The second week began on a Saturday. Normally a possible weekend day of rest but, in spite of the extremely relaxed pace of life out here, life doesn’t appear to stop in Ghana and so we spent the morning holding another workshop with the consultants. It was amazing to see how many of them turned up and were totally engaged by what we were doing. I sat with a lovely group of ladies who thought it was hilarious that I wanted to take selfies with them! They were delightful to work with and gave extremely good feedback from the discussion.
In the afternoon we played at being tourists for a while. We went on the nyabba – a motorbike driven ‘truck’ to see the place where the first president of Ghana, Kyame Nkrumah, was imprisoned. It was a tiny stone ‘cell’ and appeared to be completely in the dark apart from a few ventilation holes. Apparently he wasn’t too fond of the people of Lawra and had put a curse on them! We went on to visit the site of his home – now a ruin but very interesting all the same.
Our next stop was the river which marks the border of Ghana with Birkina Faso. We crossed this very murky slow flowing river in what appeared to be quite a sturdy wooden punt like boat! I must admit that I think I am getting ‘braver’ as the trip goes on and, note to self – never wear a skirt for this sort of occasion! Trying to get in and out of the boat was a challenge in itself – it doesn’t exactly sit still and, having got in, the water was lapping over the sides as we walked along it to take our seats on the benches.
By the time we were half way across Nick and I had slightly more water lapping around our feet than we would have liked. At this point the top of the boat was about an inch above the surface which made it even more exciting when someone said there were hippos in the water! Luckily not a single one was spotted and I don’t even know if it was true but in any case I was glad to reach the other side and ‘disembark’. This involved slipping and sliding the length of the boat at great hilarity to the locals watching! Why I didn’t fall in I don’t know!
Once on terra firma we walked about 500 metres inland. The terrain is amazing – obviously much greener than anything we had experienced due to the river which floods the neighbouring land in the short rainy season. It also reminded me of a desert film set – nothing for miles other than red sand, trees and bushes. The birdsong was incredible and I would have liked to know more about the various species. We saw very few animals other than goats and there was evidence of gold mining equipment in a couple of places. I’m not sure how effective it is.
Our return boat journey was in 2 separate boats as we thought this might be a bit safer! It still produced a degree of entertainment for anyone watching as I struggled to get in! Oh well it’s good to give them something to laugh about!!
From the river we travelled to a large ‘pond’ where apparently the crocodiles hang out. In spite of this it doesn’t appear to stop the local women from washing their clothes along the water’s edge. Dr Nick was very brave and wandered around the edge of the river but not a single croc was spotted unfortunately. It amused the locals to see us all getting very excited with anticipation!
We arrived back at the house dusty and in need of a beer so after cleaning ourselves up we wandered into town and had dinner at the same place as last night. I had a lovely ride down to the town centre, taking in all of the local scenery on a (comparatively) cool evening. We ate banku that night – this is a typical Ghanaian food and resembles bland, gloopy mashed potato. I must admit that of all the food I have sampled so far it was my least favourite but at least I gave it a go! It was served with fish and a sauce and is quite messy to eat with your right hand only as is their custom – spoons or forks are not on the agenda!
On our first Sunday in Lawra we went to the church service in Kalsegre. The service was led by one of the local women, Connie, (an amazing translator), and the readings and sermon were given by my newly found friend, Sue Kolljeski. Sue is from the States and has been a missionary in Ghana for the past 5 years. She is an inspirational lady and seems to be very popular with the local community, and especially with the children. The service was well attended and everyone sang and danced their way through it for over 2 hours! The collection is an interesting experience – all the women dance round and round the congregation, singing and chanting to the beat of the drum, and put whatever they can afford to give in one of two baskets. Sarah and I took part in this – It was very humbling to be able to participate.
Visiting the local church at Kalsegre
We spent a restful afternoon at the house catching up on washing and emails from home. It seems like another world away but it is comforting to be able to keep in touch.
Dinner that evening was cooked by Adeline, one of the consultants. She is another incredible lady. Not only does she work as a teacher and a consultant but is also studying for a diploma and has twins aged under 3! It puts many of us so called ‘multi taskers’ to shame! She cooked a groundnut soup and chicken which was accompanied by another dish resembling banku. I wasn’t sure about this either so decided not to partake which was a shame. Apparently this type of food does ‘grow’ on you but I have yet to be persuaded!
The beginning of the second proper working week saw me travelling out to Dowine School again but this time on the back of Edith’s bike. The rest of our party were busy at the ATE office in town preparing for the two day conference that was on the following 2 days.
The journey out to Dowine was hilarious. Edith travels at a much greater speed than I had been used to and I found myself clinging on just hoping that we would make it in one piece. I could have asked her to slow down but in all honesty I was quite enjoying the experience. There are several ‘speed bumps’ on the 30 minute route and each time we went over one of these there was a little cry from the front – ‘Sorry – are you still there?!’ It was also market day so the road was a lot busier and dustier than usual with trucks, nyabbas and a huge number of people on foot carrying large buckets of items for sale on their heads. By the time we arrived I looked like an extremely dusty panda when I took off my sunglasses!
However the children, teachers and cooks were so pleased to see us again and we went just over an hour doing the attendance analysis for the past term. This will act as a benchmark for future monitoring to establish the impact that the new feeding programme will have on the average class attendance.
