Travels with my Friends

Both of my visitors this August are now safely home in England and I am so grateful to them both for coming all this way to share great experiences of Ghana and help restore my health. I only wish I could say I was "home" in Nadowli. New instructions from VSO say we must not travel on buses overnight. Unfortunately, due to timings and distance we now have to have at least one overnight stop between Accra and Nadowli. Not a disaster, but costly on our allowances and tomorrow is Eid and there are no buses for 2 days! I shall have had a whole week in Accra enjoying variety of food and good company but wanting to get home. It will resolve, eventually, no doubt.

Ali and I were driven around most of southern Ghana in a week by Francis, a very knowledgeable Ghanaian. The range of scenery was amazing from mountains and waterfalls to palm fringed beaches. Our first stop was in Ho,capital of the Volta Region where we printed with wax in the process of making batik on cotton cloth. When I returned there with Jeny last week, a team were dying the lengths of cloth all beautiful colours and laying them on the grass to dry. Some of the pattern symbols are Adinkra and have meaning. (Similar to the symbol at the top of this blog)

Not far along the road we came across groups of villagers weaving Kente cloth. This is done on looms in long narrow strips with bright coloured threads. The strips are of varying lengths and can be cut up to decorate other cloths and clothes or strips can be sewn together to make a wider piece. I was allowed to try this and although complicated with a number of shuttles I did get the hang of it. Needless to say we bought some.

Quite a creative day, really. When villagers are skilled and specialise in crafts like this, all members of the community work on it. Children were filling spools whilst all ages wove the Kente lengths. The cloths were beautiful and they take a long time to complete despite the workers  putting in so many hours a day.

Road to Recovery

The bus ride overnight from Wa to Accra took 11 hours, a little longer than expected due to the driver and his mate needing to rebuild the gear box at midnight in Kumasi. They made a good job of it with two spanners and a torch. Meanwhile, we watched (or tried not to) the most dreadful Ghanaian sitcoms on the TV. I have known children with a camcorder produce more realistic recordings. However, they probably have similar budgets!

I now have medication that is working to restore my stomach etc to good health, thanks to the doctors of Accra's Trust Hospital. The stuff from Nadowli was just not hitting the spot. My appetite is improving and I am overdosing on salads and yogurt, neither of which I have enjoyed since February. It is amazing what you can get in Accra and especially Koala, the International Supermarket........at a price! They had brocolli this morning at £9 a kilo! I enjoyed looking at it for free as I have nowhere to cook it anyway.

Life here couldn't be more different to the quiet rural life of the Upper West. The roads here in the capital are full of tro tros, large corporate jeeps and taxis. The latter have drivers who are sure you need their services all the time and each hoot as they pass any white pedestrian......just in case you had forgotten you needed them. Until you get used to it it drives you crazy and its tempting to yell back,"If I want a ******* taxi I'll hail one, thank you!". However, they can't be criticised for not working hard. It's a dog eat dog world for them with far more on the roads than are necessary and each trying to get as many Cedis out of every passenger as possible. I am learning the art of negotiation and am probably not too good at it yet. Street sellers are out day and night with heavy bowls of fruit on their heads or armfuls of beads, bags and other things you don't need. White skin means you are rich and will pay a fortune for whatever they are selling. As in places all over the world, "No, thank you" is not final!

Actually, "No" is not a word the Ghanaians use at all. Whatever you ask the answer is "Yes". It takes time to learn that "Yes" usually means "No".  Will it be here this morning? Yes. Is there a fork in my Take Away salad box? Yes. Do you have everything on this menu? Yes. When a Ghanaian says "Yes", you need to think "No" and may be pleasantly surprised.........or not! Most of the time they don't understand and "Yes" is the default reply. They don't like to disappoint.

Well, I'm fancying a small pizza for dinner. Cheese, lettuce and yogurt all in the same day. Simple pleasures, so often taken for granted in my past.

Hospital Visit

The Nadowli  House and I welcomed visitors over the weekend. A volunteer from Accra carrying out a project on the improvement of Science teaching in schools and my Dutch friends brought their visitors to see a Ghanaian village. Unfortunately, I was ill most of the time. Some bug that ran away with all of me. (Enough information).
When I phoned the Director to explain my absence from work, she offered her driver to take me to the hospital. It isn't far but a way to walk when you are sapped of everything.

