"Home" Again

So here I am back in Nadowli for the last 5 weeks of my placement here. I return from a wonderful 3 weeks in England enjoying a host of family celebrations including Christmas. Yet again I was staggered by the pace of life and struggled to keep up with my 90 year old father! The two of us managed to make some significant headway in preparing for the re-occupation of my house. I am sure I parted with more money in a few days than the total monthly salary bill for Nadowli  District Education Office. A far cry from finding the equivalent of £133 a month more than sufficient funds here.

The journey back to Upper West Ghana seemed long but was only 3 days in duration and passed painlessly. My Guardian Angel continues to do sterling work on my behalf.

On my way through Accra I managed to put in motion my Police Clearance check. This allows me to bring home to England the proof that I have been a good girl in Ghana! Getting there took 3 tro rides but I was assisted by fellow passengers all the way, eager to deliver me safely to my destination. One even walked me to the main gates and wished me a successful visit. The process at the Police Headquarters was much as I expected. A very small office, packed with people and seemingly chaotic, but with a system in place that worked for them. I was sent out for a photocopy of my Residents Visa which involved picking my way through a car wash area and out of the back gate to a container in the market behind. A dusty photocopier provided me with the required duplicate and I returned to the office for fingerprinting and passport photos that immediately brand me a criminal! It was interesting to note that the people ahead of me in the fingerprinting queue couldn't bend their fingers! The guy behind the desk was almost dislocating their hands to get the required fingers in prominent positions. I shall collect, I hope, the final document on my way out of Ghana next month.

My lunch of chicken and salad was enjoyed in Osu, a main retail area of Accra. There it is common to find other white faces, many being volunteers and NGO workers in Ghana for a limited period and others forging lucrative business links in a fast developing country. I find myself wondering what brings them to Accra and whether they venture further north to experience the real Ghana. I am somewhat disturbed, on occasion, by what feels like unwholesome business transactions between seedy looking white men and a young Ghanaian couple, taking place on an adjoining table. I may be wrong but the expression on a young girl’s face tells me she is scared of the deal her brother is arranging for her. She is the only one not laughing as they all shake hands and leave. Business wears a lot of different faces in a capital city.