Sometimes, bigger IS better!

“Tracy! What is wrong with you? Are you sick?” These are words I have heard a number of times over the last few months, as female friends here in Ghana have noticed I have lost a bit of weight.  Now, I haven’t lost crazy amounts of weight, and I am by no means thin by UK standards (my dress size is still in double figures!), but in Ghana weight loss is approached quite negatively.

You see, having a healthy weight or even being “fat” (let’s approach this with the same attitude as most Ghanaians I have met and not mince our words!) is considered a sign of wealth, a sign that you have plenty to eat. A curvy ‘structure’ is desired by most women I have spoken to, and appreciated by many men.  It is remarkably refreshing to see women embrace a larger body type and not be obsessed with conforming to a Hollywood/celebrity body shape.

Sorry Renee, but being a bag of bones won't cut it in Ghana....I don't think this is such a good look either.  Go and eat a burger!

In the UK, I feel like it is well documented and debated about the ideal body type imposed on girls and women by the media and fashion world, with campaigns such as the Dove Real Beauty campaign trying to change perceptions that thin is beautiful and we must all have a size 6 body to be beautiful and sexy. It is a wonderful lesson in body confidence then, to walk down Sandema high street and see women enjoy their curves, and walk around in well-fitting clothing which display who they are quite naturally.  A few weeks ago, on a visit to the Bolgatanga team, we went to a local night club, Soul Train, where we saw Ghanaian girls showing us how to dance and laughing at us because we didn’t have enough meat on certain parts of our bodies to dance well.  For me, I was overwhelmed with how body confident they were, particularly as I am often quite self-conscious dancing and wearing revealing clothing in nightclubs back home – it was quite the attitude adjustment!

What do you think? Is she trying to hide behind the tree, or is she  enjoying her lunch without a concern for the effect on her hips?

In my opinion, this acceptance of the human form and an appreciation of a “healthy” weight translates to a positive attitude towards other issues, such as breast feeding.  It is not unusual to be on a tro-tro, or even sat in a restaurant or Church and casually glance to the left to see a woman breastfeeding quite openly and with no embarrassment or need to be discrete; it is viewed as a natural and necessary process.  Tolu, one of Team Tamale’s first volunteers, wrote an excellent blog on her reaction to breastfeeding in Ghana, which I urge you to read, and means I won’t dwell on the topic any further, but will use it as an example of how a different approach to the human body has further implications than what clothes look good.  

Aside from the professional work experience I am gaining by being here and working in Ghana, the cultural experience is affecting me in many positive ways too.  Don’t get me wrong, I cannot deny my pleasure at losing a bit of weight (it certainly saves on the Slimming World membership fees!), but I think, more importantly, I will be leaving Ghana not only with a streamlined body, but will have streamlined any negative and anxious thoughts about my appearance and my size.  

Singin' in the rain.....

I will never complain about the weather in Manchester again.  Manchester is notorious for its constant rain, and grey skies.  I grew up in Manchester and sometimes think it gets a bit of a bad press (especially after living in Cardiff where I would say it rains a lot more than Manchester).  Yet the rain in Manchester is nothing compared to the rain in Sandema.

Admittedly there are different types of rain back home.  There is the fine rain (that, according to Peter Kay, soaks you right through), then there is “spitting” (after experiencing rain in Africa, I can no longer classify that as rain…), there is heavy rain…big, fat rain where you would rather be anywhere than outside.  These are just a few examples of the types of rain back home.  Let’s not get too carried away classifying rain….you can do that in your own time.

Since the end of April we have experienced rain about once a week here in Sandema.  This “rain” most definitely cannot be classified as fine rain.  In fact, there is nothing about this rain that resembles rain

in the UK, except for the fact that it is wet. 

A lady standing in rain; unadvisable in Ghana

You can usually tell when it is going to rain here; the usually blue sky will start to turn a grey-black colour, and the air will be heavy with humidity.  Before every rain storm we have experienced thus far the sky has lit up with flashes of lightening illuminating the countryside and landscape around us – this can go on for hours at a time (and is usually followed by “lights out” (powercut)).  But before you experience the rain, you are confronted with the wind.  It can sometimes sound like an army is storming up the road at full pace.  It is not advisable to be outside as the dust flies up like a mini cyclone.  (I would also advise you bring your washing in at this point too….nobody needs to see your underwear flying across town!).

When the rain starts to fall, it really starts.  Big, fat drops of water batter your surroundings, and the sound of the rain on your tin roof only heightens the experience.  There are moments when you actually think your roof might cave in. 

The following morning you awake (or just get up as it is unlikely you got much sleep that night!) with trepidation as you review what damage has been caused.  We are in a very fortunate position that the worst that is likely to happen is a few chairs might get thrown around.  Our guest house is on high ground, and the cottages are built up, so the chance of flooding is practically non-existant. 