It is as well that photos would have been inappropriate. The first 15 minutes were very efficient and speedy. Blood pressure, temperature and weight recording. (I have lost 12 kilos since Feb....2 a month! I think that will be my limit now) After that I sat waiting to see a doctor for 3 hours.......similar to A&E at home I suppose! The down side was the state of the other patients. This is the only place you can get medical attention and advice up here. Clearly, many had come for malaria medication, adults and children. The children looked lethargic with no sign of anyone running about the waiting area. Most of the adults were elderly. The only space on a bench was beside a younger woman in lots of pain accompanied by numerous members of her family. A filthy, bloodied cloth was wrapped around her foot which held enormous attraction for a cloud of flies. The stench was awful. A second Doctor's opinion was sought once she was taken into the surgery and she appeared to be admitted. I imagine she has lost at least that foot by now. Everywhere at the moment there are villagers of all ages, in flip flops or bare feet, hacking at the ground with sharp bladed tools to turn over the soil on their farms. I expect this is a common injury.

After a further 30 minutes, during which, a small child gave me a handful of popcorn every few minutes and fortunately, then wanted it back. (Imagine feeling the need to eat it, gratefully!) I was dispatched with anti-biotics, painkillers and rehydration salts. They are beginning to take effect, thankfully, so I should be fit and revived to begin my travels on Friday.
I would like to have finished with a cheerful posting before I leave this blog for a month, but that is life in Ghana for you. If I have a few moments near an internet cafe I shall offer a holiday posting or two. Otherwise........watch this space at the beginning of September when I return with traveler's tales from Kumasi. Accra, Volta Region, Cape Coast, Elmina and other exciting destinations. I am planning to exhaust both cameras and find a lot of food, available in the south, that I like rather than "make-do-with". If you are traveling, have good journeys, good health and good fun.

School Books

The school year finishes here tomorrow. I purposely don't say "Break up for the holidays" as the children here don't have holidays. Their 6 weeks will be spent farming and shepherding goats and sheep, finding them grass to eat. The officers at the GES are busy ensuring schools have exercise books ready for next term. These are allocated and need to be delivered, particularly to far flung villages. As I had not visited the most distant schools from here, I cadged a lift with the man from stores.

The plan is that one day I shall do this journey on Michael and deliver some INSET to the staff. I'm not so sure now. The jeep journey took over an hour at speed on the dirt roads. I estimate about 2 and a half slowly for Michael and I........each way!

Nevertheless, it was another fascinating experience. These children are poorer than those around Nadowli and very rarely see white skins. It is still rather unnerving to have a couple of hundred children crowding around just to stare at you. Their English is not good enough for much conversation and they are embarrassed when you talk to them. These were proudly showing me their craftwork and some young girls were very skilled with a crochet hook.

The process of handing over exercise books is lengthy and laborious. Up to P3 teachers have to write the names of all their pupils in a list and sign for the books they are given. From P3 onwards each child has to sign for their own exercise books. I asked one teacher how many pupils she was listing for her class. She responded with 93. This took ages, whilst the labourer counted the books out of the back of the jeep. Finally, the books were carried by children into the school, on their heads, of course.

The bulging file full of signed lists was carried back to the office where, when complete, it will be parceled up and sent to Accra, as evidence that rules were adhered to. I wondered, on the long bumpy, dusty journey home, how many of those lists will be scrutinised at all. This is one example of the excruciating, bureaucratic paper chasing that keeps people busy but wastes so much time & money that could be devoted to improving school provision. I imagine it will be a long time before the trust exists that allows officers to distribute stationery fairly.

Growth and Change

Strange things are happening around here. Outside the front door it is Autmn and Spring at the same time!  The Accai Apple Tree is shedding its leaves. They go slightly yellow before they fall and have formed a carpet on the ground that is turning brown slowly. Odd really when the ground is at its wettest. This is not happening to all deciduous trees at the moment as far as I can tell. The strange thing is that at the same time new leaves are developing on the ends of each branch.

It may not be clear from the photo but it shows both seasons on one tree. The trees shed leaves according to their own needs, apparently. There is no official Autumn and no Winter. The trees never get to rest, they constantly renew. How exhausting for them!
On the other side of the house the maize is doing wonderfully well. It can only be about 6 weeks since this crop was planted. Another friendly goat is tethered outside my bedroom window. Corn cobs are now appearing in the markets. Small, but providing the promise of something different to eat!

