Steph's Ghanaian Summer

Coming home

2008-08-17T08:03:00.003-02:30

Congratulations and Good Hopping in Canada. (This was from a card my house sister wrote me:) )

My head space has certainly been interesting lately, as I have been finishing my placement, writing my final reports and saying my goodbyes. I am now in Tamale, meeting up with the other JFs and decompressing, and slowly getting into bigger cities and more developed places. These last few weeks have been challenging in a different way, because figuring out how to exit and leave people and not know if you will ever see them again, adding onto that the fact that you have been away from home and in a completely now environment, you are heading back and wondering, how have I changed? Am I different? and more inner dialogue along those lines. It has been quite the ride, but I think that I am ready to get off the coaster and take a break. Go see the Atlantic from my side of the ocean and just sit and watch the seagulls. I have had an incredible journey, both learning about myself, development, a new culture and people in general. I am looking forward to sharing what I have experienced, and I hope people will have specific questions about what I have seen, done and learned. Less than a week. Hard to believe.

Until next time.
Kate, my friend from choir

My family

Pouring Pito!

With some of the kids

Kim, another JF came to visit. What an awesome time!

Gifts from my women groups. SO generous.

Richard, my house father teaching me how to tie a head scarf!

turned out well !!!

My friend Fausta who sold me bread

D4 Innovation Fund Workshop

2008-08-02T11:54:00.005-02:30

So yesterday the Storage Learn-Share-Exchange Workshop I had envisioned and started planning for a month ago took place. It was a really good day, with the representatives of my women groups came together to learn about proper care for their storage facilities for their crops and food stuffs to lead to helping them improve their food security. This workshop was made possible through support from EWB's D4 Innovation Fund. I worked with TUWODEP and MoFA (The Ministry of Food and Agriculture) to plan and create the content. We also invited the Tuna Concerned Youth Movement, a group who is working to make Tuna more attractive a d environmentally friendly, to give the women Moringa seedlings (a tree with medicinal and food properties) for their communities. This a very short explanation and some photos of the event. Please feel free to contact me to learn more!
Me and two of the women I have been working with

Anastasia and Raphael, my two coworkers

Me and my coach Josephine

All of the workshop participants, including the women, TUWODEP, and from MoFA, the District Director, Tuna AEA and District Development Officer

District Development Officer and women during the Learn-Share-Exchange

Showing women methods of improving their storage

Introductions and discussions

Learn-Share-Exchange

Faces of Ghana

2008-08-02T11:48:00.002-02:30

A profile of some of the people I interact with on a daily basis:

Raphael (on the left)
Raphael is my boss and the Project Manager for TUWODEP. He is 45 years old, and has completed a university program in Agricultural Studies. He has two children, Tobias and Sofia and his wife Monica is a teacher. His family lives in Wa because his wife was able to get a better teaching position there. He spends his time between Tuna and Wa. Raphael is a strong, passionate and devoted person. He has been a strong support for me throughout my placement. He has been working with women groups in the area for over 15 years now. Through his drive, he has been able to start many projects and build up a strong enthusiastic network of women groups around Tuna. Some of Raphael’s biggest frustrations are with the local government and how it does not listen to the needs of its people. We went to meet the District Chief Executive here and the office was full of flat screen computers, marble floors, leather furniture and air conditioning. Tuna does not even have Phase One electricity! He also gets frustrated with dealing with donor organizations that want the priority of projects to be physically measurable results, instead of what will be the biggest benefit for the beneficiaries (yeah that’s right, this man is a true warrior for Dorothy!). One of his personal goals for the future is to attend the Coady Institute in Canada to gain knowledge and experience about development and from others in the field around the world to bring this back to Ghana and broaden revitalize his efforts here in the community.

Anastasia
Anastasia is my counterpart and co-worker. She is my best friend here in Ghana, half mother, half counter part, half co-conspirator to take the afternoon and go to the farm and then for a mineral. She is one of the strongest women I have ever met. She works for TUWODEP as the project assistant and also has a farm, brews pito and rears goats, pigs and fowls. She gave birth to four children but sadly only one lived. Her son, Josiah has just completed high school at age 18 (which for Ghana is young to be completing high school, especially in the Northern part of the country). He is waiting for his results to find out where he can apply for university. Her husband, Thomas is a carpenter and has his own business. They are strongly involved in the Catholic Church and Anastasia is involved in a variety of committees here in the community. She is thoughtful, caring and a genuinely nice person. She is incredibly hard working, going from 5:30 in the morning until 9:00 p.m. every night with her various commitments. She is also a great teacher, seeing as she has helped me get over a number of big hurdles I have faced since arriving in Tuna, including doing my laundry, keeping my room free of dirt and bugs and where to buy the things I need. She also helps support a number of her brothers and sister who live in surrounding communities. I met one of her brothers in the market one day and he proposed to marry me. After telling him flat out no because I have someone wonderful in Canada, I asked him how he thought he could ever afford to think of marrying me, because I would require 25 cows, 100 goats and tiger (which is interesting since they do not live here…) and he said from his sister’s support. Well at least I said no… But she is a pillar of strength in her family and the community. She is always greeting people with a caring smile and nice words. She sees unity and communication as keys to improving development work in Tuna. For the future, she hopes the further her education here in Ghana and also learn stronger computer skills.

