Well..it's paper writing week for me which means the blog comes last.

But.

here are some pictures. The sky is gorgeous here . It's like having a Michigan summer sky every single day. This warms my heart. The waterfall is Wli falls in the Volta region. We were just here this past week. I think I say this every time I come back from a different region but this was my favourite region. On every trip we go and pretty much every day I am meeting beautiful people and seeing beautiful things. Gah! sometimes I take a step back and pinch myself. Even after 3 months it can still seem so surreal!

well..

back to African peace initiatives. (If you want to read about something interesting -- google peace villages in Burundi and elsewhere).. I love this.

and so much love to you.

- There is something beautiful about a billion stars held steady by a God who knows what He is doing.-Donald Miller.

So.. I’ve written a book, or at least it’s feeling that way. I feel like this is the longest blog ever written. This in no way can ever capture what my trip to Northern Ghana was really like, but it should give you a great picture of what we were doing there!

On Monday morning we got up super early (5 a.m. early) and got on the bus that would be our main mode of transportation for the week. (side note: all I kept thinking was how absolutely wonderful it would be to have a large cup of coffee- this was clearly not feasible) I was really excited for this trip but also a bit apprehensive as we had heard from previous groups and had read that the trip was going to be rough. I fully anticipated   several of us getting sick. To my great surprise the trip to Yendi, our first destination, was not bad at all. Of course, many of the roads we took were not on real roads at all- according to western standards (think red dirt roads that have been washed out in several areas),  but no one got sick. Granted we were all popping dramamine to avoid any motion sickness- and enjoying the added side effect of drowsiness. Apart from this I should mention that we made three stops on our way up for bathroom breaks etc. To understand how different a road trip in Ghana is to that in North America it might be helpful to know that rest stops do not mean fast food joints and restrooms, but rather pit latrines, and fruit stands. We of course had all made sure we brought plenty of toilet paper for the week (have I told you that toilet paper is rarely offered in public bathrooms- our university included) and plenty of small change (it is often required to pay 10-20 pesewes to use the latrine, and if not required, it is assumed that you will tip who ever seems to be standing there) While we are on the topic of washrooms, we discovered after we had returned from our trip some of the cultural no-no’s we were guilty of. In particular, our use of the latrines was seen by locals as very bizarre. While we were rather oblivious to it, the locals who were at the latrines were quite annoyed and curious as to why all of us women would not use the space all at once? Looking back there was enough space in the areas so that they could be used by many women. Of course this is a testimony to the huge cultural differences surrounding issues of personal space. It had never occurred to us that we should all use the same “toilet” at the same time!

We arrived in Yendi around 5:30 p.m. Yendi is in the north eastern part of Ghana. If you grab a map of Ghana, the northern part of the country is divided into three main regions. The northern region, the upper east region and the upper west region. Yendi is in the northern region, about 2 hours NE of Tamale, the largest city in the north. When we arrived we picked up some food and drove to our guesthouse- the Yahaya Iddi guesthouse.

We were all exhausted but we went out to meet the local Imam. While the southern part of Ghana is predominantly Christian, the northern region is Muslim. We were guided through what the Muslim community in Yendi looks like, and were able to ask questions of the Imam, no actually we were forced to ask questions, as they went around in a circle and told us to ask a question. This whole experience was an interesting one. It was very dark out and we sat on a porch in the dark, surrounded by 50 men from the community, of course no women. I get the feeling that we were being laughed at, in large part because our group consists mostly of women, and women are not seen out and about, especially not in the way that we were dressed. As usual when I sit in on discussion concerning the Muslim community,  (it really brought me back to my trip to Europe 2 years ago that surrounded Muslim integration into European culture)  I am conflicted. The Imam spoke of how important peace is, that we are all one and love is paramount. And yet while he spoke of equality of all human beings under Allah he made sure we were clear on the position that women have in society. This of course frustrates me, and sitting there I was getting more and more upset. Of course taking on the Imam at 9:00 at night, sitting in complete darkness, surrounded by 50 men, being a woman and in a foreign country, was not something I was really up to at the time, so I continued to sit and listen

On Tuesday morning we were up early to discovery the municipality of Yendi. Alhaji A.I Sulemana the director of the grassroots organization -the Bong-gu-manga Integrated Rural Development Society (BIRDS) was to be our guide for the next couple of days.  This particular organization grew out of relief work that was done after a 1994 ethnic conflict of the Dagomba people, a conflict which resulted in many deaths. From here the organization turned its focus to education, women’s programs, peace building/transformation and food security programs. A tiny organization, BIRDS is primarily funded through donations and a small amount from the central government. Sulemana suggested that the two greatest challenges facing the organization are attitudes. For example when a girl has education here she is seen as no longer worth marrying. This is rare though as women are usually barred from further education as most Muslim girls are married off before their second menstrual cycle, and most non-Muslim girls by the age of 10-11. The second challenge, is of course, funding.

Peace building is vital in Yendi as ethnic groups are rather divided in the area. They still have not come to a resolution of differences after the 2002 death of the king in the area. BIRDS works hard to create an open space for dialogue between the opposing ethnic groups. 