It is interesting how  many things are considered differently here. It is a real compliment to be greeted with "Hey,you are looking fat" or "You have increased" or even "You are fat and fresh"! Losing weight is not a good thing however large you may be. Extra weight is understood as stored energy and always a good thing in times of hardship. I haven't been graced with one of these compliments as I have clearly "reduced". However, nobody is wringing their hands with concern either! Size 12 trousers, I am sporting today.....almost unheard of since my teens!!! Yippee. I feel good on it too!

Sunday Lunch at the Pub

Yesterday found Patricia and I in Jirapa for lunch. We met up with some other volunteers at a very nice "Spot". There is a market every Sunday in Jirapa, unlike everywhere else where markets are every 6 days. (Most people operate their lives in 6 day cycles as market day is so important to them) We passed a lot of people miles away on the road carrying produce and hand made cane chairs on their heads and bicycles.

The beer is very nice here. 80p for a half litre bottle. We discovered that this spot was renowned for it's delicious dog stew. Dog is more expensive than other meats and is considered a treat. However, we settled for goat which we enjoyed barbecued to begin with. After a while we were served half a goat skull each in a spicy soup with rice. I'll try most things once but this is not my most successful venture into Ghanaian cuisine. My half was the lower jaw, very little meat and a variety of indigestible tubes! You'll be glad I didn't photograph it.

The journey home was interesting. We left rather later than we had intended and traveled most of the way in the dark. VSO advise us not to travel in the dark......now I know why. I found Michael's lights which are angled straight up into the sky and no help at all. I was amazed how many insects hit my helmet visor constantly along the way. I narrowly missed a dog. There are so many at the moment, I would imagine the going rate for them will tumble! The biggest hazards were the people and unlit bikes all over the road with absolutely no regard for other vehicles using it. Miraculously, we made it home without incident. I shall time my journeys better in future.

My evening craving ............ a large bowl of cornflakes with chilled fresh milk.......fat chance!
It is raining so hard outside the office, and has been for 2 hours that I am wondering whether I shall ever get back to the house. Certainly, I shall be finding an alternative route as my bicycle will not get through the lake in the lane. Wish me luck!

PTA

I revisited a school this morning by request of the headteacher. He was holding a PTA meeting and wanted me to be there. The PTA here are more like Governors. I arrived at the appointed 8.30am to discover that nobody else had arrived, as I rather anticipated. One day I shall arrive somewhere an hour late assuming "Ghana Time" and I shall have missed it all. Unlikely, actually, but you have to set a good example.

I taught some English to a class for a few minutes before the teacher arrived and took over. Eventually, the pupils were ushered out of the classroom and a group of adults moved in. Few looked young enough to have children of Primary School age. A couple of young mums slept through the first 2 hours, heads on desks. It was the elders of the community who had most to contribute. I don't know what they contributed as the whole 3.5hrs was conducted in Dagaare. I managed to sneak a peep at the minutes of the last meeting which were in English and peered over the shoulder of the teacher writing minutes today. There was a lot about attendance and the building of a bridge to allow more pupils to attend in rainy seasons. They are hoping for a borehole so that drinking water does not have to be carried a mile or so to the school in large basins.

The meeting was well attended by 23 people from the community. The head asked me to speak in favour of persuading more parents to send their children to school, especially the girls. Also, to encourage the elders to put pressure on the contractors to finish the building and provide him with an office. I hope my efforts were what he wanted.. I learned during this meeting, that the school had only English and maths text books, no other books at all. As a new school there were no arrangements for it to be furnished or supplied with equipment & books. The school has it's Capitation allowance of very little and this year are buying drums. Drums are a necessity in schools and come before pretty much everything else........including books, apparently. I watched, nervously, out of the shutters as a second storm cloud deposited gallons of water over the school roof. The journey there was along a sandy lane that would now be a stream. How would Michael and I get home? Luckily, the head offered to "pick" me back to Nadowli on my own bike. I readily agreed and the journey was painless.

I just thought I'd include this picture of a moth trapped between 2 pieces of netting at the office. My finger is in for scale!