Christina
Christina is my housemother. She is 30 years old and has two children, my little house sisters, Augustina who is 5, and Joyce who is 10. She has been married to Richard, my housefather for a number of years, but Joyce was born before she was married. She works to support her family through brewing pito (which she does very well, I have to say!), making cakes to sell and farming. Richard used to have a job driving trucks around West Africa, but stopped because he wanted to be with his family. He recently got work in the Upper West Region with the company that installs electricity in communities, but he has come home to help with the farming season, so currently Christina is supporting the family. She brews pito and sells it Sundays, Mondays at the local market and Thursdays. For me this has been a great way to meet people because they are always around our compound those days to have a drink and chat. Christina can speak a little bit of English and she has been my teacher over the past few months with help from my house sisters to teach me the local language. She often tells me about her struggles; from the money she has to come up with for school fees, medicine when the children or her or Richard are sick (which has been more and more now that the rainy season has begun), feeding the family (which includes her, Richard, his brother Titus, the girls, Rena who is Richard’s niece and myself) and having the start-up for the materials for pito. She also tells me how she misses her remaining family in Jirapa and how sometimes she wishes that she lived closer to them. However, this woman who has become my Ghanaian mother and taken such good care of me will never turn someone away from our compound for a meal or give someone small money if they are in need, even though she is struggling to get at times herself. She is giving, sharing and caring and I consider myself very lucky to be living with her and learning from her. She has taught me how to cook, put up with my struggles to wash my clothes and constantly comes to defend me from the variety of insects that seem to find my room some kind of sanctuary. I asked her what she would say to my family at home and she answered that she would send her greetings and God’s blessing for happiness. What a woman!

Rebecca
This woman represents for me many that I have met over the summer. She is a widow with two small children, who recently lost her husband. She has found strong support within the other women in her group in the village of Bombalanyuro. They have helped her financially, and emotionally to manage to get back on her feet after her husband’s death. She is now the sole breadwinner for her family, which includes farming, caring for her home, washing and feeding the family, caring for their livestock and participating in other income generating activities. She told me through my boss, that without the group’s support, she does not think she would be able to survive. She thinks that poverty would overcome her and she is thankful to God o be able to depend on the other women. To me, this is Dorothy. One of the many I have met, her story tugs at my heart. She inspires me to learn more, and work harder in development, to do my part, however small it may be to try and make a difference in her life.

2008-07-26T08:41:00.010-02:30

My mom wanted to see how I spent a typical day here in Ghana, so so I decided to show you part of my week with a photo blog! I hope that you enjoy it!
This is a wild turkey, and they are fierce animals. Pretty entertaining to watch though.

Pounding shea before it goes to be fried and then pounded again.

Babies come to our meetings too. Sometimes children look at me and smile, other times they cry. It is pretty funny, especially when they start running away, but I just smile and try to put on my friendliest face. Sometimes it works, others it doesn't!

TUWODEP t-shirts that they gave to the women a few years ago.

At one of the activity meetings in Gando, one of the villages I am working with.

Pepe - looks really nice, but is not so good on the digestive system is large quantities.

Pito, the local beer

This is how we cook our food at my house!

this feathered friend is my wake-up call. At any time from about 4:00 am until 8:00 pm

I was trying to see the pigs, but they did not like me coming into their pen.

With my fowl Bertha, and the motobike I ride to the village and my friend Elizabeth.

Meeting with the District Director of MoFA

A map of where the villages I work in

A Ghanaian traffic jam!

practicing my Dagaare with the activity

Checking out the results of a time analysis on shea nuts

Doing an activity with one of my women groups

shea nuts (right) and shea butter (left)

the Tuna Market - every Monday rain or shine...although a lot less people when it rains!

these are some of the women I work with selling their goods at the market!

fish for sale!!

Checking tomatoes...we got a deal!

My little friend at the market

Good Shepard Church, where I go to mass and sing in the choir.

Helping with shea nut cracking

Our house dog. She loves me! She always wants me to pet her! Not usual for most dogs here.

My house sisters dancing to Celine Dion on the radio!

Fresh maize! Tasty!

This is how water is carried to homes. So impressive.

After church, hanging out with my house sisters

Helping prepare supper

My house mother preparing supper

These are some of my friends from the church choir I have joined!

My house sister- she is beautiful! This is when we celebrated Canada Day!

This is a girl from one of the villages. The scars of from trying to take away pain.

This is how I bathe. Bucket baths are awesome!

This barrel is where the bathing water comes from. The stalls in the background is where we shower.

This is my house sister, Rena bringing water to the compound. I try, but it spills EVERYWHERE!