We have experienced however how much the rain can disrupt life in the Builsa district.  Our plans and meetings usually get cancelled the day after heavy rain as the people we wish to meet need to stay and work on their homes, tend to their farms, or try to rescue any damaged stock, stores, or buildings.  We are only just entering the rainy season; I daren’t imagine the devastation that will occur when the rainy season gets into full swing.  Whilst we may be lucky in our accommodation, the same cannot be said for the rest of Sandema.

The road into Sandema, flooded

Much of the town is at risk of flooding, and in 2012 the National Disaster Management Organisation reported 325 houses had been affected by flooding (houses having either been flooded or collapsed), displacing 715 people.  The communities surrounding Sandema are also in danger, not to mention the destruction of the roads linking Sandema to the rest of the Builsa district, and the bigger towns of Navrongo.  Even with the few rains we have had, roads have already started to erode, trees have collapsed, power lines have been cut, and houses have been damaged.  The implications of this is much greater than any inconvenience we might experience due to bad weather back home – if a road is destroyed or a bridge collapses, that community is cut off.  

On a trip to Uwasi, one of the more remote villages we have visited, we had to drive through the river bed in order to access the town because the bridge was no longer safe.  Now that the rains have begun, and the rivers are filling up, the only way for us to access that village will be to cross the river by foot…and then walk the remaining 10km to our destination.  Imagine having to do that on a daily basis just to make a living.

And yet with as much devastation that the rain causes, the rain is welcomed whole-heartedly.  It is needed.  The rainy season generally lasts about 4 months, falling between May and September.  It is during this short period of the year where everyone plants their crops (approx. 70% of people in the Builsa district farm at some level); the crops that will feed them for the remaining 8 months of the year.  If you are lucky to have the manpower and land to farm on a larger scale, you depend on this rainy season to grow your crops that will also provide you with an income.

According to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, about 1.2 million people are food insecure; 15% of whom are from the Upper East region.  A further 2 million people are vulnerable to food insecurity, meaning that a bad rain fall, no rain at all, or any other shock ensures that their access to food deteriorates rapidly.  The Upper East has been found to be the region most severely affected by food insecurity (Quaye, 2008).  Of course the rain is not the sole cause of food insecurity (other causes include chieftaincy conflicts, rise in food and fuel prices, and climate change), but it most definitely is one of the leading causes.

When the rain falls here in Sandema, it really does fall, but there is a fine line between it having a positive or a negative effect.

So when it next rains wherever you are, or if your bus or train is cancelled due to bad weather, before you grumble and complain have a little think about how much it will really affect you. Is it a minor inconvenience to your day, or has your life been turned upside down by it?  

It's not easy bein' green

When I arrived in Sandema in January, everything was a yellowy-brown colour, including the sun, the ground, even the trees seemed to fit into this colour scheme. 

The lovely brown tones of Sandema in January

Poppy, Jenna, Will and I slowly adjusted to the lack of greenery, only made more intense by the increasingly stifling temperatures.  At the end of March, I headed to the south of Ghana for a holiday and a tour of some of Ghana’s more obvious/popular tourist attractions - I felt like I had entered a different country; not only was the climate completely different – don’t get me wrong it was still blisteringly hot compared to UK weather standards, but not as deathly as it is in the north due to a cool breeze and a little more humidity (In fact there were times when I can say I was a little cold and would have welcomed a jumper!), but the scenery changed quite dramatically as well.  Everything was green.  Really green.  It was beautiful, but so different from the landscape in the north of the country. 

Green, green, tall trees in Kakum National Park

Flourishing plant-life in the lake at Nzeluzu, near Benin 

In Ghana, it isn’t only the landscape which changes dramatically from the north to the south – whilst there are some inherent constants in this country (like the incredibly welcoming nature of the Ghanaian people), there are also a lot of things that differ, even if you only travel 10 minutes up the road, such as the languages.  There are, according to Wikipedia (which is, of course, an entirely reliable source..ahem!) a total of 81 different languages in Ghana, including Twi, Dagbani, Kasem, and Buli, the language we are learning here in the Builsa district (English is the official language of Ghana).  Many of the Ghanaians I have met over the past 4 months have been able to speak at least 5 or 6 different languages.  

So upon trekking to the south of Ghana (it was hardly a trek sat on a rather comfortable plane with a free drink and something resembling a chicken sandwich, but I’m allowed a little bit of artistic licence!), it was rather unsettling to be confronted with an entirely green, yet considerably more developed (they actually have tar roads, and the cars have seat belts.  I even travelled in a trotro which had air conditioning, and by this I don’t mean the window was missing either) landscape and not being able to understand a single word anyone was saying.  I am by no means fluent in Buli, but I can at least recognise the odd word here and there and can generally figure out what people are trying to say to me, or about me.  The confidence I had parading around Sandema’s dusty and quiet streets was zapped as I entered what felt like a completely new country upon arrival in the hustle and bustle of Accra, and then travelling around the green, leafy, and humid southern regions.

At the end of our week off and after the induction week for the new volunteers, I was getting quite restless to get back to my Ghanaian home; a place that is now very familiar to me.  I was looking forward to being reunited with the hues featuring entirely on the orange-yellow side of the colour wheel.  After just 3 weeks away, I was amazed as we drove through Sandema to our house….everything was GREEN!  

