock. You probably won't have access to a fridge so you gotta eat all you prepare and don't forget to be a disciplined washer or cockroaches and ants will become your best friend. You can also impress locals with your sponn playing musical talents.

Games

So you can interact with local kids. It's the best way to break ice with their family at large and also to learn the native language. A football costs little but you would be amazed at the emount of kids playing with flat balls as regular hand pumps are not so accessible nor cheap. On sale rather are the larger pumps which cost at least 5 euro, hence the flat balls will you find everywhere. Valves are also hard to get at times so buy one when you come across and mind it. Table tennis is also popular amongst both genders, as is pool, though this is somewhat more a male in the bar scene.

Brush (local reeds tied together) & dustpan (cardboard)

To brush your floor daily. The dust that builds on window shutters, floor, everywhere you can possibly imagine is surprising. So brush and dump regularly for your own health. You can get them for very cheap in the local market or else just make one for yourself from your natural surroundings. Brush your floor regularly to ward off creatures from thinking your territory is part of the wild. And when you come across cardboard remember it can be used to make all sorts of things apart from dustpans - think boxes, bedside locker, educational posters, twister, etc.

Pee bottles



Snakes in the bush should be enough to remind you that peeing under the cover of darkness in he wilderness is not always the bravest or brightest thing to do. Relieve yourself inside, putting it safely aside for disposal the next morning. It also means you're less likely to get mosquito bites as you won't need to venture out unnecessarily while it is their dinner time. If you do, put on lots of repellent or wear long clothing. One bite from that anepholes mosquito can cause a hell of a lot of pain.

Santa comes late to Ghana's ex-President Kufuor

<Ex-president Kufuor has received a fairly generous retirement package from parliament.....

...despite the fact that government projects and schools for the disabled continue to rely upon foreign food imports and handouts to keep their heads just above water

"On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me, a partridge in a pear tree.” I'll guess that you have an idea about the rest of this famous Christmas song so I won't bother writing the rest of it. History lovers will remember that it was illegal to be a Catholic in England (and Ireland) from 1529 until the Catholic Emancipation Act in 1829. This song was thus written as a means to teach young Catholics their faith. 'True love' stands for God, 'me' the church and 'a partridge' represents Jesus Christ, the mother partridge acting as a decoy to save her helpless chicks (i.e. us).

So what the hell has all this got to do with Ghana. Well, funnily enough, it was the first thing that came into my head when I recently heard about ex-Ghanaian president John A. Kufuor's retirement package. John must have been worried about what Santa Claus (I'm using metaphors here as I can safely guess the reader is acquainted with the tradition whereas the obese guy who needs a beard trimming is an alien to most Ghanaians) was going to leave under his fake pine tree. He was already missing out on the gold spray-painted US$37 million presidential palace constructed under his tenure. Twice his nemesis in the 2000 and 2004 elections, newly elected president John Evan Atta Mills will wine and dine the elite for the coming 4 years in this enormous waste of taxpayer's money.

The Chinery-Hesse commission was established to propose a relevant 'good luck and good night' gift-wrapped incentive for Ghanaian presidents to leave power peacefully and not dangerously meddle in political life after their tenure. This is what they decided on. If you are Ghanaian you may wish to rewrite the lyrics of the above mentioned song in commemoration of this fine bulk of presents John has received.

On the first day of Christmas the taxpayer gave to me:

 1 overseas holiday (with his wife, for a maximum of 65 days)
 2 fully furnished residences
 3 saloon cars
 4 hundred thousand dollars (US) (paid as a lump sum)
 5 cars in total (all to be maintained, insured, taxed, fuelled and chauffeur driven)

Ok, this is where the numerical symbolism of the song goes out of tune, so bear with me.

 1 million dollars (US) to establish a foundation
 A 24 hour security guard
 An annual budget for 'entertainment'
 A constant police cortege while travelling
3 personal assistants and additional security personnel while travelling
 An ex gratia bonus amounting to 18 months salary
 Free medical care

And well, that's pretty much it. Of course, it has also being offered to the only other surviving president, ex-military dictator JJ Rawlings. He's the only other survivng president, cause, you see, when he came to power in '79 and again in '82 by force he had 2 other ex-presidents executed. So in that sense, I guess you could say he saved the taxpayer quite a lot of money from the perspective of this generous retirement package. JJ, ever the populist, has denounced the lucrative deal, which has been passed by parliament, as "grandiose rubbish”. On Friday January 23rd, Daily Graphic's columnist George Sydney Abugri admitted he found himself struck for words, not only because of the extent of the package but also the debacle which ensued conflicting reports regarding parliament's alleged underhanded passing of the bill. Some MPs seemed unaware that it had been voted on and threatened legal action to seek redress.

So what's the bigger picture. Well, as the Daily Telegraph reported in Britain, it does seem a stretch generous given the fact that Ghana relies on 91 million pounds of aid annually to keep the population's head above water. In other words, such extravagant gifts for one individual and his wife were ludicrous in the context of the poverty faced by many Ghanaians. Even supporters of Kufuor's party, the NPP, were uncharacteristically critical of the ex-president's farewell rewards.

The Daily Graphic compared it to ex-president Bush's retirement package:
 $191,000 pension
 secret service protection
 paid travel expenses and 2 assistants
 private fund to establish a library
 free medical care

Laura and George get no house, car nor gratuity. If I was on the US retirement commission he would get a one-way flight to the Hague to stand before the International Criminal Court. But I'm not, so I guess you are safe George.

President Kufuor has not given any public statement regarding the controversy but he supposedly would rather just three vehicles. Yeah, that ought to be enough I would think.