Second Hand Clothing

2008-07-26T08:36:00.002-02:30

The Second Hand Clothing Market:

You may often wonder where the thousands of pounds of clothing that people donate to clothing drives, flea markets, Value Village and other various places go if it is not sold on the racks of any number of second hand clothing shops. Or you may be like me into a few short months ago, and not even think about it at all. Right before I arrived in Ghana, George Roter (for those who don't know one of the co-founders and CEOs of EWB) spoke about this at one of our pre-dep sessions. He told us how Africa, not unlike other developing countries has become a dumping ground for used clothing. It has become a way for people to make their livelihoods. From the charities that collect the clothes in Canada, the U.S. and countries in Europe, they sell it in bulk to intermediary companies that ship it overseas and sell it by weight to vendors who will travel from bigger cities - here in Ghana, Kumasi and Accra are examples - to smaller places to markets where they sell their goods. Some industrious vendors will hoof around towns and villages peddling their wares. It is generally men who sells used clothing here. From t-shirts, pants, sock and bed-sheets, you can find whatever you need or desire. Sure it isn't haute couture, but it is durable and inexpensive. YOu see people wearing shirts with various slogans, companies names or sayings like "Playboy" or "Miss Naughty" or "Oakville Marathon 2003", without having any idea what they are wearing around. I have heard stories of people coming to Africa and seeing sweaters and t-shirts from their graduating class of college and speaking to the person and finding out that the shirt is actually theirs! (This may be an urban myth, but still...)

But I digress (what else is new!) from the point of this post. So when someone buys a bag of clothing, from 20-100 Ghana cedis, they create their means to feed, clothe and send their family to school. I was explaining to a men selling shorts for 1 Ghana cedis a pair (which is about a dollar) around one Sunday afternoon how people throw away these clothes in Canada and he was ready to get into business with me. He explained if I was to ship 3 or 4 big bowes of clothing over, it would provide him enough money to buy land and build a house. WOW did I feel guilty for giving about 8 bags of clothes over the year to charity or even worse, the dumpster.

SO what? Ask yourself how you feel about this. Does this change how you will donate old clothes? WIll you give more because you know that it is going to create a means to income for someone? Or will you stop donating because this is deceitful of charities to dump clothes on developing countries for money? Why aren't they advertising the fact that they are doing this? Or will you keep doing things the way you are now? I hope this has given you some brain-food!

A little not to accompany this post. Ghana has a very strong clothe industry. From Kente cloth in the South, to hand woven cloth here in the north and various types of tie-n-dye, batik and wax prints, people can have clothes tailor made! In Zambia, where my coach Josephine was in a placement before she came to Ghana, she told me how this also used to be the case, but since the second hand clothing market has come and grown like a big hairy monster, people no long support the local clothe industry like they used to. I sincerely hope that this does not happen here in Ghana. The excitement and character that fabric gives here in Ghana is definitely something I treasure and will miss dearly (I mean come on, tailor made clothes? It is wonderful!)
Until Next time!

At the market, where many clothing stalls are

Chopping a Pig!

2008-07-26T08:22:00.003-02:30

Chopping a pig -a conversation about meat, marriage ad mentality here in Ghana.

My housemother's father recently passed away and many preparations are taking place around my compound for the funeral. She is responsible for preparing all the food to feed everyone who will be attending the funeral. From the amount of rice, pito and pig meat that is presently being chopped up, I think they are expecting a crowd. (As a side note I really wanted to attend the funeral, but due to health problems was unable to travel....also missed a wedding because of the same reasons.....gosh darn mosquitoes cramping my style) So the pig's life ended before I arrived home from work (thankfully) but I came home to the chopping and butchering. From my almost vegetarian perspective, I thought I would find this repulsive, but that was not the case. I actually found myself quite interested in which parts were the best, how they were cut up, and so on. I sat with my house brother Titus (who is 27 years old and a carpenter, graduating secondary school 2 years ago) and two other young men from around the area and chatted while they chopped the pig. Right off the bat, when Sei, Bayour and Titus found out that I was 22, not yet married or with any children, they were surprised! I asked why they were not yet married and my favorite answer was that they were waiting to find a white lady. I wished them luck. The second big shock in the conversation came when I explained that I did not cook, clean and do all the household chores for my boyfriend in Canada. I explained that we shared the duties and responsibilities, just like my parents did in my household growing up. They explained that a woman here is expected to cook, and clean and care for the children, while also providing livelihoods, such as farming and brewing pito. I asked them why? And the response was that this is the ways things are. They work fine, and why change? I asked why they do not help with these tasks and they said their neighbors would laugh. I understand tradition but what I do not understand is this reason for accepting that because that is the way things have been that they should continue this way. I know I am not going to change a whole patriarchal culture in my time left, but I think by asking why, this will maybe get people thinking about their traditional roles.

I also explained to them my reasons for not eating meat (which include that fact that it doesn't come skinless, boneless or fatless here, or also that it runs around the courtyard mere hours before it is in soup... and also how my digestive system is having a mind of its own. I have never been able to talk more openly about it!) and they wondered how I got enough protein in my diet (which I am sure I am not at the moment). I told them about how my diet is very different and tried to explain tofu...which was entertaining to say the least. Another topic about food we discussed was how we take our meals here and how it is so different in Canada. Here a large bowl of food will be shared with many people (although men eat separate from women and children...although things get muddled when a white person is put into the mix). They all eat with their hands and you do not talk, because if you aren't eating, no-one is saving your food for you. They asked why we all have separate plates and spend meals talking and socializing. I thought this was an interesting take on meals. We use them in Western culture often as social events, for business and pleasure. Here, meal time seems to be more time to fuel your body and that's it (I think that explains why I have had such a hard time trying to have a friendly chat with my housemother when we are taking our supper).