In the short time I had been away, and even more so over the past 2 weeks, Sandema has changed from being entirely orange and yellow, to include every colour on the colour wheel!  The trees are most definitely green, as are the fields surrounding our house and little flowers in a striking red colour dot many of the trees, and there is water everywhere adding a bluey-greeny-grey tinge to the landscape. 




If Poppy, Jenna, and Will were here now they would think they were in a different place.  I can only imagine what Sandema will look like in a few weeks when the rains really begin!

Tiksung kui ale asiak boyi la tia! (Team 2, Welcome! - in Buli)

(Roya, Shazia, Festus, Tracy and Maxwell the Project Co-ordinater of CBR)

Hello there! We are the 2^nd batch of volunteers to come to Sandema and we are nearing the end of week #2 and we feel an introduction is well overdue. We have the lovely Tracy who is our Team Leader, Festus who is the National Volunteer and Roya and Shazia who are the new UK Volunteers.

Our first week in Sandema has been lovely! As Tracy has already been here for 3 months she’s become quite the celebrity in Sandema. We have quickly realised that you have to give yourself about an extra 30 minutes to go into the market because Miss Popular will be stopped by friends every 10 minutes to have a chat. Everyone has been very kind and welcoming to us new volunteers, and we’re already on first name terms with a few of the market stallholders. We have already met a lot of people and are very lucky to have been introduced to the children at the nearby foster home who I can tell will quickly become my best friends purely based on the fact they give the best, heartfelt hugs (and hugs are one of my favourite things, after chocolate).

We have also started work at the Sandema Presbyterian Church of Ghana Community Based Rehabilitation Centre (or CBR Centre if you want to save yourself quite a lot of time). The CBR Centre works to improve the quality of life for people with disabilities by focusing on social inclusion, rehabilitation and the equalisation of opportunities for people with disabilities.  Our team will be carrying on the work of the previous volunteers who had done a lot of research and built a strong foundation for us to work on. Find out more here: http://internationalservicelifeinghana.blogspot.com/p/what-we-are-all-about.html

These two weeks we have spent quite a vast amount of time creating a database for the CBR Centre and for our own use whilst arranging meetings with Disabled Peoples Organisations (DPO’s). We have developed the outline for 3 projects that we will be working on simultaneously. One is a livelihoods project, the other well be centred around cultural activities and lastly, we are developing a sports program for the young children with disabilities. All 3 of these will be done within the context of the Feok Festival which happens in December but we are also working to ensure that the skills people have learnt, the programs that will be set up will be utilized all year round in order to make sure that there will be a long term change here in Sandema!

We will keep you updated on our progress as time goes on J

-Shazia

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!!

How much can £10.50 get you in Ghana?

Throughout our visits to Chiefs, their Elders, women’s groups, community groups and opinion leaders to discuss the integration of people with disabilities into the Feok festival, poverty has been highlighted as a fundamental challenge to our work, but more importantly to the lives of people with disabilities, and the general public.  This week we visited Bechonsa, a very rural community in the Builsa district, and we helped with a children’s health screening.  We accompanied a physiotherapist, eye specialists, and psychiatrist to a kindergarten and primary school where each child was assessed and any health issues identified.  So many of the children had eye problems (as well as skin infections, and ringworm amongst other things) which, according to the eye specialist, was as a direct result of a lack of hygiene; these children were just not bathing on a regular occasion and so all the dust and dirt was gathering and collecting in their eyes, and staying there for days, maybe weeks, at a time.  A simple solution to this problem is just to wash more. However, when we visited Bechonsa’s Chief, Sub-Chiefs, and Elders, they highlighted that the closest water source was 10k away.  If obtaining water is an issue, then it will be used sparingly….having a shower comes secondary to drinking.  One of their requests to us, 5 volunteers, was to fund and build a dam.  No problem – let me check my bank account and with the £10.50 I have in there, I will get right on it.  In order to build a dam, we need money.  Lots of money. 

If money was no object, there is an awful lot that we could do in the Builsa district, but unfortunately that is not the case at all.  All that considered, the aim of our project is to advocate for the inclusion of people with disabilities into the local Feok festival.  Just from speaking with one Chief and discussing the issue of social inclusion encouraged him to make more of an effort engaging people with disabilities.  In early February, the Kadema Chief was a pioneer in the Builsa district and people with disabilities played a large role in his community festival and were consulted during the planning.  No money was involved in this development – it was as a result of having a conversation.  Are we hindered in our work by having limited funds?  Does foreign aid actually solve any of the problems that these rural communities face?

There is an argument that foreign aid is the solution to poverty.  Numerous international agreements, including those related to the MDGs, encourage UN member states to pledge 0.7% of their gross national product to international aid and development.  However, foreign aid has been shovelled into Africa for decades and yet poverty is still rife in much of the continent; Ghana included*.