After our meeting at BIRDS we left for the small village community of Gundoyu to meet with one of the very few female chiefs in Ghana. We arrived at her palace- a compound of several mud huts and entered to find her and several of her “wives.”  (Both male and female, and not actually married to the chief, these people do work for her) We took our shoes off and congregated around her in the hut. She told us about her community through our translator. There are only seven female chiefs in all of Ghana. She spoke of her development concerns, how she had implemented a school in her nine years of chieftancy. She was adamant that development continue but that tradition not leave-this seems like an impossible challenge to me.

At this point I’ll be really honest and say that it felt like we were part of a Discovery channel or CBC special documentary. Sitting in the dark cool hut, bare feet, flies everywhere, our translator relaying everything to us, and kilometres away from even the nearest city, it just seemed so surreal. It was one of those experiences you watch on tv, and never expect to be a part of.

In the afternoon we visited a women’s group that is supported by BIRDS. Here women work in the process of creating shea butter- which comes from the shea nut tree. These women complete everything by hand from start to finish. It was so interesting to see each part of the process carried out. None of what this group makes is exported, but is sold in local markets, and in reality is hardly enough for them to even pay the basic school fees for their children. The women were really open to showing us what they did, though none of us could communicate. THe finished product was amazing and 100 times better than any chemical infused, half real product I could buy back at home.

The afternoon events that came next, are ones that I will most likely never forget, broke me down the most, and made me realize again how complex we humans are. We drove an hour out of Yendi to a witches camp. This is a community that has been created for women ( and some men) who have been accused of witchcraft. For many Ghanaians, witchcraft is a very real thing, and exists for Christians and non Christians alike. The majority of women in this camp are accused of either killing a family or community member, or eating their flesh. Women are not condemned to this camp, but rather either flee here, or are sent by their families so as to escape abuse or most certainly death in their own communities. Once they have left, most of the women can never return.

Upon arriving at the camp we were greeted by many of the women, as well as many more of their children!  They quickly latched on to us, and it was quickly evident to me how much these children were lacking in terms of nutrition and basic care. Many of the children were malnourished as noted by their protruding bellies. Many were also covered in open sores, lice, and it was obvious that diseases like TB were an issue in this community. Regardless, one minute we were on the bus and the next I was amongst a large group of boys, a very deflated soccer ball and having an incredible amount of fun with these kids. While I was hot and sweaty ( It was a good 35-40C that day) I think I could have stayed there for hours. It was so great to see the joy on their faces and to hear their laughter. I was so overwhelmed by everything I saw. These women have been left with literally nothing. Many of them never see their family members again. They have been abandoned by their husbands, sons or fathers. 

The camp is watched over by a fetish priest who, upon the arrival of a convicted witch, will prepare some sort of test to decide whether she really is a witch. Of course, regardless of the outcome (which happens to have to do with the direction in which a chicken lays after it has had it’s neck severed) the women really have no other choice but to stay their for their own safety. It was incredible to me, as we sat in the middle of the compound with 60-70 of these women, that even after all they had been through, that while none of them believed they were witches, they still believed that witchcraft is alive and well in Ghana and that real witches should be killed.

Our drive back to our guesthouse had us winding back down a ridiculously bumpy road- which really wasn’t a road at all. As nightfall came over us, my eyes were drawn to the sky which I continued to watch for the remainder of the trip. It was amazing. Because it was dark, I was able to see thousands and thousands of stars. It was just one more thing that drew me to think about how incredible God really is. Despite the brokenness of this world, despite how incredibly angry the plight of the women and children in the camp made me, there was an undeniable beauty evidenced in everything I saw. This can and could only be attributed to a creator who still holds on tightly to a sinful world. And that is what gives me hope. To see Christ in the women whose lives have been shattered, in the children who suffer from lack of healthcare and education--this makes me cling to the promise of greater things to come.

Wednesday we left Yendi for the city of Tamale, the largest city in the northern region. Here we stayed at TICCS (Tamale Institute for Cross Cultural Studies). We met with Mark the director of the institute who guided us what the institution has been established for, as well as outlining a bit about development goals in the area and how the institution is connected to those. TICCS emphasizes that it is essential to look at development the way that the local people do- that only when you see from the people’s perspective - than you can actually be of help. I am so on board with this! 

In the evening we met three great people with whom we quickly became great friends. Osman, Iddirisu, and Efti- were three guys we met at the jungle bar ( a really sweet bar that has three seperate patios- kind of like you are in a tree). Both Osman and Iddirisu work for the Youth Centre in Tamale. They were arts students in college and now lead drumming, dancing and visual arts classes. They were incredibly talented, and the next three nights at TICCS involved a lot of games. drumming, dancing and so much laughter. 

Thursday was again an overwhelming and incredibly interesting day. We woke up to a lovely breakfast at TICCS- fonio, jam, bread, and REAL coffee! Fonio is a dish that is commonly eaten in the northern part of the country. The english or colonial name was “hungry rice.” The plant grows one metre in height and its green grains are very difficult to process. In case of prolonged  drought the last thing to be taken out would be the fonio as it does not spoil easily. In fact in can be stored for up to years before being used! Fonio does not contain any fats and is high in iron. 

We visited three different organizations on Thursday. Our first visit took us to GILLBTS (Ghana Institute for Literacy and Linguistics, and Bible Translation) This organization is affiliated with the university of Ghana and Wycliffe Bible Translators. They are involved in academic research, bible translation, development, literacy, training and scripture in use. Currently the organization has completed 12 full bibles, 23 new testaments, and are working on 34 different language projects in 6 different regions. 