So overall, I think my interest in these fellows and their culture and their interest in me and my culture sparked a good discussion. I really enjoyed this impromptu opportunity to discuss cultural differences. Although watching Wilbur going into pieces wasn't a beautiful memory, it was an interesting one. Hughie, sign me up for cow duty at Thanksgiving!

Until next time:)

Atale of two sicknesses

2008-07-15T10:07:00.002-02:30

Hello out there!

I apologize for the lack of blog entries lately. I have been minimizing my internet time. I do have some juicy blogs handwritten, aching to be typed but they will have to wait for now. Since I last wrote of my foodpoisoning in Damongo, I have been striken with a much more long lived and serious illness. I have just been discharged from the Wa Regional Hospital where I spent the last three nights with Malaria and gatroentronitis *which stands for irritated intestines I amtold* I amdoing much better now, but having Malaria, which started last weekend, getting treatment, and relapsing this weekend has been a tough battle. I have had very good care and support from myhost family,co-workers and coach here. Also frommy support systems at home.It hasbeen an eye-openi9ng experience to spend some time in a hospital here, although I felt like a white princess, in my VIP room, that was sealed from mosquitoes *almost...* and tv and airconditioning.I was constantly feeling this gut wrenching guilt of the fact that my insurance could buy me this comfort, while there was so much suffering around me and torn about thinking about between the fact that if I was at home, I would not feel scared about the level of health care and cleanliness of the facilities and equipment. I had great nurses and an entertaining CUban doctor. The hospital wasclean and all the equipment was sterile.I survived and although weak and tired and stocked up on a variety of drugs to wipe my system of malaria and any other ameobas andparasites that might be hanging around, I am on my wayhome to Tuna. I have learnedabout confronting raw fear and helplessness and feeling at my lowest, physically and mentally. Still, Dorothy is living this all the time. She will travel for miles on foot, and public transport and wait in incredibly long lines and then in even more lines to recieve treatment. Itmakesme wantto work in health care more than ever...maybe I am starting to figure out this big "what will I do when I graduat" question. But for now, I am going to search for a bread and egg sandwich and thank God for my health. It is something that I and many of us take for granted too often until it is threatened. SoI will leave you with these thoughts. Until next time....

As a side note, EWB has been incredibly supportive of me during this, working hard to make sure I have the support and safety I need. Special thanks to Josephine mycoach and yogi ofsorts through this summer and Cat, the go-to and can cry my eyes out and ask question after question and she will still have eternal wisedom of what I can do or how I can figure things out for myself - wonder.

Elephants!

2008-07-04T11:33:00.004-02:30

So I had my JF Midsummer retreat this weekend in Damongo, a town about 2 hours east of Tuna. We had some really great meetings (although I spent the first 36 hours in bed with food poisoning), I was able to recover to go to Mole National Park, which is the largest national park in Ghana, with thousands of plants, trees, animals and insects! I decided to do a photo blog for this and you can see some of what I have seen! Enjoy! Until next time:)

love!
so I am holding it upside down... I just wanted to look like the guard...althought never use the gun.
Elephant footprints!

Looking from the veiw point!
Team Ghana JFs 2008
I thought it was dead, and this was funny...turns out it was alive
Oh yeah...it is NOT photo shopped!
WOOOHOOO!

My first hands-on farming experience

2008-06-26T11:17:00.003-02:30

The vegetable seeds we were planting
me wielding my cutlass at the farm
The pepe plant - makes food verrry spicey

Walking to the farm!

Rice crops

Maize crops
Groundnuts
A property marker!

Farming is the primary livelihood for the vast majority of the population in Ghana. Here in Tuna and in the surrounding communities, crops range from rice, maize, millet, beans, cassava, yams, groundnuts (peanuts to us!), sorghum, hot peppers, okra, and a variety of leafy greens that fall under the umbrella term of vegetables. I went farming with my coworker Anastasia this week. What hard work! We walked over 3 km (which really isn’t that far compared to some) to get to where she plants her crops. We spent the first while sowing seeds for vegetables, using hoes and cutlasses. She told me I caught on to the technique quickly, which was encouraging! We planted a number of rows, and I saw a variety of bugs that were new to me, some scary, some really crazy looking. My camera was not around for these sadly. It is hard to wield a cutlass, seeds and a camera. We then collected Shea Nuts and firewood, which we brought back on our heads. What a sight I was for the school children we passed. I guess a white lady carrying something on her head is very exciting around here. It was tough for my concentration having about 100 kids yelling at me! I made it back ok though! It was a long day, ending with a sweaty, dirty, thirsty me! But I had a really cool hands-n experience on how hard farmers work. And to make things even better, I have been recruited to help with the harvest of the beans in a few weeks time. I have skills I tell you! Until Next Time!