We were back at the office by 11.30 and had time to catch up on emails etc from home. Then after lunch we went to the weekly market. This was an incredible experience. This colourful market is huge and rambles on and on with traders selling anything from live pigs, goats and chickens to oranges, rice, socks, cloth, spices and virtually anything else that you can think of. The frenzy of noise is apparent in places but then in other areas the traders just sit and wait in the hope that someone will choose their pitch to buy from, as opposed to other pitches selling exactly the same thing. It is hard to see how any of them make much money and the effort that goes into it all is very inspiring.
Patience, working at the market
We met several of the small business owners at the market – Patience is one of the ATE success stories. She is a lovely lady with a huge smile and carrying a large bowl of bananas on her head – just one of the things that she sells. She is currently several months pregnant but still works extremely hard and saves as much as she can to help meet her needs in the future. The happy smiley photo that I took of her says so much about how much this charity has impacted on the lives of people like her.
We also met a trader selling tomatoes, one selling sugar and gari, and another selling vegetables. On the way back we met with a seamstress who also sells dishwashing liquid and a bleach type product – a strange combination but a successful business apparently. There was also Raymond, the mechanic who spends his day with a couple of apprentices and a few friends working for free, fixing motorbikes. He has done so well but currently works around an open ‘shack’. His goal is to be able to buy a container to work from in the future. This will cost him at least the equivalent of £1000 but he saves about £30-£40 a month and is a determined young man. I’m sure he will one day reach his goal. There is, after all, no shortage of motorbikes to fix!
That night the tummy bug struck! It was always going to happen and as I have been so keen to try all of the food that was on offer I suppose it was inevitable. It made me feel a bit washed out for the whole of the first day of the conference and I stayed close to home and gave it a miss. What a shame but better safe than sorry! I got a few work related emails done, in what seemed like an environment not dissimilar to the house in the ‘Home Alone’ films – spookily quiet with an air of expectation! I was very pleased to have the company of two of the dogs, several goats and a very lively chicken with her tiny chick. I managed to make some ‘toast’ for lunch – bread dry fried in a saucepan and had this with blue band margarine which seems to be the only dairy product available. Excitement hit a high when I remembered that my daughter, Emma, had left a tiny sachet of raspberry jam in the backpack that she had lent me! It had travelled all round Scotland. Ireland and the UK last year but was never more welcome than on my ‘toast’ in deepest Ghana! Thanks Emma!
The first day of the conference with the consultants and small business owners apparently was very successful and extremely well attended. Everyone was very tired that evening so we went out to dinner. Our bike was heavily laden with Habib, Sarah, Hassan, me and Oscar the dog! An amusing journey but Oscar loved it wedged between us and wagging all the way!
The following day I felt much better so was really pleased to be able to attend the second day of the conference. Once again it was well attended and some of the SBOs arrived with very small children in tow and others with items for sale, but they all turned up in good spirits and were very attentive and keen to participate. Many of the sessions were held in the local language of dagaari with one of the consultants translating into English – it all seemed to work well and it is amazing to think how far ATE have come in just 3 years. In 2012 Sarah wasn’t even able to communicate with many of the consultants without an interpreter – now they all speak English and translate perfectly so that everyone can be involved. At the end of the conference Dr Nick gave the closing speech and prayer, both of which got a standing ovation and Sarah gave out certificates of achievement to each individual consultant for a job well done. There was an immense feeling of satisfaction all round!
The following day (Thursday) I went with Sarah and Nick to visit one of the small business owners, Peace, and her daughter, Blessing. Blessing is now 20 years old but at the age of 18 months she suffered a huge convulsion, possibly from meningitis or cerebral malaria, and has serious brain damage as a result. Peace is her sole carer but also has 4 more children and a very successful business as a seamstress. She is an incredibly brave, inspiring woman who obviously adores Blessing. We were all so moved by her story and her determination to cope with her very difficult situation.
I visited Karbo Junior High School later in the morning to do the attendance analysis. I cycled there on a slightly battered old pushbike with one vaguely functioning back brake! Luckily it’s close to home and the dogs accompanied me so it was a good experience. The teachers and cooks were pleased to see me and as always made me feel very welcome bringing me a strawberry Fan Yogo, which is a frozen yoghurt. It certainly made a change from gallons of water! They offered me lunch as well but in view of my recent tummy issues I politely declined. I wasn’t sure that spicy beans and gari was a good idea especially as I had to cycle back!
That afternoon we were invited to Sue, the missionary’s, for coffee and cake. She had made a gorgeous almond and pastry cake which was very thoughtful and extremely popular with all of us. Her house is only 200 yards from the ATE house and is very well equipped with many lovely items of furniture and beautiful wall hangings. If you spend so long out here it is essential that you feel at home and comfortable in your surroundings and an oven and proper coffeemaker certainly help with that!
So the last morning of my second week I went back to Karbo JHS with three of the consultants to carry out the health analysis. The children and teachers were all so co-operative and we had it all buttoned up in under an hour and a half! Great work guys!
In the afternoon I was involved in a meeting with the rest of the team who were analysing the results of the surveys from consultants and SBOs. This project has taken a huge amount of work from everyone concerned and hopefully will result in many goals, hopes and aspirations being reached for all in the future.
It is now strange to think that this time 2 weeks ago I was at Heathrow airport waiting to travel here. What an amazing, fantastic, inspirational two weeks of my life it has been and I still have one week to go! Charles and Dr Nick are leaving tomorrow and will literally cross paths in the night with Pip, Karen, Ross and a film crew who will be at Heathrow as I write this, and will arrive here on Sunday morning! So will begin the third week of my trip and everything that that will entail. How exciting!