As we have conducted our project, we have discovered that disability is not aggressively discriminated against, but people just don’t know how to manage disability.  We have had an overwhelming response from school children, women, elders, Chiefs, and the general public, that there is no taboo for people with disabilities to participate in the Feok, but they just have no idea how they are supposed to participate.  Money is not necessarily the solution to this problem, but education and advocacy.  Of course, to educate the public and to advocate for the rights, needs, and capabilities of people with disabilities money is required.  For the International Service volunteers to be in Ghana, they needed to raise money, and the projects are part-funded by DFID; money does indeed make the world go round.  When we discuss “foreign aid” it is more a reference to Overseas Development Assistance; money given from one government to another.  Unfortunately, there are many accounts of where these funds have been whittled away to the benefit of elites, used heavily in corruption, or have not been appropriated suitably to combat poverty. 

We have discussed before, in this blog, that a huge point to this ICS scheme is so that UK volunteers and international partners can share experiences and exchange knowledge.  Here in Ghana, we have often heard “you will learn from us, and we will learn from you”.  I believe it is this philosophy that is missing from international development, particularly in regards to money.  There is absolutely no point throwing money at a country, a continent, or a project, if there is no effective way to manage that money, or manage whatever it is that emerges as a result of that money.  We could build a dam in Bechonsa, which could provide a better water source to the community, but it won’t necessarily put a stop to all of the health problems the children we met last week are facing.  An investment of time and an exchange of knowledge is perhaps the only way that can resolve those development issues; providing information and education to parents, teachers, and children on basic hygiene practices will go a long way to facilitating better health care.

There are many reasons why poverty exists in the world, and it is not entirely as a consequence of corruption, mismanagement or poor governance. Climate change, and its negative consequences, overpopulation, conflicts, and geography are just some of the many factors which contribute to the prolongation of poverty in the world today.  Foreign aid can indeed have a huge impact on resolving these issues, however, a lot can also be achieved with a little bit of gumption.  Don’t think I’m naïve, I have studied well the issues involved in humanitarianism and international development, and I am fully aware that money and financial assistance is a crucial component of making a change, but we also need to realise that development can occur through other means too.

*Ghana, by all accounts, is considered one of the success stories of Africa, and in the South of the country much progress has been made in terms of development.  However, in the North, where International Service projects are based, a large percentage of the population are classed as living below the poverty line.

52% of people living in Ghana's norther region are living below the poverty line ($1 USD a day)

70% of poverty in upper region

Only 66.5% of children are enrolled in school in northern Ghana, compared to 89.5% Ghana average.

N.B These statistics were shared with volunteers during a training session, and are believed to come from UN.org.

English is English...right?

During our time in Ghana, we have been learning some of the local language, Buli.  Poppy, in particular, is really quite good at Buli (although she really does have some competition from Jenna, who has possibly mastered 2 words of Buli…well done Jenna!! J).  In fact, Poppy was even told yesterday that she is 100% Ghanaian now – her Buli is that good!

Ghanaian English....

Not speaking the local language perfectly really shouldn’t have hindered us all that much though, as the official language of Ghana is English after all.  Well, it is Ghana’s version of English.  I think we initially had more trouble understanding some of the Ghanaian English than we did understanding Buli.

For the most part UK English and Ghana English are very similar – a tomato in Ghana is still a tomato in English. Nevertheless, despite the “common” language, there have been many a time when we have not had a clue as to what has been said, or have completely misunderstood what the person is saying to us!  In fact, I think it is fair to say we might have understood more if the person was speaking Buli!

So I thought we could share  a conversation we have often as we go about our business in Ghana (family and friends take note, we have adapted to this version very quickly and will most likely use it when we return home!):

Ghanaian: Yo, my sistah! Howzit?

Uk Volunteer: Hello, how are you?

Ghanaian: Yeah, actually, I’m good.  Where are you going?

UK Volunteer: We are going to the……

Phone rings

Ghanaian: Let me pick it…Hello (SHOUTING down the phone aggressively), Hello, HELLO?! Oh, good morning!

UK Volunteer: awkwardly stands and waits to finish their sentence

*During this entire time, the Ghanaian has been holding the UK volunteer’s hand

Ghanaian: (after finishing phone call) I’m going to go and come

UK Volunteer: Oh ok, should I wait? (as the Ghanaian walks off)

Ghanaian: A-HAAAA!

10 mins later, our Ghanaian friend returns just as the UK volunteer manages to spill water down themselves, stub a toe, or almost get run over by a motorbike

Ghanaian: Oh, sorry*.  Here, let me help.

UK Volunteer: Oh thank you

Ghanaian: Thank you for thanking me.

*It wasn’t at all their fault that I now look like I wet myself/broke a toe/died a tragic death – they are just sorry that that happened to me.

This version of English is actually quite charming, and we have now incorporated it into our daily speech!  Some other common phrases we have learned:

A-Haaaaa – You make this noise when you are agreeing with someone

Ei! (Said in a high pitched way!) – Oh my word!!