In the afternoon we visited the World Vision office which started in Ghana in 1997. World Vision International is largely focused on child sponsorship and in recent years I have been a bit of sceptic when it comes to their marketing and funding strategies at the international level. While it was not my intention,(at this office anyways) I found myself trying to carefully suggest that perhaps the way in which funding is achieved for World Vision initiatives is in part a manipulation of the donor unaware. Of course when one sponsors a child the money does not go directly to that child or to that child’s family, nor should it as this could spark so many issues at the community level. This though, is how WV promotes its work, that your $25 a month goes to this child and improves their life in some particular ways. While this is not an outright lie, it is not the complete truth either and for me personally this has recently raised so many questions about donors, development strategies, and the connection of the developed world to the developing world. 

This particular office though, is essentially at the bottom of the hierarchy that is World Vision. It is the people at the grassroots level, the community members who are working alongside their communities to fulfill the projects that World Vision sees as important. To work towards achieving goals and targets particularly (In Northern Ghana) in the areas of hygiene, sanitation and education. Their work is vital.

Our last visit of the day was to Catholic Relief Services which has been working in Ghana for 52 years. If you don’t know anything about this organization, CRS aligns itself with Catholic social teaching, and regards the dignity of the human as paramount. Key to organization are the words of St. Francis “ preach the gospel always but use words only when needed.” CRS does away with any form of outright evangelization with the belief that actions will tell the people of Jesus Christ, and that they have no right to discriminate against any religious affiliation. CRS does not work directly in communities but rather works through smaller grassroots organizations  in areas such as sustainable potable water and improved sanitation, micro-enterprise, and gender issues. 

On Friday we visited our last NGO of the trip- The Christian Children’s Fund of Canada (a Canadian NGO!) It was very similar to the other NGO’s that we had visited- particularly World Vision and CRS. 

After our visit we left for Bolgatanga and Papa which are in the upper east region at the northern border of Ghana. It took three hours, and while the scenery was beautiful we really had no where to stop and use the bathroom. Chelsea, Annica and Corrie finally had to use the bathroom so bad  that we stopped near some long grass for them to go. I also had to go, but I know that long grass probably equals really large snakes and I wasn’t wrong. Corrie had a large green and yellow snake jump on her, and while she handled it well I am not so sure what I would have done. (If you don’t know, I am deathly afraid of snakes. If you want to know how deathly afraid of snakes I am- ask my Omie about the tiny snake I made her kill when I was 13 and mowing her lawn --with a riding lawn tractor).

Anyways we got to Paga where we were going to see the crocodile ponds (Ghanaians pronounce crocodile like this- croc-co-dile-- emphasize each part emphatically and roll the r). It is said in Paga that the indigenous people of the area each have their own crocodile and when the human dies so does the crocodile- it is something spiritual. The crocodiles do not eat anyone from the community and they do not eat anyone’s chicken or guinea fowl unless they are fed. There are ten ponds around the community and we attended the largest one. These crocodiles were not tame and had the potential to harm us. but the keeper of the crocodiles (as I like to refer to him) with the yellow rain coat and large safety glasses assured us that we would be okay. We made our way through the swamp- getting very muddy, and had our pictures taken with the crocodile. The crocodile was really not threatening as long as it kept its mouth shut and didn’t move.  

Once we had finished our tour of the pond, we left for the Ghana/Burkina Faso border. For some reason Samuel (our semester long assistant and a grad student at the  Institute of African Studies) thought that we would be allowed to cross the border as all West Africans are allowed to do. This was obviously not the case, we needed passports, and we did not press the French Nationals at the border as they brought out their guns at our approach. So we left Burkina Faso, we left Paga and the crocodiles and headed back to TICCS in Tamale. I am not so sure that this trip was worth the long drive, but I can now say that I sat on a crocodile and stood in two places at once. 

On Saturday we prepared ourselves for what everyone said would be the worst drive of the semester. We were headed to Mole National Park (pronounced mole-eey). I must say that things were not nearly as bad as some had made them out to be. Because it is the rainy season it was assumed that the roads would be quite washed out. In fact, I had been speaking to a Bible translator from the UK a few days earlier who claimed we would need a tractor to get our bus through! Apparently the road was graded last year and so things were not so bad. I guess by standards back home, most of it wouldn’t actually be considered road. Here if we make it through and no one gets sick, its a great road!

Before arriving in Mole, we stopped in the village of Larabanga. This is the setting for the oldest mosque in Ghana. The village is 100% Muslim, and extremely poor. When we arrived our bus was swarmed by children and young men, many of them desiring money for their schooling. They followed us to our tour of the mosque, which was quite short as we were not allowed to go inside. I met three boys who all happened to be brothers. When I told them that I was a student, they were so excited to tell me that they were just like me because they were students too. It was so wonderful to see how excited they got about their schooling, and how eager each of them was to tell me about their favourite subjects. Seeing how important their schooling was to them, made me think of how much we take our schooling for granted. It is both assumed and expected that almost all children will go to school until grade 12, but here things are different. For many children they are unable to go to school if their parents are not able to pay the fees for uniforms and books. These fees are so small, and yet for many Ghanaian parents, particularly in the north, they are unable to pay. We spent such a short time here. It was hard to leave them behind so quickly.

