Disabled People’s Organisation (DPO) Meetings in the Builsa District

As a continuation of the work the first set of Sandema volunteers have done, we are developing the Local Inclusive Festival Project (LIFE) by working on 3 specific areas as mentioned in Shazia’s earlier blog; Sports, Cultural Activities, and Livelihoods. All 3 of these are focused around the social inclusion of persons with disabilities (PWD) and will be done within the context of the Feok Festival.

This week we focused on Cultural Activities and Livelihoods by meeting with the Disabled People’s Organisation (DPO) of several communities within the Builsa District. Our aim was to interview the DPOs, who represent persons with disability (PWD) within their community, and find out about their livelihoods, difficulties they face at work, cultural groups that they are part of, and would like to be part of in preparation for the Feok festival.

Most DPO meetings started with a traditional song and dance by the DPO members followed by a prayer and this would be repeated at the end of the meeting. We introduced ourselves and Tracy talked about the LIFE project before beginning with interview questions to the group and occasionally individual interviews. Festus was our translator throughout our meetings and interviews with DPOs, as our knowledge of Buli didn’t go beyond greetings!

Overall, a very interesting experience and a stark realisation of the differences between Ghana and the UK:

-          Meetings took place in classrooms or under a tree as most DPOs don’t have a place for regular meetings, except in Sandema which had a Resource Centre specifically for PWD.

-          Not all DPO members could come to the meeting due to various reasons including family duties, lack of transportation, or lack of mobility devices.

-          Following a torrential rain shower on May Day, the meeting had to be cancelled as it would be difficult for PWD to travel to the DPO meeting.

-           The meetings were quite successful but slightly challenging as some DPOs weren’t always too eager to respond to our group questions and preferred individual consultations.

With regards to Cultural Activities, they were all willing and eager to have a singing and dancing group and to teach each other but needed instruments, training, and someone to organise regular rehearsals. With regards to Livelihoods, DPOs whose professions ranged from farming to shea butter production to trading emphasised the lack of resources available to them. The vocational training that some had received with the help of CBR or from the Disability Common Fund could not be developed and used to make and sell goods due to financial constraints.

Following these interviews at Sandema, Kadema, Siniensi, Gbedema and Wiaga it was clear that although very eager to learn, PWDs are faced with a lot of challenges and difficulties most of which are financial.

With our research we hope to create sustainable, yet practical, solutions to address the social inclusion of PWD by creating programs that will be go beyond the Feok festival, and will benefit persons with disabilities all year round.  We will keep you updated on any developments and our ideas!


-Roya

Time flies when you're having fun!

I can’t believe it is March already.  It seems only a few weeks ago the four of us UK volunteers arrived in Sandema, with Festus, eager and excited to start a new project.  And now, 8 weeks later Jenna, Poppy, and Will are on the countdown to departure day.

In the past 8 weeks, the team have visited 13 Chiefs and their entourages of elders, and sub-chiefs; 4 women’s groups, 5 Disabled People’s Organisations, 4 schools, spoken to many people at the District Assembly, attended a local Feok festival, and met a famous (blind) guitarist (well, famous in Builsa!).  That doesn’t include appearances on the radio or any of the things we have done that are non-project related! The month of February disappeared in a blur, interspersed with trips to sit on crocodiles and hang out with Elephants and Baboons in Mole National Park.  We have been sang to, danced for, had our accents laughed at, teased for our names (Jenna means eggs in Buli, and we are forever explaining that Poppy is not a small dog!), and had our hands shook by hundreds of wonderful, and gracious people.

There are only 2 and a half weeks left to work on the project (the last week will be spent debriefing, packing, saying goodbyes, and travelling to Accra).  We have a few tasks remaining, including visiting St John’s Integrated Senior High School, in Navrongo (a school which welcomes children with disabilities alongside their able-bodied colleagues) and Gbeogo School for the Deaf, in Tongo, Bolgatanga.  As this team draws to a close I am starting to think in more detail about the next team’s activities, and so these visits to these schools will help formulate ideas and identify ways in which we can develop Feok-based activities for people with disabilities to participate in.  I want the current team to be involved in kick-starting this process so that there is some form of overlap between teams; it will almost be like handing over the Olympic flame as it journeyed across the UK, and visiting these schools will certainly help.  This team have been instrumental in laying the groundwork for the LIFE project, and will be key figures in the remaining weeks in advocating for improvements to the festival, and more importantly, for the inclusion of people with disabilities.  (The next team will (hopefully) build on this by introducing some disability-friendly, and Feok friendly, activities to the Builsa district.)