A lesson in coming clean

2008-06-26T11:10:00.002-02:30

Climbing the steep learning curve of hand-washing my clothes!
Since the first week I arrived in Tuna, I have tried to take washing my clothes on all by myself. The result has been highly entertaining for my house family and co-worker Anastasia. I was a disaster. My clothes seemed dirtier after then when I started. It was not long before expert hands took over and the result was that my clothes had never been cleaner. Washing clothes is hard work! It takes at least 3 cycles of wash-wash-rinse (or more if your clothes are really dirty) and it is all done standing over large basins of water (which by the way is best to do after it rains because water is plenty!) Being the beginner I am, I started by sitting on a stool and only being allowed to do the wringing out and hanging of my clothes. I have since graduated to being able to do the second wash cycle and the rinse cycle. It has only taken 6 weeks! I am also standing and bending, as you can see in the photos. Maybe by the time I am ready to leave, I will be able to do the whole process! I really enjoy the time I spend with my family and my coworker Anastasia when we wash my clothes. We always have a good laugh and they love how red and prune like my hands get after we are done. This method gets my clothe cleaner than ever before. If I have a clothesline when I return to Newfoundland in the fall, I will definitely be practicing it before it gets too cold out! My stain removing abilities are going to be 10 times better. Red wine spills, watch out! Until Next Time!

P.S. for those who know my clothing buying love, please take a look at the clothesline and see half of my wardrobe for 4 months. It is a pretty different experience for me, but I am not minding it at all!

Ghana and the Environment

2008-06-26T10:37:00.002-02:30

Something that I have really been struck by since arriving in Ghana is that it is totally acceptable to throw garbage anywhere Out the lorry window, in the open sewer, on the street corner or even on your front step. Due to the overwhelming (at least to me at first) amount of animals that roam about, throwing out food waste does not have a huge effect because it is eaten right away by any number of animals, from birds, cats, dogs, goats, sheep, pigs and even donkeys and cows. Unfortunately, everything else just piles up. Aside from just throwing ones garbage anywhere, another commonly used method is to collect up your garbage and burn it. This is a more popular choice with volunteers, because often if you throw your garbage with your families, if they do not burn it, you are running a high risk of children picking through what you see as waste. To them, since you are different and exciting, anything you have touched is exotic, and even what you see as waste, they could see as treasure. This can be embarrassing and sometimes dangerous, so it is really important to be mindful of what you are throwing out. Things such as used razor blades and batteries are better to save and wait until you head to a bigger city. For me, this will not be until the end of August. In Tuna, most people just toss their garbage. I choose to get rid of mine in the middle of the night so that the children around me do not see. It is at times frustrating to do this, but has become a routine. This is one of the many challenges that each overseas volunteer has to find their own best practice for. Now, I do not want you to think that Ghanaians are lazy or dirty. They are in fact a very clean people, who bathe 2 or 3 times a day. If I choose to only bathe once, I am laughed at by my family. They just do not have many options to waste removal. There is no-one coming around picking up tidy bags of waste at ones door step. The government is trying to improve this. They have hired a private company called ZoomLion that travels around towns and cities with trucks and bicycles (As you can see in the photos) picking up waste. A number of questions I have about this but have not yet found answers to are:
- What do they do with the waste they collect? Apparently it is sent to the bush and left there.
- How are they training people to prevent waste from piling up? There does not seem to be a formal program happening to do this
- What kind of effort does the government have planned for more rural villages that are not located on main roads? The waste they may be less because more natural resources are used, but it is still piling up somewhere or burning into the air.
I think that the government is on the right track, but I think that they need to ask themselves how the methods they are taking can be more sustainable. An exciting event that took place here in Tuna a week ago was Arbor Week. The local Catholic Church has a series of events including presentations, community clean-ups and tree planting sessions to emphasize caring for Mother Earth. I think this is awesome! It was especially targeted at the school children of the area, which is vital to Tuna and Ghana in the future. An interesting point that the priest gave when he was telling the parish about these events during mass and what a success they were was one that really got me thinking. He talked about all the people who cut down trees for firewood and to make charcoal to sell. This is their livelihood. How can we tell them to not cut down trees and take care of the earth when that is how they feed and take care of their families? For me, poverty and its effects on the environment was something I didn’t spend much time thinking about. Now it has gotten my brain asking different questions and gives me an area to learn more about regarding development! Exciting isn’t it? I hope that those of you in the MUN chapter will think about this and share what you know and try to find out more. I am looking forward to having a discussion about it when I come back.

Until Next Time….

It's raining, it's pouring!

2008-06-20T10:25:00.001-02:30

Nothing like a tropical storm!
I have me feeling really down lately, on account of a little parasite or bug that took over my system for the past week or so, and recovery has been long. My blog-writing juices had come to a halt, while my body was working on overdrive to get rid of a bug I picked up. But now, since the wind has picked up, the skies have darkened and thundered has sounded loudly in the distance, I can feel the energy in the air and my mood has changed. I just spent the last little while running around the courtyard with my family putting things in a place where they will not get wet, a race against time to see if we can get it all done before the skies open upon us. This flurry of activity and energy is unlike any other. As soon as the dark clouds fill the horizon, the lazy humidity is filled with activity. Life in my household and like countless others in Ghana revolves around the courtyard. Almost everything takes place here, from washing, cooking, brewing pito, spending time with the family, hanging out with others in the community, drying Shea nuts, and even sleeping only really hot nights! We answer the call of thunder by tucking everything away and getting any thing that can hold water clean to collect the rain. Rain makes the women’s’ and children’s’ day shorter buy colleting water for all the household activities for them. This is one of its many gifts for Ghanaian people. Rain is life for farmers- as long as there is not too much. It creates life, and provides for the crops almost every family I know depends on. It scares me how much faith people here have in the weather. I have no idea when it will ever rain until it is on top of me. My Ghanaian friends can tell me when I wake up in the morning! Rain seems to make time and work stop. If only for a few minutes or for a few hours (or days I am told!) People spend so much of their time outdoors that these interludes provide a quiet moment. Activity still continues indoors, but the time seems to go at a slower pace. When the rain is over, it is like a new dawn. Everything seems greener and waking up at a slow pace, until the buzz of activity takes over again. I have to say, I love the rain. It brings a calm to everything, and also makes my friends and family here so happy! My only complaint is the bugs! They love to attack after the rain. Ghanaians on the other hand, only have one complaint about the rain. That it is getting cold! I kid you not. I have seen winter coats, hooded sweat shirts and long pants constantly since the rain has come. This is cold to them, time where people catch pneumonia. I have shown friends photos of snow and ice and they just laugh at me when I tell them I find the temperature just right now (at about 20 degrees or so!) I am falling in love with tropical rains. They are certainly a far cry from the Newfoundland gusts and gales.