I’m coming – Woah, woah, woah, you have spoken to quickly and now I’m lost, but let me just recap and I’m sure I will have understood!

What will you take? – this is usually said in a restaurant/bar, and means “What can I get you/What do you want?”

We will learn from you, and you will learn from us

This week we have been finishing our visits to the local Chiefs and Elders in the various communities in the Builsa district.  The visits have been very interesting, and we learn something different from each Chief.

One of the most interesting visits has been to see the Chief in Siniensi.  As usual we asked him about the history of the Feok, the traditions and the activities that were involved in celebrating the Feok festival and the responses were relatively similar to those from other communities.  However, in Siniensi the conversation turned to the conflict between the Traditional beliefs of the Builsa people, and the prevalence of Christianity.

Beginning in the 15^th Century, Ghana was occupied by European colonisers from Portugal, Holland, Britain and Denmark in order to capitalise on exports of gold and the slave trade, and with these colonisers came Christianity and missionaries, who were instrumental in developing an education system in Ghana in order to facilitate the spreading of the Gospel.  One of the issues we have discovered whilst talking to the many Chiefs is that young people in the Builsa district are disheartened and disinterested with the traditional culture and beliefs.  The Siniensi Chief made an interesting, and probably quite a valid point that the youth of Ghana consider that Western methods and way of life will lead to success rather than the more traditional Ghanaian livelihood methods.  As a result, they are less interested in participating and performing in the traditional Feok festival and, according to the Siniensi Chief, the cultural traditions of the Builsa are slowly dying out.  

The Siniensi Chief strongly linked education with Christianity, and this opinion has been reiterated in several conversations we have had here in Ghana.  It is understandable then, that the cultural traditions of offering sacrifices to the Gods for a good harvest, as is customary during the Feok festival, are not taught or proclaimed in many of the schools in Ghana, where there is reportedly a strong Christian bias.  How true this is, is yet to be confirmed, and hopefully our visits to schools in the coming weeks will confirm or challenge this opinion.  Interestingly, our partner organisation is strongly linked with the Presbyterian Church and our project co-ordinator is an avid Christian who does not practice the traditional beliefs of his people, and yet he is the main instigator behind our project which aims to assist the Builsa people to retain their cultural heritage.  

This conversation started me thinking about the influence of Western ideas on recipients of development and humanitarian aid, and the problem of leaving, or enforcing, a Western footprint in aid and development bugged me throughout my recent degree. I think it is important that, as aid and development workers, we respect the traditions and culture of the country in which we are working, despite whether our own scientific and perhaps secular education disapproves.  I don’t know where the line is that brings development to Ghana without Westernising the country, but throughout my time here I will carry with me a message that has been repeated many times from the Chiefs we have met:

“We will learn from you, and you will learn from us”.  I see development as a mutual investment in the country, and hopefully by helping the region to preserve their cultural history we will also be able to help them move forward in their disability awareness.

- Tracy

Oh the people you meet!

We have been living in Sandema for almost one month now, and I have to say I am really enjoying my time here.  We have met some incredible people so I thought I might introduce you to some of them…..

Samankeni 

Samankeni works in the office at CBR.  She is always a friendly face to greet us each morning and helps Festus teach us Buli.  Samankeni lives in town and has offered to take us to the market one day and buy all the ingredients to make some traditional Ghanaian dishes….we haven’t been able to take her up on this wonderful offer just yet but we will be sure to let you know how it all turns out when we do!

Kwame

We LOVE Kwame.  I’m pretty sure that Kwame will be featuring in this blog quite often! Kwame is our driver at CBR, and despite his minimal English, we somehow manage to laugh and joke with him all day (ok, so Festus helps quite a bit with the translation!). Kwame will often drive us around the Builsa district as we go about our research and project work.  As we drive around he will point out people’s houses, identify different trees, and laugh at our (erm…Poppy’s) obsession with goats, pigs, chickens, and monkeys!  Kwame also likes to tease Festus and the two of them will often bicker about whose village is better; Kwame’s Wiaga vs Festus’ Chuchuliga.  Over the past few weeks, Kwame has often got involved in some of our discussions with Chiefs or Disabled People’s Organisations.  We aren’t always too sure of what he is saying, but you can generally get the gist of whether he is angry about something or not!  As an example, we went to Gbedembilisi this week to meet the Chief and his elders, and unfortunately there weren’t many of them available.  After we had finished our interview, Kwame started to chide them for being unprepared for our visit.  Now this involves a lot of arm gesticulating which is fascinating to watch, especially if you have no idea what is being said!  We all want t-shirts made with “I Love Kwame” printed on the front!