Our main remaining task, then, is to bring all of the Chiefs, Assemblymen and women, Disabled People’s Organisations, schools, women’s groups, key opinion leaders, and inspirational people with disabilities together and report our findings.  This is both incredibly exciting but also quite terrifying.  On the whole there has been a great deal of positivity directed towards the inclusion of people with disabilities from everyone we have spoken to, and I don’t anticipate there being any resistance from the Traditional Council and District Assembly to the development of activities (I do anticipate them telling us we can do what we want, just don’t expect them to pay for it!).  However, for there to be any point in including people with disabilities into this festival, there are some issues regarding the festival itself that need to be addressed.  It is this bit that makes me nervous.

The Paramount Chief of the Builsa District, until 2006, was a man named Azantilow.  He was incredibly well-liked and respected, not only in the Builsa District, but across Ghana, and around the world.  The Queen and the Royal Family were apparently big fans also.  There is a story that Azantilow refused to die until he had spoken to the Queen one last time, and so an ex-pat NGO worker was drafted in to imitate the Queen to give Azantilow her best wishes.  Some versions of this story say the ex-pat was made to wear a wig, but Azantilow had gone blind in his last few years, so I’m not sure how true this bit is.  Azantilow, glad to have received the Queen one final time, died the very next day, aged 106. Unfortunately, the responses from our interviews, questionnaires, and focus groups suggest that the Feok festival has never been the same again, and since Azantilow’s death, there have been several disputes and conflicts between the current Paramount Chief and the Builsa Community Chiefs.  Whilst we do not necessarily aim to address these issues at our meeting in a few weeks, they are something we intend to raise and hope to set the wheels in motion for resolving them.  I’m just not sure how happy the current Paramount Chief, Azantilow’s son, is going to be when we raise them.  Mum, I might be home in a few weeks if the Chief doesn’t like what we have to say!

So, all the sections of the report have been written and we are now in the process of editing it all together, and putting together our conclusions and recommendations. Tomorrow will be a big planning day for the meeting as we finalise venues, catering, guest lists and start work on the meeting agenda!  It might be the last two weeks, but this team still have a lot to do!!

Money makes the world go around?

Yes, financial aid is needed – I don’t think people can completely argue with that but is it the main solution? Arguably no. I can only talk of my own experience here in Sandema; mainly because our internet is pants so any sort of research is a no go but personal experience is more interesting anyway isn’t it?

We have now travelled to meet 13 chiefs in each of the Builsa districts; we’ve spoken to disabled people’s organisations (DPOs), women’s groups and schools. The one thing they all have in common? Their need for financial aid whether, it’s a dam, footballs, assistive devices or school uniforms, each and every group spoken to expressed a want or need for something material. I cannot disagree that all these things are needed, I also believe they would improve the lives of people who requested them but there is an argument for the power of speech; the power of knowledge. CBR, over the past few years has worked to set up these meeting groups and organisations where people can talk to each other and discuss their problems, this may be livelihood or health or depression, anything, a lot of these things can be improved just by talking and knowing you are not alone.

I look at our involvement in Kadema, as mentioned in a previous post the DPOs in Kadema were, for the first time, included in the local Feok festival. This didn’t cost any money, there was no financial aid given but this opportunity meant the inclusion into society for a group that has previously always been ignored. They were given an opportunity to showcase their crafts and in doing so improve their income. A proud moment for everybody involved, and nobody was required to pay for the experience. Enough of the dream world though, realistically money makes the world go round – money was needed for the implementation of the festival and was also needed for transport to get people to the Feok grounds. It’s a vicious cycle of needing something that isn’t always the answer.

Do people depend on and expect aid even if it’s not needed? We spoke to each group and clearly explained we are a research based project, we have no money to give and all we have to offer is our time and our findings. Each group still, in turn made their pleas for financial help and assistance. The children that live near us often ask for water, one girl even took a sneaky peak in our fridge and demanded mango. Are these people chancers? Do they believe us when we say we are just researching? Have people now begun to expect things off every NGO that walks into Ghana? I don’t know.  

We recently accompanied a screening in Bachonsa to try and determine and identify the early signs of disability in over 200 children. The eye specialist became quite irate with the headmaster upon handing out her umpteenth bottle of eye drops for eye infection. Why do these children not wash? It was the endless amounts of dirt in the children’s eyes that were causing these infections; these are so easily prevented if someone would just tell these children to wash! I’ve got a bit off track as I always seem to with these blogs but my vague/sitting on the fence point still stands. Yes, financial aid is key to ending global poverty but no, I don’t believe it is the single most important component in doing so, throwing money at charities can be a waste, having too much money thrown at some of the larger projects can be counter-productive. I see the fantastic work CBR does on such small funds and I can’t help but believe that passion and hard work is the main thing keeping CBR running and the main element in helping their clients.

- Poppy

Our lives in Sandema....

This week has been another busy one! Full days and busy nights make us a little tired but we are still all really enjoying ourselves. Follows is a few posts about general life in Sandema.