Then, we reached Mole. It was so hot! Between Saturday and Monday when we left, the temperature hovered around 45 degrees (thats 113F for any Americans reading this), and it’s not even the dry season yet!

Mole is such a beautiful place! We stayed in a hostel in the park, and the view was breathtaking. The compound sat on a hill overlooking a  huge waterhole, over which the huge African sun set every night. Fortunately there was a pool that if we weren’t out on a safari, or eating, or sleeping, we were sitting in the pool. On Saturday when we arrived we did a walking tour which required us to be clothed from head to toe and be wearing closed toed shoes or rubber boots, so as to avoid jiggers, ticks, and snacks. This was a great walk. Our guide took us around to several of the waterholes throughout the forest/savanna but we did not see any elephants ( though we saw many footprints) Of course the trip was not in vain as we saw many antelope (more or less a really exotic version of a deer, to any North American taking the trip) lots of monkeys, and numerous warthogs. We returned to the compound for a jump in the pool and then an early night to bed. (There were just to many bugs to be had, and to much heat to stay out) The next morning I slept in for the first time in weeks!- till 8 a.m. Our group had had the option of going on an early morning tour (walking) but myself and several others had opted to take the afternoon walk instead. Of course, of course, of course we did not go and lo and behold those who did end up going also ended up following an elephant around at 30 ft. for about a half hour. I was sort of down about this but then decided with seven others in the group to rent a jeep for the afternoon, get a guide and take a driving tour deep into the park. Though expensive it was incredibly worth it! We loaded up on bug spray because it was going to be a war with the flies (tsese flies which cause sleeping sickness. We drove deep into the woods for about two hours. Still no sign of elephants! In the end we saw so many things but no elephant. This was okay by me, I was content and had truly appreciated being completely immersed in the forest far away from anything that remotely resembles a phone, a computer, or a highway.

Canadian Thanksgiving! Unfortunately I spent 14 hours on a bus on this day and really missed being at home to participate with my crazy but beautiful family in their regular holiday antics. ( I really missed pumpkin pie, and well pretty much anything that mom, Omie, or Aunt Nita cook!) Actually, I did get to wish some fellow Canadians a blessed Thanksgiving on that day. There were only 30 people staying at the compound, and there was only one group of five girls sitting at breakfast near us. I heard them talking and figured out that they were Canadian. I gave myself the opportunity to share some Canadian love and wished them all a wonderful thanksgiving day. They are all part of a health sciences program at Mac that has them doing an internship with a non-profit in Wa working with HIV/AIDS orphans.

After the 14 hour trip, which involved sitting in traffic for the last two hours just outside of Accra I was incredibly thankful to be back at ISH

Wow, if you’ve made it this far, congrats! This barely scrapes at the surface of everything that I experienced in the week in the north. I can truly say that through all of these experiences I’ve so briefly explained above,  my eyes were opened wider than they ever have been before. Everything about the week was a testimony to how vast and undiscovered the world still is. At every corner on this trip I am realizing how little I really do know. This is humbling, and also so rewarding. Soaking in so many words, images, ideas I have been incredibly overwhelmed as of late- but I don’t regret any of it.

In this past week, things have been a bit back to normal. We have had classes, the weather has been changing. It has become increasingly warmer, and very very windy. I’m starting to realize it’s crunch time- I only have 2.5 weeks of classes left! 

This past Friday (October 16) Some of our group was able to travel 2 hours towards Kumasi to work with Habitat for Humanity in a community called Kibi. We spent a large portion of the day working with locally trained artisans to build block and brick houses. It was heavy work, but it felt really good to get outside and do some manual labour. Patrick, myself and one particular mason were able to get the walls of one block house completed. 

To give you a better picture of Habitat for Humanity’s work in Ghana, this particular community has had 56 houses built in it so far. The houses are quite small- having 2 bedrooms, a living area and a bathroom. They usually take a month for the artisans to build. A house is typically worth about 2000 Ghana cedis- so somewhere between 1000-1500 American dollars. The family who qualifies for the home is responsible for a large part of the payment on the house, but pays in bags of cement, as the economy in Ghana is so unstable. Whatever a bag of cement is currently going for in Ghana, the family pays 2/3 of  the price  and repay however many bags their house is worth. They have ten years to pay this off.

Saturday evening we attended a play called “Take me to the Altar”- it was incredibly offensive in my opinion. The plot was as follows: Woman and man are married. The man no longer loves his wife because she is fat. A long story follows, the man is going to cheat on his wife but then in the end the woman he plans to meet ends up being his wife, only she has become skinny so they can love each other again. They live happily ever after. Here, my Ghanaian friends I went with, saw this as completely normal. You can imagine what kind of problems I had.

I am sure there are many more details I could add, but this is it for now

Oh. The power here has been out for three days. So has the water. No power has in part been a factor in getting this up super late. My apologies. I love that no electricity and no water are not a big deal here. I am learning that I can live by much simpler and less wasteful means- for real- actually living it because I have no other choice. I’m liking it. a lot.

love.

Friends, family.. I will post here soon. I wish I wish I wish I could teleport you all here for a few days, that would make this a lot easier. Obviously this is not feasible but know that I will write soon, it's just taking me a little while to process everything.

so much love.

Hello!

As I write this it is a warm 35 or 95 degrees out. The sun has gone down, but the humidity remains, and I am feeling rather sticky! 