Yaw

Yaw is 26 (or sometimes 23 or sometimes 30…it all depends on who he is trying to woo that particular day!).  Regardless of his age, Yow is one of our favourites in Sandema and he is quite an impressive guy!  He lives at Horizons Children’s Centre (an amazing place which looks after up to 40 boys and young men, supporting them for as long as they need them, and provides a scholarship program for girls too).  Yaw is in a wheelchair and has some difficulties with his movement due to cerebral palsy, yet this does not stop him at all.  We often meet him in town where he tells us about his trips to Bolgatanga and his plans to build a kindergarten school in his home village of Kadema.  Currently, Yaw is in the process of gathering building plans and estimates for the school and will soon be working on raising the funds (let us know if you think you might be able to help!).  Yaw supports Liverpool FC (though don’t let that put you off) and I think he was the only Ghanaian who was supporting Burkina Faso in the recent African Cup of Nations semi-final.  This man is truly inspirational and does not let his disability faze him, and in return he has many a friend in Sandema – it is difficult to have a conversation with him in town as every few seconds someone beeps, shouts a greeting, or comes over to say hello.  This week Yaw accompanied us to his home village of Kadema, where we had been invited to attend their community Feok festival – it definitely made the experience all the more fun being there with Yaw!

Keep an eye out for more posts about the people we meet in Sandema!

- Tracy

Paga Crocodile Park

‘Never smile at a crocodile’

 On Saturday (26^th January) the Ghana volunteers reunited in Paga, in the Upper East Region of Ghana, to celebrate Ben’s 26^th birthday. We met Team Tamale and Team Bolga at Paga Crocodile Pond, a popular tourist attraction that is apparently filled with some of the biggest crocodiles in the world.

There is a myth that the first man to settle in the area had his life saved by one of the crocodiles, by leading the traveller to the pond to quench his thirst after a long journey in the African sun. Filled with gratitude, he then declared the crocodile ponds in the area ‘sacred’ and declared that all crocodiles in Paga were to be treated as royalty.

Alternatively, there is another myth to the famous crocodile pond. The story goes that a hunter was trapped between the pond and a lion. In order to spare his life, he made a deal with a crocodile that he and his decedents would never eat crocodile meat. Imagining that there is a talking crocodile in this story, just for my own amusement, the crocodile agreed to help the hunter cross the pond to escape the lion. At the other side he then found a village and his home where he settled.

(DearGhana.com)

Even today, it is seen as a taboo to hurt or kill a Paga crocodile. According to travel site, UnitedPlanet.org it is also believed that “the soul of every native in the village [in Paga] has a corresponding crocodile in the pond.”  Paga Crocodile Pond is the only place in the world where you can touch and sit on a crocodile due to their – what we may find, unusually - tame behaviour.

When we entered the pond we were directed to a huge crocodile lying still beneath a tree. It didn’t move for a good five minutes, leading us to believe that it wasn’t real until birthday boy, Ben approached it and perched at the end of its tail. Its mouth slowly opened revealing it’s garish teeth. Confirming it was actually alive and kicking, the team slowly shuffled back.

Everyone was pretty brave stepping up to the beast of a reptile. Team Sandema did well; Tracy posed with the tail and Will looked pretty cool straddling the croc. I however wasn’t as keen and lasted long enough for a photo opportunity and jumped off as fast as I could.

Jenna looking a little nervous

Strike a pose, Tracy!

Poppy puckering up with the crocodile

William Stewart, Crocodile Hunter

What was more fascinating to watch was the crocodiles that kept creeping in and out of the water behind us. The guide / crocodile master / guy with the stick lured one of the crocs out of the water with a live guinea fowl. Attracted by the noise the croc slowly crawled out of the water, creeping closer and closer. Looking pretty hungry the guide threw the guinea fowl towards the croc and it was demolished in a matter of minutes.

Going....

....going.....

GONE!

It was an amazing opportunity to come face to face with the crocs, but a subtle reminder of how dangerous these animals are!

It was great to see the other volunteers and we had a fantastic time at Paga Crocodile Park. It’s made us even more excited to visit Mole National Park in a few weeks time to discover more of Ghana’s wildlife.

  

Jenna

References:

http://www.dearghana.com/attractions/paga-crocodile-pond/

http://www.unitedplanet.org/additional-excursions-ghana

Food! Glorious Food!

Throughout induction week we ate rather well…as we were staying in a guest house we ate in restaurants every evening, and breakfast and lunch was delivered to the IS office.  This arrangement meant the food was pretty good in general!

Ghanaian food is quite simple, lots of the same ingredients repeated in various ways, yet with different spices and compiled in various ways, you sometimes forget that you are eating the same foods you ate the day before.  Here is a selection of some of the Team Sandema favourites:

Red Red:

Deep fried plaintains with black-eyed beans cooked in a red palm oil and with crushed tomatoes (and a lot of spice!).  I think it is a little bit like the Ghanaian version of sweet potato wedges!  

Groundnut Soup and Rice balls:

Quite a self-explanatory dish, this is soup made from ground-nut paste, and rice made into balls…simple right?  It is absolutely delicious, and often comes with guinea fowl, goat, or chicken in the soup.  After two weeks of cooking for ourselves, we were lucky enough to be invited to our project co-ordinator’s (Maxwell) house for dinner and his lovely wife made us this dish…suffice to say we all went to bed that night feeling stuffed and with a smile on our faces!