So it remains to be seen whether the passing of legislation granting President Kufuor 20 wheels and 2 front door keys, amongst other benefits, survive court or parliamentary challenges. It looks likely though that it will not be reversed, and that Africa's great model for peaceful, democratic transition has been dealt with in an exemplary fashion by Chinery-Hesse. Who needs 12 drummers drumming, eleven pipers piping, ten lords a-leaping, nine ladies dancing, eight maids a-milking, seven swans a-swimming, six geese a-laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three French hens and two turtle doves when your friends are partridges and have keys to the treasury.

How to live on 1 Cedi 60 pesewas a day (90 cents a day)

Buy 20 pesewas worth of porridge before 8am as it's high in demand and the pot will be scraped clean at 8:01 leaving your belly grumbling. Slice one of the 3 bananas you got for 20 pesewas the night before (you share them with another person so in fact you only pay for and have a right to 1.5 bananas). Prepare a cup of real coffee, which costs about 2 pesewas when you add powdered milk and sugar (all 3 from west African States) that you purchased on Kejetia market.

Use your 30 pesewas piece of fresh bread or sugar bread to finish off the other half banana. You purchase all of these locally to cut out transportation costs and support local traders who in turn give you better deals once they see you are a loyal customer.

For dinner, between 3-5pm, given that you have not invested in pots or pans, charcoal or a grill , etc. you go to one of the many local roadside eating joints, which pretty much serve up home cooking. It's economically better sense for the majority of adults who are working to eat this way. For 40 pesewas you will get a good serving of rice, plaintains, yam or fufu - add some 30 pesewas of cabbage stew, cocoyam leaves with sauce, or salad and mayo - leave out your meat and fish which are an unessential additive, and hey presto you are full for the rest of the day.


You still have enough for a cold sachet of water, costing 5 pesewas, while you can buy for small, fresh oranges for 20 pesewas and spilt them with partner.

Then, to top it all off, you have 20 pesewas for bisuits, a chocolate chewy, more fruit or a cold juice.

That's how you live on a budget of 1 euro a day in Ghana if you are a volunteer! And it all tastes good, is healthy and substantial enough to keep you fighting off all them bugs.

Of course, you will need a supplementary fund for internet and whatever other enterprises you want to engage in. But living on 50 pesewas of food for a month is a good way to start saving for other areas. If you have your own tips, feel free to add.

A 'friend' I just can't shake off

'A motivational speaker once told me that blah blah blah blah......'

Sorry, I can't finish Franklin's conversational piece because I didn't listen well enough and subsequently found it of no interest to the topic which was at hand when he offered his contribution. He was of course, uninvited, when Dorota and I were engaged in a conversation, discussing matters related to our project. He is a colleague of our project director and was just wandering around the centre while the Dec. 7th voting was taking place, albeit without any intention of exercising his franchise, Franklin has since come to be one of these folks who are hard to not meet on the streets.

His presence seems almost omniscient, Great Caesar's Ghost, appearing from the shadows, enthusiastically and incorrectly uttering 'Doroga', 'Daniel' – vying for the attention of his new found friends. Problem is, he is not our friend. We have no idea who he is. And herein lies the problem. People like Franklin, who are far and few between in Ghana, seem to have an Obroni radar implanted in their brains, either divinely installed or self-inserted. Once we step out onto public pathways they seem to hone in on their prey. Whether it's a European address, a white woman (or her sisters, friends) to possess or $$$$, one thing is for certain. They want something from you, the alien, other than to greet you and bid you a good day or night. It's not out of poverty that this annoying clinginess derives. I rather think it is part of the same cancer that a journalist recently wrote about in Ghana's well-respected national Daily Graphic – the 'get rich quick cancer'.

Mourning this increasing phenomenon in Ghanaian society, the writer was specifically addressing a recent tragedy that occured nearby Kumasi. A fuel tanker having overturned, a number of locals sporadically decided to prosper from the spoils, only to end up cremated when a sparks flew and an inferno commenced and death clenched it's unforgiving claws on those who acted before thinking. In fact, I've invoked a boycott against him due to the fact that he crossed a boundary he knows he shouldn't have. While I was recently talking to my brother on a pay phone he appeared, characteristically, out of nowhere. He paid little heed to the fact that I was having a private conversation on the phone but disturbingly continued his approach and attempted to engage us, so she took the initiative to move him away by moving some 5 metres away herself. He positioned herself on a bench beside her, and characteristically for Dorota, she respectfully did not prejudge nor brush him off. Later she told me that he had put his hand on her leg, and spoke about wanting a white woman, motivational speakers, blah, blah, blah......she quickly removed his hand and without verbally giving him the cold shoulder made him fully aware that his behaviour was out of order. Thus, he is ow the first person in almost 3 months here to make it onto our 'persona non grata' list.

Now, everywhere I and we turn, he is there, in the shadows (due to the dim street lighting and not the murkiness of his character). Not stalking nor acting in a sinister fashion, you know, just one of these people that you happen to run into an awful lot and pretends to have a history with you while acting like an asshole when he plucks up the courage to disrupt.

So to conclude, I think it's only fair to clarify, unless you go away with a negative stereotype about Ghanaian males as a result of the above vitriolic diatribe about Franklin. Such species are as rare as icecream in our local area. Every now and again they pop up, but by and large, one can go about their daily business unhindered apart from the cute, harmless and repetitive squeals of young kids shouting, 'Broni ba, broni ba' (The white man/woman is coming, the white man/woman is coming). And all they want back is a wave, smile or funny face - not an engagement ring or your bank details.

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

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