Let me see, what can I say about the last several days? It has been a rather low key week, with really no travel time, though on Monday morning at 5 a.m. our bus leaves for the northern region of Ghana. We will be traveling 12 hours the first day and then spending the next 10 days in the region. For this reason there won’t be another blog entry for a little while as I won’t have access to the internet up there!

Last friday night our entire group went out together-- group bonding I guess you could say. We ended up at this sports bar, which, it turns out, is where all the expats in Accra seem to congregate. It was called Champs Sports bar, and it pretty much smelled and looked like any sports bar you would find in the U.S. and Canada. It was fun to meet some new people, mostly men who are working for companies such as Nestle, Caterpillar (dad!) etc. I ended up meeting people from Australian, Lebanon, Germany, and Britain over the course of a couple hours. There was karaoke and the most inexpensive of beverages. It was really a great night-- except I lost my visa card, which if you know me at all- is not surprising in the least.

Saturday meant I was lazy. Seriously, as I write this I really have no idea what I did. I think it involved a lot of sleeping, some eating and movies-- all necessary once in a while. 

On Sunday several of us hopped on a tro-tro and headed to the Action Chapel in Accra. This is a prosperity gospel church-- and in both obvious and subtle ways the service revolves around money money money. The idea that more prayer and devotion to God will bring you more wealth (different kinds, but in particular material wealth) is the central theme of the church. The church is massive, and very decorated. There were around 2000 people in attendance, and about 100 ushers all wearing matching tuxedos. The church is lead by Arch Bishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams, whose face I shall always remember because I now have a mug with his glamour shot plastered on it. Explanation: at the end of the service all new visitors were asked to stand, and once they had us standing we were summoned to the front of the church. Williams prayer for us and then told us he loved us and had gifts for us. We were then escorted to this room where in exchange for our contact information we were given lunch, a bag with a Williams glamour shot, and a mug with the same photo as found on the bag. 

When we got there we were escorted to our seats, and while we thought we were early it was realized that we were not. I guess the service had started at 9 a.m. and we arrived at 10. No worries, it didn’t end till 12:30 so we were still there for plenty of time. Aside from the numerous questions I have about the church, the way they interpret the Bible, and about Williams involvement in the church (I assume he does very well), there were things that I did like about the church. The music was great- a huge choir and a full band, and everyone was very hospitable. 

On Sunday night, one of our dance instructors was involved in a dance production called The Dream of Death. It involved many 400 level dance students performing traditional dances from the different regions of Ghana. It was a worthwhile experience and the performers were so great. Some of the dances we have been working on in our dance class were performed. We look nothing like the performers when they dance. Actually I would imagine we look pretty pathetic next to them.

  We also cooked on Sunday night..Italian! ( well sort of) Bruschetta bread made in a frying pan (actually not so bad) and pasta with some veggies! It was different, but tasted somewhat similar to what I would cook at home. That was good enough for me!

Monday was a typical class day- nothing exciting happened. A trip to the mall to do some birthday shopping, and some time drinking real coffee and a doughnut. 

Tuesday meant dance class (gah!) I have never sweat so much in my entire life as I do in that class. I usually hate going, but once I am there I thoroughly enjoy it. It was both Grace and Tom’s birthday’s today and so we celebrated them in several different ways. It involved pizza and ice cream- I enjoyed.

Today was again a class day, and we had our most interesting lecture thus far. Our guest lecturer gave a presentation on migration, livelihood and the informal sector in Ghana. This has been a topic which has intrigued me from the start of this trip, and so it was excellent to gain perspective from a Ghanaian economics professor. 

In Accra, migration is a huge problem. With a population of 3.5 million of which 500,00 people are part of a floating population- moving in and out on a daily basis, there are issues of poverty and space which need to be dealt with. In Accra alone there are 25 known slums, and enclaves, one of which hosts approximately 40,000 migrants from the north. Women from the north make up the majority of the migratory population. Most come with no skill set and quickly turn to work in the informal sector which of course has no structure and is frowned upon by city governance. While Ghana is one the faster developing of the developed world, 22% of the population still lives below the poverty line, and the average Ghanaian makes GH 70-95 a year (like 60 US dollars) Thinking through and seeing these statistics in person, has made these issues that much more real to me. I have been getting so overwhelmed as of late, with so many things to take in its hard to even know how to start processing. Looking solely at the issue of what poverty is within the Ghanaian context is of huge debate inside my head and with the people around me. It seems that everyone has a better solution than the next person or a different idea in solving the issues, or what they believe are the issues. -- if you want to know more ask to read my journal. I've realized lately how much interest I have in discussing and questioning the economic issues in any given country, how they relate to a person's well-being, and how development fits into that. If you want to talk more about it, I probably want to talk with you about it!

This afternoon was pretty relaxed. I went out for a small dinner (twice actually). I spent some time in the night market with my friends Daniel and Patrick eating some Banku with okra/palm nut soup and fish. This is very good. Banku is a dough that is made from fermented corn and cassava flour and cooked in hot water. Fufuo another local dish is quite similar except that it is pounded into a dough. I prefer Banku. Anyways, Daniel is from Ghana and incredibly articulate and intelligent, so basically I bombarded him with questions for a good hour on how he believes the above issues should be dealt with in Ghana..

For my second dinner I had some groundnut soup (groundnuts are what we call peanuts) with garden egg and onion. It too was delicious.

I think thats all for now. 