Tilapia:

If you go into a restaurant and the menu says “fish” you are most likely going to receive Tilapia…and you will be very happy about this!  Tilapia is a white, river fish, and is usually (like everything else in Ghana) cooked in spices.  This week we had a drink at the local (only) bar in Sandema with Maxwell and one of his very generous friends, Pascal, who surprised us by bringing out a HUGE Tilapia for us to share.  We were all so engrossed in devouring this delicious dish that we unfortunately forgot to take a picture….but you just need to trust me that it was scrumptious!

Whilst we may have been able to sample some delicious Ghanaian food in restaurants, since arriving in Sandema we have mostly been cooking for ourselves.  Although, cooking probably isn’t the right word!

Our first night's dinner attempt... to be fair we had no kitchen at this point!

In our little kitchen in our compound we have a fridge-freezer (height of luxury) and a 2 ring gas stove.  All of our meals have to be cooked on this, and for a Chef or cooking maestro this might not be an issue, but for us, our meals are somewhat limited.  Poppy mentioned in an earlier blog about the market, and in Sandema we are reliant on the fresh fruit and veg that arrive on market day (every 3 days).  In Sandema, our options are limited and each week our meals are combinations of tomatoes, green peppers, cabbage, onions, garlic, and carrots, with either rice or spaghetti.  This week we actually found plaintains so I tonight I attempted to cook Red Red for dinner, and whilst it didn't quite look (or taste) like the picture above, I think it was a fairly decent attempt (if I do say so myself!)!! 

I am so lucky to have the most prepared team in the world, who all came with a selection of stocks, spices, and sauces to make our meals a little bit more interesting.  Here is a taster from the Team Sandema cookbook:

Tomato-based Rice:

Willy is sort of a genius at creating delicious tomato based sauces, which he concocts using fresh tomatoes, tomato puree, green peppers, onions, garlic, and sometimes a little dash of Levi Roots’ sauce (imported from Harrogate).  Mixed with rice, this has become a staple of Team Sandema’s diet.

You can substitute the rice for spaghetti to create Tomato-based Spaghetti (this is considered an entirely meal!)

Bruschetta:     

                                      

Sandema is getting a little posh with our food selection, and have discovered a way to make our own version of Bruschetta, by frying the bread, and creating a tomato and onion and garlic mix to put on top. DELICIOUS and can rival any fancy restaurant back home!

SAUSAGES!!

Since arriving in Sandema we have struggled to find sausages, and it has been one of the only downsides to living in such a small town.  However, on a little shopping adventure this week Will and Jenna stumbled across Sandema’s very own version of Iceland and lo and behold found sausages hanging out in a freezer!  What a discovery!  Now these are not your average pork sausages you might find in a chiller section of Asda, in fact we still aren’t too sure what animal these sausages come from, but they are delicious and made a huge change to eating rice or spaghetti.  We have been quite lucky this week in our grocery shopping as we also found plantains (quite rare in Sandema, ten a penny everywhere else) and so tonight we had a veritable feast of sausages, eggs, plantain and our favourite tomato-green pepper-ratatouille type creation.  Heaven!

Next time you head to the supermarket for your big shop, think about how much harder life would be if you could only buy fresh produce every 3 days, and if you could never know what food would actually be available in the market.  I’m certainly never going to take for granted all the rows upon rows of fresh foods and storecupboard “essentials” again.

As the weeks progress we will update the Sandema cookbook!

- Tracy

Spare time in Sandema

Although Sandema is not a bustling metropolis,  we've discovered a few things to do to see on a sunny afternoon. The market, which is held every three days in the town centre is a busy little place, filled with all sorts of smells and sounds; mostly of fish and kids shouting “smiley smiley!” meaning ‘white person’.

It’s always an entertaining trip and each visit we've managed to find something new; kola nuts, plantain, flip flops for Poppy, CHOCOLATE! It took some finding but this week (29^th Jan) we discovered chocolate for the first time in Sandema. I say chocolate, the one and only box in the market cost 18 Ghana cedis and the chocolate we bought is like cocoa OXO cubes. It’s not Cadbury’s, that’s for sure.

To get to the market we sometimes take a short cut and walk across a dry riverbed that has a sandy bottom. We call this the beach (as the nearest one to us is miles and miles away). Other things Sandema has to offer is the Resource Centre where you can surf the internet for 1 Ghana cedi an hour.

Once you’re hungry from all that surfing, Conifahs is the place to eat. It serves delicious food at amazing prices. One meal cost only 3 Ghana cedis, which is the equivalent to £1.00. Joyce, the cook, can whip up a mean vegetable sauce to compliment a rice and chicken dish; best served with an ice cold Star (the local beer) or an Alvaro (a soft drink we’re all a little bit obsessed with). Perfect for cooling you down after a long day at work meeting with the many chiefs of the Builsa District!

