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.  

Mole, Mole, Mole, Moleeee ahhh-ahhh-haaa

Last Friday we made the mammoth trip to Tamale in preparation for our visit to Mole! Expecting the worst from public transport we were pleasantly surprised with our metro mass bus, and our private trotro/mini bus seemed like absolute luxury! When we finally made it to Tamale and our group was a total of 15, we headed straight to the swimming pool for a quick dip and sunbathe before making the most of the western food available in Tamale – burger and chips!!

With only 4 single beds on offer in the Tamale palace it was always going to be a squeeze and rush for sleeping space, luckily the ‘Bolga Babes’ had bought their trusty foam so there was plenty of room for everyone (or at least there was for me, Jenna and Tracy who all managed to bag a bed – sorry Will). After a hot night we woke to start our trip to Mole, we all piled in to the minibus summer-holiday-style and took off! We arrived at Mole and straight away spotted the pool overlooking two watering holes and booked ourselves on to a jeep safari tour. We were split in to two groups. The jeep tour was incredible, aside from seeing a wide range of animals in their natural habitat we were also able to get very close to the elephant, ‘People’s Friend Number 2’ and see a croc – though this one was not sit able on!! We saw 13 elephants, baboons, antelope, crocodiles and an array of birds. Adam was friendly, funny and incredibly knowledgeable – knowing the scientific name for everything and anything you could point your finger at in the park, another thing you should know about Adam is that he loves his gun, he clicked it into position several times and even offered to let us hear the “noise of his weapon” to which we all squealed excitedly like 12 year old boys (this didn’t happen to our massive disappointment). The jeep safari cost only 10cd and was a fantastic 2 hours well spent, I would recommend to anyone to give it a go! Speak of recommendations…

That night, 11 of us intrepid explorers made our way into the park, in the dark, to what is known as ‘The Treehouse’ (not before filling up on more “burger cheese chip” of course, only just resisting “chicken carbon blue”). The tree house was amazing; it was in the middle of nowhere and had lovely sights and sounds of the local wildlife. We spent the evening playing two truths and a lie, some very exciting stories came to light, although I forget now which was the truth and which was a lie – Tippi’s Uncle IS the President of Korea isn’t he?! The phrase “if you don’t laugh, you cry” springs to mind and boy did we laugh, uncontrollably for some hours, scaring most of the wildlife away probably?

When we finally settled down for a cosy night’s sleep all we found were roll up mats and hard wooden floors/benches. The biggest thing we weren’t expecting however, was the now foreign feeling of cold, I mean freezing! Me and Will valiantly took a roll up mat each and a thin sloping bench and settled in for one of the most ridiculous night’s sleep ever – I say ridiculous because if you don’t laugh about it, you cry, right?! We all could not explain enough how comfy and relaxed we all were (!!!) Having said that, I would 100% visit the treehouse again. If you do go, take a hoody, some socks and a loaf of bread – sharing a granola bar between 11 people was some experience for breakfast. All this said, hearing/seeing baboons and hyenas in the middle of the night is quite spectacular and an experience everyone should try at least once!

- Poppy

Tourists for the Day - Navrongo Catholic Mud Cathedral

On Sunday 10^th February Team Sandema took a day trip to Navrongo, the capital of the Kassena-Nankana District to explore the famous Catholic Mud Cathedral. We travelled to our desired destination in our favourite mode of transport, the tro tro*. Known for being overcrowded and uncomfortable, the tro tro journey was surprisingly smooth. Despite Will having half of his derrière hanging out of the window and a few bumped heads due to the never ending pot holes, we arrived in Navrongo in one piece… just about.

Getting cosy on the tro tro

Upon arrival our tro tro was mobbed by a group of eager passengers. As soon as the rusty door was pulled open, men, women, children and babies dove onto the tro tro to claim their seats. Fighting, pushing, screaming and shouting, Team Sandema were helplessly stuck in the back, whilst a grown man scrambled through the back window and a woman threw her baby onto a seat. Bemused and a little frightened (lets be honest), we managed to push our way through the boarding passengers and alight the bus. Will and I managed to escape, whilst Poppy and Tracy were still trapped in tro tro hell.

Noticing a little white hand reach out from the mass of bodies, Will grabbed it and out emerged Poppy, followed by Tracy who angrily voiced her views to the passengers. “These people seriously need to learn how to form a queue!” Once we calmed down from our traumatic travel experience, we walked to a roadside food stall and relaxed with a well-deserved egg sandwich. A bloody big one too, as Poppy’s order of ‘three egg with bread’ resulted in a three-egged sandwich, each. Filled with egg until next week, we then ventured into the town centre and met our rock, Mr. Festus.

Festus has a close friend from Navrongo, Martin, who also joined us and acted as our tour guide for the day. We asked him to take us the Mud Cathedral, which he was happy to do. “Of course!” he said. “It’s not that far, we can walk there”. Note to self; never listen to a Ghanaian when they say ‘it’s not that far’. After an hour or so walking in the sweltering Ghanaian sun, desperately seeking shade and a toilet that wasn’t a hole behind a mud wall, we finally reached the Mud Cathedral. It was an enjoyable walk*, but it reminded me of when I was younger when my family and I would travel to Cornwall in the car, and I could be constantly asking my dad, “Are we theeeeeere yet?”

Taking the scenic route

As we entered the cathedral grounds we were welcomed by angelic choir singing coming from one of the rooms, which was a suitable backing track as we turned the corner and clapped eyes on the beautiful Mud Cathedral towering above us, looking like a perfect sand castle. Feeling very much like tourists we paced the building taking lots of photos and posing for the camera in front of the bell tower.

Tourist photo - me outside the Mud Cathedral

The Mud Cathedral was organised by three missionaries, the ‘White Fathers’, who travelled from Burkina Faso to Navrongo in 1906. The White Fathers, who were French-Canadian, initially desired to settle in Paga, but were moved onto Navrongo as they were thought to be slave traders and were not trusted. They were eventually permitted land in the forest by the people of Navrongo, but were only allowed to stay if they established peace with the animals.

Once this was evident they began their ‘catholic mission’ and built a small chapel in 1907, followed by a slightly larger chapel in 1910. The striking Mud Cathedral was later built and completed in 1920 and is still used for worship today. The interior of the cathedral is very impressive with the walls decorated with catholic symbolisms and animal engravings to represent the animals the three Father’s lived amongst.

Poppy and Will get holy

The long journey to the mud cathedral was worth it in the end and Team Sandema and I had a lovely day. We braced ourselves for the long trek back to Navrongo town centre, only for Martin to take us on a short cut that brought us into town in less than half an hour. Cheers for telling us about that shortcut, Martin. Much appreciated.

*Massive lie

- Jenna