I am still not used to rats. I just came face to face with one in the bathroom. I am trying really hard but I really can find nothing beautiful about rats. I really wish I could, so I continue to think about what possible redeeming characteristics a rat may have--let me know if you think of any.

love.

Hello! I realize that this blog is long, and reading over it there may be a whole lot of disconnect ( and many spelling errors?). There was so much that happened in the past week and I am just starting to make sense of it all. Either way I hope this gives you a glimpse into what life has looked like over the past few days!

Last Tuesday our crew drove out for the week to the Akrofi-Christaller Institute in Akropong to observe and partake in the Odwira festival. This festival involves numerous events that carry great religious and traditional significance for the people in the Akropong region. This festival is celebrated each year in order that the people may cleanse themselves, the bringing in of the new year and the waking of the ancestors in order that they may be fed. The word Odwira actually means purification/ cleaning in Twi. Everything that happens during the weeklong celebrations is to commemorate the 1826 capture of Odusu (said to be made up of all the heads of the people the Asante conquered- The power of the Asante’s enemies captured in the Odosu) No one has ever seen the Odosu.

Wednesday was the day which was considered the day of mourning. Most people involved were wearing the colours which would be worn to a funeral here; black and red. On this day people plan funerals for anyone who has died in the past. At around 11 a.m. we went to the chiefs palace to watch the preparations conducted before the chief would moved around to ten different houses known as the stool houses to poor libation. Of course here in Ghana, the concept of time is quite different than what we are used to, and a ceremony that was supposed to start at 11 did not start until 2 p.m. Because we had left to get some food we ended up missing the ceremony itself but were still in time to follow the chief to the different homes. This is done in order to show support. The stools carry great significance in this community. The Akan people believe that the stools are powerful and so you must be strong in order to work with them.

Thursday brought in the traditional new year, and on this day the people were going to feed the ancestors. This was the most interesting part of the Odwira festival for me. For most of the afternoon we stood at the side of the road and watched the people parade past on their way to a shrine at the end of the town where the ancestors would be fed. Everything about the parade was interesting and caused me to come up with so many questions. To give you a bit of a picture of what  I was seeing; one woman at a time came down the street dressed in white and with their face and limbs covered in white chalk. They carried on their heads the food for the ancestors which was wrapped in a white material. The women were possessed by spirits and needed to be surrounded by men who made sure that the food would not fall off their heads as this would be very bad.  At certain points the women would have Schnapps poured onto their feet.  While the majority of the carriers were women there were about three boys as well. The streets were loud and packed and I nearly fell into a couple of gutters. Once all the carriers had passed we followed them to the mossoleum (shrine) where they went inside (where we were not allowed) and gave the food to the ancestors. The evening had us to bed very early as their was a 10 p.m curfew imposed for the whole city. 

Guns-People in Akropong are traditionally a warrior community. They are fighters and the guns symbolize their power and manhood. Women are not allowed to own guns but most boys receive a gun to signify their becoming a man. This is frustrating to me. Everywhere during the past week their were security men with large guns that were shot to ward off evil spirits and to keep control. It seemed to me that the men were just power hungry and wanted to tout their control. It was hard for me to see that they were a symbol of the communities past and not a significant part of their present day lifestyle. Still, they made me incredibly nervous and so loud!

On Friday morning we met a family who is in charge of a large tree found in the centre of the town. We followed them in a processional to the tree where a sacrifice would be given to the tree. The ceremony began with the family surrounding the tree and libations performed with the pouring of Schnapps. At this point a female member of the family became possessed and was communicating a message to the other members of the family. Nobody could interpret what she was saying. After she had taken the Schnapps and poured it all around the tree, two men took a goat and slit its throat open in order to pour its blood all around the tree. They dragged the goat around releasing most of the blood from its body. It was incredibly hard for me to watch as it slowly died and was then cut apart  so that what could be salvaged was taken, and so the head could be placed at the base of the tree. ( I was really surprised I did not pass out).

In the afternoon we attended the presidential speech (which the president had someone else give) and the parade of all the chiefs around the town. I really wanted to be excited for this but I was just so exhausted and overwhelmed by everything else that happened during the week. We also could not see very well from our seats. The speech from the president had my attention but was incredibly dishearting. Ultimately it piggy backed off of Obama’s speech in Ghana given this past sumer. It was not so much the message that irritated me, I really like what Obama had to say at the time he was here. The presidential speech for the people though, consisted of Obama said we should do this and Obama said we should do that. There was nothing about the speech that made it for Ghana from Ghana. This is interesting as the message of Obama’s speech in July was for Africans to take control of their own future. Perhaps I overreacted, but I found the speech to be a testimony to how much power and control the United States or the west has over underdeveloped countries.

Saturday morning we left ACI and took the van up to the Cedi bead  where they take glass, recycle it and create these beautiful beads. We were lucky enough to get a tour of the place and I was completely taken with the whole process, the location.. everything! In fact the idea of coming back here for two months to learn the whole process is incredibly tempting. From smashed glass bottles there are several ways in which the beads are created and then painted and everything is done by hand. I have seen these beads all over the markets here, and so I was really happy to see exactly how they are made, and who is benefitting from the work of the company.