Until Next Time☺

Electricity! or not...

2008-06-20T10:22:00.002-02:30

Lights, camera, no power! - A tale of Tuna and its power woes.
Power poles have been in Tuna since 1996. At that time the hook for Phase 1 power was a connection away. Many people, however, wanted to wait for the connection for Phase 3 power so they could operate bigger machines (industrial types) The power was not at that time connected. Instead, Sawla a town down the road and the new district capital got power. 12 years later, the government has promised it is coming. The latest has been before the election in December. Some are still optimistic but most just laugh or scorn bitterly when the topic is mentioned. They see this as a empty promise or an attempt to get votes. Some places in Tuna have generators to have lights for a few hours at night, but for the most part, aside from the occasional torch or kerosene lantern, the town of Tuna is dark. My office has a generator my boss will turn on one or two nights a week for an hour or two, but only at night so he can have lights and TV as well.
Adjusting to living without power has hit home with me how convenient a lifestyle many have in Canada. Having the internet at the tip of our fingers, not worrying about power outages, or no power to charge our phones, run our tv or our refrigerator is an incredible luxury. When Ghanaians were asking me about having a computer and internet in my home, I felt almost embarrassed to explain that I did indeed have this in my home. Between this stark inequality and getting used to office work without a computer and google at my finger tips, I was certainly questioning my efficiency. Since I have gotten more used to this, and thought of how I can be useful and efficient, I have learned more about myself, and how I work and can be resourceful and creative. I admire how successful my NGO has been for over 14 years without power or internet. I am thankful for this experience and what it is teaching me. Sometimes, I still get frustrated, but I am definitely learning how to channel that and also learning what an outlet writing in a journal or writing a blog entry an do for you!

Until next time!

On a side not, places that have power will often have outages, scheduled or not. So even if power is hooked up, it is not a sure bet. This is also something I have experienced when trying to get to the internet!

My Placement

2008-06-20T09:54:00.003-02:30

TUWODEP
The Tuna Women Development Network, my placement is a small grassroots NGO with 2 staff, a board of directors and a small number of volunteers, They work with a network of 14 Women Groups around Tuna, totaling over 230 members. The groups we work with, while having various crops such as groundnuts and maize, also partake in Income Generating Activities (IGAs). These include Shea Nut collection and processing and piggery projects. The women are able to make extra money for their families through these activities, so they can do things such as send their children to school. The women are also involved in advocacy work, working with committees in their villages, and learning to lobby the local government members for their needs.
My work this summer at TUWODEP is to study the groups and see what makes them successful. I will also look at the Shea Nut value chain, form the women who pick it, to the companies that use it across Europe and North and South America. Finally I will be observing storage units, and comparing what materials are more effective. I am also hoping to help the staff at TUWODEP to create short and long term goals, to make a future plan for the work they want to do. THey are also interested in creating a stronger connection and feedback system between the beneficiaries and donors they work with so I am hoping to also aid them in this. I am really excited about my work!
I have gotten to take a number of trips to the field so far, which have been a lot of fun! Although my Dagaare is still a big work in progress, and the women cannot speak English, they are extremely welcoming, kind and open to answering questions. They are also excited to ask me question about my family, country and the work I am going to be doing with them.
In the photos below, you can see part of the Shea Nut gathering and processing. Gathering Shea nuts involves going to the bush very early in the morning, between 4 and 5 a.m. and gathering nuts from the ground and shaking the trees to send more to the ground. It is very hard, long work, and I am quite a rookie!
I am really lucky to be working with such strong women. I am sure I am going to learn many lessons from them!
Until next time!