Jenna, Poppy, Festus, and Tracy having dinner at Conifahs

Back at HQ (Team Sandema’s little bungalow, now called The White House) you can visit the local radio station, Radio Builsa, which is a five-minute walk from our house. Take a personal tour around the studio or go on air to speak to nearly one million listeners of the Builsa District. The manager of the station, Ibrahim is keen for us to go on the radio, so expect to hear DJ Poppy and DJ Willy on the air waves soon!

Everyday we discover something new in Sandema. On Thursday (30^th Jan) Asiemi, our cleaner took us for a tour of the nearby villages and introduced us to some of the locals and showed us where they live. It was a great opportunity to meet new people and to briefly experience a Builsa’s life at home.  

We look forward to discovering more hidden treasures of Sandema. In the meantime we’ll continue to play ‘Skip Bo!’. If it hasn’t been previously mentioned in this blog, it’s a fun card game (the only one that I know the rules to) that goes down well with a glass (or mug, in our case) of Don Simon Sangria.

With two months to go (our time in Ghana has flown so far!), I’m sure that our ‘leisure’ blog posts will become more and more interesting with Team Sandema adventures. Watch this space…

- Jenna

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.

Our introduction to Ghana

Salut! (Good morning in Buli!)

The team leaders arrived in Tamale on January 4^th 2013 after a rather adventurous 15 hour bus journey from Accra (the roads were often non-existant; the bus broke down 3 times; we endured a crazily long wait in a bus depot/petrol station/midnight market).  We three had a couple of days to acclimatise to Tamale and Ghana, get to know the International Service Ghana office staff, and feel settled before the volunteers arrived – we even learned a few phrases of Dagbani….which turned out to be quite pointless for me because they speak Buli in the Builsa district!  The few days we had before the volunteers arrived were spent drinking a lot of Star (beer), and trying a variety of Ghanaian dishes, many of which were delicious.  We, of course, also planned the induction week and began the initial planning process for our projects.  It was a very relaxing, yet productive 3 days, and when the volunteers arrived early on the Tuesday (8^th January) morning, I felt ready to lead them in what I think is a really exciting project!

Induction week was a lot of fun, but more importantly set all three Ghana teams on the road to success.  We began the induction process with a few games I learned whilst working at summer camps, and some that Zoe (Tamale team leader)  had up her sleeve too.  The games really helped break the ice, and help the national volunteers feel part of the team.  More importantly, the games gave me the opportunity to take photos of everybody….I somehow managed to capture some interesting poses and facial expressions…..

Will decide he would audition to be an Abercrombie model instead of playing the game

Festus and Abigail showing us how to dance Sandema style

Not to be outdone by Poppy, Will, and Jenna....the Chicken Dipper is a legitimate dance move......

During induction week we were also lucky enough to visit a local Pito brewery and sample some of this local beer…

Fermented and non-fermented Pito.....tastes a little bit like bile.....

Jenna tasting Pito

After visiting the brewery we then visited a local Diviner, who mixes tenets of religion (mainly Islam) and spirituality to guide, advise, and prescribe his clients.  Many of the group had consultations with the diviner, who remarkably was able to tell them things about themselves and their lives, which perhaps were not obvious facts.  There were some things which any Tom, Dick, or Harry probably could have inferred, such  as  “you have finished school”, “you are well educated”, “you enjoy travelling”.  Most of this information came from our tour guide, Lawrence’s description of the group, and the fact that we were a group of Brits in Ghana.  I had a private consultation with him, and whilst I would like to believe what he says will happen (I will be getting promoted soon, my work is very important and to be taken seriously, and that I will be paid handsomely) I am still a little sceptical.  I also wasn't impressed that he told the tour guide he should take me as his wife……hmm.

Apart from playing games, and going on cultural trips, induction week was also very informative and helped each team prepare for the coming three months.  We had sessions on Health, presented by a UNICEF worker, visits from VSO volunteers working in Tamale, we met with our project partners to do some initial planning and learn more about the objectives of the projects, we had discussions about social media, blogging, and communication, as well as discussions about team work, project management, monitoring and evaluation.

By the end of induction week, everyone appeared to feel comfortable in Ghana and prepared to move onto their project locations.  For my team, we were moving to Sandema, in the Upper East region of Ghana.  It was a two hour drive to Bolgatanga, where we said our final goodbyes to the TradeAid team, and then another 1hr15 drive onto Sandema.  Sandema is slightly more rural than Tamale and Bolgatanga, and the atmosphere in the bus, and facial expressions changed from smiling and excited to slightly more anxious as buildings, cars, tarmacked roads, and city life developed into miles and miles of dusty red roads and fields, spotted with the odd village.  Sandema, however, has proved to be quite a quaint, Ghanaian town and we are constantly been greeted by the locals waving at us as we walk or drive past, shaking our hands, teaching us Buli, or hearing the children shout “Smiley, Smiley” (their name for White people).

Induction week was enormous fun, and an absolute pleasure to share a week in Tamale with 15 wonderful volunteers and the IS Ghana team.  But now it is time to get down to work and see what life in Sandema is like……



- Tracy