After our time here we moved to Kakum Conservation, where I had my first monkey siting! I was excited to find a large number of baboons on our way in to the park- living in their natural habitat and not in confinement! We drove quite a ways until we were completely surrounded by the Shai Hills. Our guide had us stop at the foot of one very large hill which we would climb up. It was so HOT and while I usually enjoy all the hiking, I was not looking forward to this. It ended up being so worth it, as the view from the top was incredible. Once you emerged from a small cave, you came up to a view that was absolutely breathtaking- you could see for miles and miles. I could have sat there forever it was just so peaceful. 

Once we descended the hill we made our way back to Legon. It was an amazing week and one so full of new experiences.

There were so many big and small details that I needed to absorb and question and consider over this past week. I would love to tell you all about it in more detail when I am home. I have plenty of pictures as well!

Sunday evening I went to a play put on by the theatre group on campus. I went with my friends Seguah, Benjamin and Nana Addo. It was a great comedy called “The Inspection.” The setting was a secondary boarding school for boys, and tells a story of one dorm preparing for their weekend inspection. At boarding schools in Ghana, every weekend their is an inspection which looks at the cleanliness of your room and your own personal hygiene. You can lose or gain points. The dorm that has the most points wins the honour. Seguah, Nana Addo and Benjamin all went to boarding school and so could relate very well to the play. It was incredibly funny and a great night out. It was also interesting to experience a theatre performance here. 

Monday meant no class as it was declared a national public holiday, as well as the last day of Ramadan. The holiday was declared in order to commemorate what would have been Nkrumah’s 100th birthday ( The first president of Ghana after gaining independence from the British). Four of us ended up spending the day at the pool. Despite my gracious and liberal sunscreen application..the sun was not kind to me and I now look ridiculous. 

I have realized that I have almost reached the half way point of my trip! I can’t believe time is flying by so fast. I suddenly realized today that I would like it to slow down (a lot!) There are so many things that I want to experience here yet and so I need to start being very pro-active. I am truly falling in love with this place and all of its people.

I woke up to an evangelist in my dorm this morning. ( it was 6:00 a.m.) He wanted to let all of ISH 2 know that what he was doing was not a hindrance, that we needed to hear the word of Jesus etc etc. Then there proceeded to be several slammed doors and a lot of yelling.

I didn't fall back asleep.

love!

food poisoning. things I miss. my djembe!

Well, it seems that all of us who were sick have recovered! It was an unpleasant few days and I am quite confident that I will never return to Frankie’s ice cream place in Osu ever again. Actually the thought of ice cream at this point is really quite repulsive- vanilla anyways. I am quite sure I will soon recover from that issue as well. 

There is nothing you want more when you are sick, than to be at home in your own bed, with your own toilet near by and your best friends or mom to pamper you. My absolutely wonderful friend Rachel took on that role for the four of us who were sick. I so appreciate her putting up with us and everything that was going on. I can’t imagine it was to pleasant for her but she made sure we had everything that we needed and sat with us while we were sick-thanks Rachel!

Sickness aside, there have been other happenings over the last week. While we haven’t gone on any large excursions, every day seems to be an experience within itself regardless of whether we are on some great adventure or not. Whether it be taking a taxi or riding a tro-tro (both can be hair-raising experiences), to bargaining in the market,   I am challenged daily with even just the small things! That being said, this is a shorter entry!

Last Thursday my Djembe was sitting ready for me to play! I had one custom made in a dark wood, with 2 different Adinkra symbols carved into it. It is absolutely beautiful, and the symbols that I chose are two that stood out to me right from the moment I saw and read about them. For more on the Adinkra symbols see http://www.touringghana.com/adinkra.asp.I will try to find better and more specific descriptions of the specific symbols I chose later. 

I’ve been spending time in the markets of Accra surrounded by rows and rows of beautiful fabrics trying to pick out just a few. I’ve managed to take a few home, but I love them all! My seamstress here, Jane, does a great job and we have kept her pretty busy. I’ve really enjoyed the process of buying my own fabrics, drawing my own designs and seeing the finished product. 

Aside from fabrics, the markets (Medina and Makola) are packed full of people and foods, smells (good and bad) and animals. It is so vibrant- wonderfully chaotic and gets at every one of the five senses always in an interesting and amazing way. I’m quite sure I could spend hours there just watching and never come close to being bored.

This has been the week ( I think perhaps because I was sick) that I was craving things of home. There is plenty to eat here, but the variety is much more limited. I LOVE fall, and so while I know no one will have any sympathy for me I am going to take a moment  to say that I miss pumpkin pie, apple cider, bike rides, the farmers market, squash anything, mostly any kind of fresh vegetable, apple pie, and fresh fall air. There is something so cozy comfy about fall. Fall makes me think of thanksgiving with my family, cooking with my housemates and sitting on commons lawn for lunch. I appreciate it even more so being so far away from it!

Tomorrow I will be heading to Akropong for five days to attend the Odwira festival, and stay at the Akrofi-Christaller Institute. We will also check out some wood carvers, go to a bead factory, a healing center, and hear several lectures. I’ll post all about this next Monday- which happens to be Kwame Nkrumah’s 100th birthday celebration- a national holiday! In case you are wondering Nkrumah was the 1st president at Ghana’s independence in the late 1950’s. There are already festivities occurring in and around campus..

Well friends, family.. this is all for now. I miss you oh so very much!

love.

a lot to take in in one weekend.

A little late this week, but the internet has been spotty and I have been sick. I can hardly believe I have already been here for four weeks!