Bathrooommmms:)

2008-06-20T09:45:00.002-02:30

The bog, toilet, latrine, urinal, or free range(a.k.a in the bush!)
My bathroom escapades from Accra to a remote village outside of Lassia!
My first bathroom in Ghana was a flush toilet in Accra, in the hotel we stayed in (I use the term hotel lightly! It is not what you would think compared to Canada). From there it went to urinals- for women - something that requires a lot of skill and even more practice! Then we had toilets that theoretically flushed, but when the running water is not working when the power has been out for 4 days, the flushing stops. These introduced a new concept. Paying to use a public toilet, between 5 and 20 Ghana peswas (5-20 cents) for use and piece of paper or toilet paper for the trip. Finally the last stop from Accra to Wa involved my first pit latrine. Once you get the squat motion down, for these you are golden! At first I was wary of the public bathroom, but after finding myself having eaten some soup with too much pepe (hot pepper) in it, I soon became very familar with public bathrooms and how to ask people where to find one! Bathroom woes and successes are common talk among overseas volunteers here in Ghana. It is a topic we can all relate and agree on, and especially share one of those deep belly laughs! In my home in Tuna, we have a pit latrine, which is a concrete and metal hut outside of our compound, complete with a padlock so only our family members will be able to use it. I am starting to get get very comfortable with my latrine. Even at night when I share it with large cockroaches!
This past week on the bike ride, the school we were based at did not have a latrine. The information sheet we ere given stated that the bathroom would be "free range". I asked the PCV Michael what that meant, and he pointed to the bush and said "Find a tree and do your business." Slightly intimidating yet at the same time, free range certainly has its benefits. When you have to go, you can, anywhere!So as my bathroom adventures continue, some words of wisdom are: Always carry your own roll of t-roll (toilet paper!) It will most definitely come in handy!

HIV/AIDS Bike Ride in Wa West District

2008-06-07T09:25:00.002-02:30

PeaceCorps Volunteer HIV/AIDS Bike Ride
So I will start this blog off with a slightly humiliating note...well maybe quite humiliating, but you can decide for yourself! I had built up a somewhat false sense of confidence on my biking ability. I thought, I used to ride a bike, and do spin classes once in a while at the gym, this is going to be fine. 90 km bike over a week? No problem! Well, I was way off the mark. THese skills of mine, they did not transfer to a mountain bike and the terrain of Africa. After some adjustments to the bike and smalll attempts, and a near disatourous crash very near into an open sewar (with an audience of at least 50 villagers watching and luaghing at the nasala (white person)), It was decided that I would be riding a motorbike for the bike ride. It wasn't hurt very much from my fall, don't worry. My ego may have been slightly bruised, but that is something I can easily weather!
During the week my team of 12 Ghanaians, myself and a PCV, Mike travelled to 10 different villages in the Upper WEst Region of Ghana in the Wa West district. We facilitated presentations that focused on HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention, There was singing, dancing, games, questions (and comments from some villagers who disagreed with some of what were delivering!) and many people's favourite activity, the condom demonstrations. We had a very good turn out to our programs, reaching over 2000 people. The program overall with all the teams had numbers of over 13.000. This is all fine, but for me, I think that the measurement of what message and information people took away is more important than physical number (also, much much harder to measure...) Many of those who came to our presentations were youth, who are Ghana's future, so this made our group very happy! GHana has a comparatively low rate of HIV/AIDS compared to other countries, but this does not mean that the fight has stopped. In the Upper West where this bike ride was taking place, they are trying harder than ever to get the mesaages about awareness and prevention across. It was exciting to be a part of this!
The village my group was based in was called Lassia Tuolu. It seemed much smaller than Tuna, but I think this is because of how spread out it is. WE slept at the primary school, outside on the front steps. At first I thought this was really cool, sleeping under the stars. My ex itement soon faded when I discovered that spiders also inhabited this area. My fear of these little fellows along with some stomach problems resulted in me spending a few of the nights with a local health care worker I became friends with. My first Ghanaian girl friend, she is a nurse, with plans to study nutrition. We had some great discussions about our cultures, religions(she is Muslim) and even boys! (Great things only Stephen:)) It was nice to have some girl talk!I made friends with the other members of my team as well, through hilarious attempts at card games, building cards houses, learning how to do laundry (what I think will be never-ending for me!) and lots of laughs, which I think were often at my expense. All in all it was a great week! Until Next time!!!!

Food glorious food!

2008-05-22T06:46:00.001-02:30

FOOD!

This is a shorter entry on food! I am learning to eat with my hands - properly mind you. There is quite the technique to it. Also, not using my left hand (which is only used to wipe your a$$) is also something I am trying to do! The food here is predominately carbs. From maize, millet and cassava, to yams, rice and pasta, almost every meal, if not every single one has a carbs components. Fou-fou, banku, and T-Z are some of the staple things that are served. These are pounded down to doughy balls, some more fermented than others. They are served with a number of different types of soup, most of which in my case are meat free. I have been eating fish, since my family always cooks with it, but no-meat which is fine by me. A little note about why I am not eating meat. The first dish I had in Tamale has hair and fat and bones in it. Locally, this is fine, it is how it is done in many places. Why waste any of the animal. True, except when you are used to skinless, boneless meat, from a nice little package, this comes as a huge shock to one's system. So for now, no meat for me. In the picture below, you can see some traditional food. I would like to point out in the picture in the far bowl, there is chicken. If you loook close enough, you can see that the feet are still there. Funny enough, later that afternoon, I visited another village and was given a chicken. Alive, and squwacking. I gave it to my boss! I am slowly trying new things, and have found that no-matter where you go, there is always some form of peanut butter! Thank goodness. It may not be Kraft, but I would imagine that ground nut paste is much better in the long run.

Time to go to sleep. Until next time!

Tuna, my new home! (Funnily enough, completely land locked. I have not figured out why it is named that yet!)