Our 'home town', Sandema

Sandema is the home of Builsas. Capital of its district – the Builsa district and located in the Northern part of Ghana, specifically the Upper East Region. Builsa people speak Buli and Saab (also known as the Tuo Zaafi in Hausa) with different kind of soups as their traditional food; mostly eaten at supper or dinner. Sandema, apart from Builsas, is also the home for all kinds of people from different backgrounds from Ghana and other parts of the world. Builsas are peace loving people and friendly to all manner of people or persons irrespective of race. The Builsa landscape can be described as a plain interspersed with few high grounds. The vegetation is purely savannah with few scattered trees. The Builsas have a rich cultural heritage which unites them. They celebrate Feok festival to commemorate their victory over the slave raiders and as a thanks giving sacrifice to their ancestors after every harvest. People of Builsa are always in jubilant mood during the Feok festival. It is lovely being in Sandema. 

- Festus

Our house, in the middle of our street?

We’re staying in a small compound on the grounds of FISTRAD, a stone throw away from work which makes the mornings a little easier. We each have a small bungalow/pod with a double bed and an en-suite bathroom – what luxury! We have a little kitchen slap bang in the middle and finally now have a table and chairs! I think it’s fair to say we’re living the life of it up here in Sandema in our little piece of home. The only downside in Poppy and Will’s room is the smell – no it’s not their feet! We are unfortunately placed above the water system and occasionally we get a rather pungent cabbage smell when the water is running through.

Will and Tracy sat on Tracy's porch...yes, her house is really called "Burger Komittee Stain Hagen" 

Working 9-5 

We’re all very passionate and excited about our project, LIFE – the longer we work on it the more involved we become. We’ve been working hard meeting over 10 chiefs, including the paramount chief of the Builsa District, the District Assembly and Disabled Peoples Organisations (DPO). We have been receiving endless positive feedback for the project from everyone involved and it is progressing well already. 

Meeting the Sandema Naab (in the salmon outfit inbetween Will and Tracy) and his sub-chiefs and elders

The team with members of the District Assembly (the gentleman inbetween Poppy and Jenna was rather forward in his desire to make one of them his wife!)

The team with the President, Gilbert, of the Sandema Disabled People's Organisation

Since meeting with us, the Kadema Chief has already met with his DPO and has promised them that they can be involved in the local Feok on the 9^th of February – result! What incredible news that was, I (Poppy) think I speak for everyone when I say we really do feel a part of something special here, something that could really improve the lives of many people with disabilities – and we’re only just getting started!! 

- Poppy

 Meeting Kadema chief was the highlight for me last week. We had already met him quickly at the District Assembly and he had already called us his brother and sisters and was looking forward to seeing us. When visiting he greeted us with a smile again and invited the women to come and sit in the meeting, which only a few chiefs did last week. He was very open to the idea of people with disabilities being involved in the Feok. His community had not yet had its local Feok but he invited us to attend on the 9^th February and said he would look into including people with disabilities. It was clear people living with disabilities were included in this community as there was a lady at the meeting with a disability and he invited her to show us her skills of basket weaving and dancing. On Sunday Maxwell our project coordinator said that the Kadema chief had called him and said he had been to see the local disabled people’s organisation. He spoke to them asking how they would like to be involved in the festival and what the problems would be for them being involved. This is excellent news as he is making the steps towards getting disabled people involved. He said that he had simply not thought to include them before but now that we have brought it to his attention he said he would make an active effort to include those with disabilities.   We shall be visiting the Kadema group and Chief again soon to see what happens!

 

- Will

Week One: Tracy & Jenna's Best Bits

Week one has been filled with so many wonderful things; we have met so many people and had so many interesting experiences it is hard to pinpoint just one.  Bringing home a live chicken from the market certainly needs a mention, but I think our focus group session with the Disabled Persons’ Organisation (DPO) in Fumbisi might just top it.

As part of our project we are researching how people with disabilities might be able to be included into the Feok festival in December, and so we held a focus group in Fumbisi where we met so many wonderful people.  Unfortunately, many of these people are discriminated against by society; hidden away, ignored, and prevented from accessing local services, cultural activities, or playing a contributive role in society.  We asked them questions about their skills, and ways they could participate in the Feok festival, we talked to them about the issues they face as a disabled person, and what benefits they might receive by taking part in the festival.  

There was overwhelming support for our project, and although I left feeling they had extraordinarily, and perhaps unrealistically high expectations of us, I also felt that this project was more than helping them participate in a song and dance; this project is about giving them a voice and allowing them to be valuable members of society.  At times I felt incredibly emotional as members of the group told stories about being treated in the hospital car park because of the poor access facilities, or how feel they may as well be dead, but mainly from their spirit and determination to fight back.  I was holding back tears when the group burst into song, women ululated their appreciation, and as men and women of all ages and abilities clapped and danced to the music.  It is a memory that will stay with me for a long time.