This past weekend was perhaps the most exciting, intense, relaxing, and interesting thus far. Early Friday morning (6 a.m. early) we left for the south central part of Ghana. We were on our way to Cape Coast and Elmina located about four hours down the coast from Accra.
The first portion of Friday was spent touring the Cape Coast and Elmina slave castles. The Elmina slave castle is the oldest and largest slave castle to have ever been built the world over. Built in 1471 by the Portuguese, it was originally used for trade of goods, but during the 17th and 18th centuries, it became the final destination for many Africans who had been captured and forced into slavery. It was a very eery experience standing in the dungeons and passing through what once was the door of no return. I thought that I had known quite a bit about what occurred in these places, but standing there I realized that up until this point I really had no clue. Being there only gave me a slightly better understanding of the agony and tragedy that was once represented there. Such a picturesque location was a place of so much injustice and cruelty which can be recognized by the still lingering smells in the dungeons where innocent people were held for weeks under appalling sanitary conditions.
The whole experience caused me to reflect on the injustices that are still represented all over the world. Many are disgusted by how cruel humanity could have been to allow such atrocities to occur and yet all of us are guilty of knowingly allowing our brothers and sisters all over the world today to still suffer. I think personally of how I am angered by the things I hear or read about which in reality only let me glimpse at what is really going on. If I am so outraged why I am not doing more to fight against these things? Why do we wait until something has to become such a terrible memory from the past?


After leaving Elmina castle we drove to an almost completely abandoned beach near Cape Coast. Here we found a very tiny resort where it appeared only three people were staying. We all found a hammock to lie in and spent the rest of the afternoon asleep or reading. The place was quiet and absolute paradise, I would have loved to stay longer. While there I was completely blown away by these 7 or 8 year old boys who shimmied up these giant palm trees to find us some coconuts/coconut milk. It was of course delicious and I continued to stand in awe of how high those trees really were and how fast they could manuever up and down them! We finished our day there ordering a small dinner and then leaving for our hotel for the night ( where the shower water was almost lukewarm!)
On Saturday we headed out to Kakum National Park where we were going to embark on canopy walk in the rainforest. This was incredible! The entire walk took place about 40 metres above the forest ground on a wood and rope walkway between seven different trees. The walk was built in 1995 by two Ghanaians and two Canadians with the support of USAID. Unfortunately we did not see any animals on the walk meaning we missed out on the several kinds of monkeys, birds, and reptiles that inhabit the forest. Our time of arrival did not allow us to see any of them. We were however warned that if we did not want to have a large snake fall on our heads, it was best that we not hang on the vines and creepers found in the rainforest.
In the afternoon we hurried back to Cape Coast for a festival (I can't remember the name right now). The city was packed and then the parade began. We somehow ended up in the parade while trying to find an place to sit and watch. Hundreds of people had taken to the streets to watch many of the local chiefs pass through. There were dancers and drummers, and costumes in every colour. I may been very overwhelmed by what I was seeing several weeks ago, but it was absolutely beautiful, and I loved sitting there for those few hours soaking it all in. 
Once the parade had finished we headed back on our way to Accra. I was exhausted when I returned but ended up going out to a movie with Seguah (my roommate), Benjamin ( her boyfriend) and a friend of Benjamin’s, Samuel. We went to see the hangover which just came out in theatres here! It was so strange to walk into the movie theatre, it was so familiar and so unfamiliar all at the same time. It looked and smelled the same as any movie theatre, and looked nothing like the landscape surrounding it outside. The movie was great, and so was the company. I am so excited to have met some really wonderful people here. As we begin to understand how to communicate better with one another, and understand our differing cultures, relationships have grown.
Sunday! We went with our group to the World Cup qualifying match between Sudan and Ghana. Somehow the game only cost us 4 cedis and we had great seats. The stadium was packed with over 40,000 crazy fans, not one of which went without wearing red, green and yellow. There were brass instruments, and dancing in every part of the stadium. It was so loud! The game was quite important, particularly for Sudan as losing for them meant they were out. Ghana won and the place was crazy, particularly because players such as Eissen (Chelsea) had returned to play the game. It was so much fun.
Finding a taxi after the game was not so much fun, and we ended up walking to Osu to find one. Myself and three friends stayed behind to find some food and ice cream before heading back.
This turned out to be a terrible idea, as all four of us have wound up quite sick over the last day, each to a varying degree. We believe it was most likely that the icecream milk product had gone bad, as this is the only thing we all ate in common. Thus far only one of us has ended up at the clinic.  This also why this update is a little late this week!

Prayers please!

Reflecting on the first 1/4 of my trip (crazy how fast time goes!), its quite interesting to read back in my journal and think back to the first days I was here. There are so many things that I needed to adjust to, whether it be constantly being concious of my drinking water source, getting used to the lack of a sanitation system like I am used to at home or eating incredibly different foods. All of these things have become less and less difficult. Doing laundry by hand-actually enjoyable, and finding good healthy foods to eat- possible, if you put the effort in. It has all made me realize that back home we are so blessed with what we have, though in a sense it makes us so much more out of touch with how most of the rest of the world lives. Not to mention, I have been finding out more and more what I truly value when I am required to go without all the things that I think I need but really don't, on a daily basis...

Just a few of my thoughts for now!

(there's a lizard on my wall and I need to go chase him/her away)

love.