2008-05-22T06:44:00.002-02:30

I have arrived in Tuna, and have spent 6 days here. I tried not to imagine what it would be like in my head so that I would not set any expectations for myself. This was very challenging to do, especially since I heard two very different ideas of what Tuna was like. When I arrived, I thought it felt slightly more like a town than a village. Compared to Wa, which is a very big town, it would seem to be more village like, without power and running water. When I went to my first village with my placement, I definitely changed my mind. There is certainly more village-like places than Tuna! I am really excited I have the opportunity to work in these villages, and meet women who have started groups to work together to better their lives through income generating activities outside of what they farm.
SO I am jumping ahead of myself, alluding to my placement when I should tell you about my family and Tuna. I have been set up with a really great family. They are very kind, and friendly. They have 2 small children, Joyce and Augusta who are 10 and 5 years old. Then there are 3 older siblings to the parents, Rena, Fracesca and Titus, who are all in school or working. FInally, there are my host parents, Richard and Christina.It is a full house. There are always visitors, since Christina brews pito, which is a local beer, and many people stop-by to take pito, and chat. We live in a compound, that is very clean and well kept. We are not very far from the boar-hole either, which is nice! We have a shower closet and a pit latrine just outside of the compound (something I am getting used to - as I go to battle the cock-roaches every night!) One of the biggest challenges with my family so far os that they speak very little english, so communicating is very entertaining. I am learning the local language, which is Dagarre. I am starting small small ( a very Ghanaian expression) but I am learning!
Since I have been here, I have learned how to bathe with a bucket, wash my own clothes (which evoked at least an hour of laughing at my attempts) and have been able to help make supper and eat with my host mother. THis has been awesome, and has really made me feel like part of the family.
This morning I went to church with my family, and I was introduced to the whole congregation of about 250 people. I felt very nervous, but at the same time, many people have been greeting me and speaking to me. Ghanaians are incredibly friendly people. As a note to anyone who has been to a Roman Catholic mass service in Canada, Ghanaians take the cake for length. There is much singing and dancing, which is very enjoyable. The priest spoke for over an hour for the homily. He took the cake for any homily I have ever heard. I think that next time I go, I will attend the mass in English, so I will be able to follow what is happening:)
I believe that I am still riding the first wave of culture shock, getting used to the pace of life. No-one hurries here. For those who know me well, you would laugh to see how slow I try to walk and how I try to sit and enjoy doing nothing. It is TOUGH! I am also learning to live without power, which I thought would not be a big deal, but it has certainly been a big change.

I think this entry is getting long, so until next time!

The beginning!

2008-05-22T06:35:00.001-02:30

So I have been in Ghana for about 4 days now. I don't really know where to begin, so I guess I will start at the beginning of my journey from when I left Halifax. I started off to Toronto, spending a week in Pre-departure training, which was a brain workout and a half! I lived with 24 other JF's going to Ghana and Malawi and interns (I think!). By sweet I mean crowded and by crowded I mean awesome for bonding and getting used to different levels of personal space. We set out on our travels to Ghana on Wednesday, April 30th, from plane to plane to bus. From T.O. to Amsterdam, to Accra to Tamale, 3 days the Ghanaian JF's went through 3 different time zones. When we finally got to Tamale, the 10 a.m. sleep in we had the next morning was very welcomed and much MUCH needed. So enough about that.

Ghana! Wow, it finally feels real. The minute I stepped off the plane into the blazing heat and humidity, the sweet and smoky smell, I finally felt like my journey had truly begun. My first night with my mosquito net did not work out so great. Turns out I am allergic to the treatment on it, so after two nights and painful days of my skin feeling as if it was burning off, I traded in for an older net. I am still getting used to the idea of my little cocoon, keeping the little guys away. We had two days of in-country training in Tamale. One of our first big tasks was to go into the market on a scavenger hunt. At first, I was very intimidated with the masses of people everywhere, but as we forged into the market and onward with the afternoon, it was a really fun time. There were people selling things everywhere. From clothes, fabric, apices, produce, to meat right from the goat. It was a patchwork of color and people and smells and language.

I am excited, nervous, anxious and yet feeling incredibly free, of time restraints, of constant cell phone communication, of email, and of the rush of Canadian life. I am curious how long it will take me to adjust to the slower pace of life. I think it will be a challenge, but also a very big opportunity to grow and learn about myself. I am heading to Wa on Monday to meet my coach, Josephine who is working with MoFa (Ministry of Food and Agriculture). I will head to Tuna the next day, which I am sure will be a big adventure. This is where our group of JFs depart from one another and begin our individual journeries, which together will set the footwork for EWB's long term plans. It is very exciting and at the same time intimidating to think of how we fit into the bigger picture. I hope people from the chapter are reading this, and I would love if you would post some questions. I will not be able to answer them right away but it would be very cool.

Until next time....

Getting a blog set up

2008-04-05T10:45:00.002-02:30

So I should be studying for exams, but I guess this is a good break:) I think I may have the most basic blog out there for the moment so any suggestions of help would be very cool. Anyhow, as exam time comes, my time will be full of books. I cannot wait for it to be over! Soon time for Pre-departure training and then GHANA!

All my other JF's, hope things are going great. Foundation Learning has really helped me with preparing. I hope you are all feeling ok for exams and not too too busy!

Cheers,

Steph