Sara Thompson, Journey of a volunteer – week 1

Having been the ATE bookkeeper for 7 months I was very keen to find out more about the work that ATE does and to see for myself firsthand the difference that the charity makes to so many extremely poor people in Lawra, Upper West Ghana.

It was decided in October 2015 that I could be part of the January 2016 trip out to Lawra but in order to go I had to raise the funds for the trip (£1612). I launched the appeal and within 3 months had achieved the target thanks to the generosity of so many family and friends! Fantastic! First hurdle overcome!

So on January 8^th, a sunny but very cold day in Ramsbury,  I left with the travelling party (Sarah Gardner, Charles Gardner and Nick Maurice). I was apprehensive, to say the least, as to what the following 3 weeks would entail. I consider myself fairly ‘hardy’ and I’m not particularly fussed about ‘creature comforts’ but nothing could prepare me for this!

The 7 hour flight from Heathrow was uneventful and we arrived in Accra, the capital of Ghana,  at 8pm, stepped off the plane into 28 degrees of dry heat and then into a busy terminal where the queue for passport control seemed to be endless. We then got a taxi to Big Millys ‘resort’ which was to be our ‘hotel’ for the first night. Getting all of our luggage into the taxi boot was hilarious and it had to be tied down but after a rather uncomfortable ride we arrived. The facilities were very adequate – comfortable beds, a flushing toilet and an outdoor shower that dripped enough to be effective. More importantly at midnight the bar was still open. After 18 hours of travelling a cold beer was very welcome! The following day was spent on the beach which was fabulous and just what we needed. We spent the morning dipping in and out of the sea, watching the fishing boats coming in and admiring the number of small businesses selling goods along the beach. The food at Big Millys was much as we would have at home and all was going well until we discovered that we hadn’t been able to get tickets on the night bus to Lawra and could only get tickets as far as Wa which is 2 hours short of our destination. Hey ho!

 

The bus station at Accra was amazing – a huge hustling bustling mass of people, buses, taxis, luggage of every description, traders selling everything from toothpaste to suit jackets to oranges. We waited for the 7pm bus and it left virtually on time. The bus was air conditioned with big reclining seats and would have been comfortable with a chance of sleep had it not been for the loud music which they insist on playing all night!

We stopped a couple of times for a ‘comfort break’ – depends on whether you call squatting over a designated piece of ground comfortable. On the second stop the clutch went on the bus so at 12.30am we had to get off and wait till 3am for a replacement bus! This was not what we needed! The onward journey should have been straightforward but again the bus broke down and this time the passengers, including Dr Nick, had to push it to get it started! On we went and arrived in Wa at 8am, tired, grubby but still in one piece. It was during the latter part of the journey, once it got light, that I had my first glimpse of Ghana for real. I was absolutely overcome by the poverty particularly in the very remote areas. I have seen situations like this documented on TV but there is nothing like seeing this for yourself. It’s incredibly humbling and emotive.

Transport on from there was by trotro and is basically a battered old minibus  with a few wooden benches. I was quite glad that the journey was no longer than 2 hours! The roads are little more than sandy gravelly tracks at times and it takes its toll! However after a total of 54 hours since we left Ramsbury we had arrived at the ATE house in Lawra!

The house is huge and well equipped with comfortable beds, ceiling fans, flushing loos and showers that do more than drip! Luxury!

Showers all round and then off to one of the local bars for beers and dinner. This was barbecued guinea fowl with rice. The food was great but it was very dark (there are no lights!) so I ended up eating a piece of guinea fowl that was in fact the head! I thought it was a bit crunchy – presumably that was the beak!! At this point I felt like one of the celebs on ‘Get me out of here’. At least I couldn’t see what I was eating! The rest was great!

After a fabulous breakfast of eggs and bread, coffee and water at the local tea bar, which was to become a daily occurrence, our first proper day in Lawra was spent visiting 6 of the small business owners. We went out on motorbikes which was bumpy and dusty but a great way to get around. We visited the Zambo weavers which was one of the original businesses that ATE helped set up. They are an incredibly inspiring group of 3 women who are obviously being successful in their work producing the most beautiful cloth under quite difficult circumstances. I just had to buy a piece of cloth and hopefully I can use it as a table runner at home. It will have very special memories.

We also visited Theresa a seamstress who now, as I type this, is busily making me a top with a piece of cloth that I bought from a man on a bike! Her workplace is on the opposite side of the road to the ATE office so there is no opportunity for slacking! She works for at least 8 hours a day, beavering over her sewing machine, and all this in the heat of the day and surrounded by small children.

We went on to visit Francis and Betty who are groundnut farmers. They have 6 young children including 3 month old twins! The older children help with the business by shelling the nuts and the family rely very heavily on a good harvest and enough rain which is by no means guaranteed. We ‘interviewed’ them as they were all sitting lined up alongside the inside wall of their compound, out of the sun but very dusty and dirty. It was a very humbling experience to see how hard these families work in very difficult conditions. In spite of this they seem happy and the older children were all keen to help.

 

Patricia the weaver was another stop in the middle of nowhere. She has recently been seriously unwell, feeling very weak and lethargic but has an apprentice to help her so at least is getting a little income from that. She and her apprentice work under a tree outside her family compound and are surrounded by dirt, dust, chickens, goats and dogs. An awe- inspiring workplace.

We met with Alfred who makes baskets. He is one of the older business owners and is head of the family but still works really hard to make and sell his baskets. Our meeting with him was conducted sitting on the side of the road with our feet in the drain! I bought a couple of baskets from him to take home – they were always on my list of things to get!

 

Day 2 was one of the most  anticipated ones –the launch of the third school feeding programme at Dowine School. This is about 40 minutes on the motorbikes out of Lawra – a challenge on the spine and bottom but a very interesting journey through some extremely dusty, dry countryside with literally nothing for miles and miles.

Dowine School head teacher, John, other teachers and all the children were so excited to see us. They know the difference that this will have on them and it was a momentous occasion.

We were shown round the school and met with the three newly employed cooks who were working hard preparing and cooking beans and gari for lunch for 200+ children. As I walked into the kitchen I said ‘Wow!’ to one of the cooks. From that moment on that was all she said to me and rapidly became known as the ‘Wow cook!’.  The new kitchens are very basic – a huge cooking pot was balanced on a fire made of locally collected wood and the smoke inside is stifling at times. However the end result was fantastic and we were all given a bowl to eat before the children brought their bowls to be served. What an exciting day for all concerned!

 

Day 3 we met with the 30 ATE consultants in the morning and held a workshop to explain to them how to conduct the surveys that they had been asked to carry out with the Small Business Owners (SBOs) the following day. This was a very organised and productive meeting and it was great to see how engaged and committed the consultants were. I personally found it amazing that these people were only called the previous day, they all turned up on time,  and then did exactly what they were asked and arranged their meeting with individual SBOs for the following day. You’d need at least 2 weeks’ notice to get that sort of activity arranged and carried out back in the UK!

After the meeting we went out on the bikes to meet with Karbo Primary and Junior High Schools. We met with the head teachers of each and spent time with the cooks and the children while they cooked and had lunch. The primary school is big with a ratio of 1 teacher to 40 children. The children start in the kindergarten and when they leave at the age of 11+ they go on to the Junior High School. These children come from a huge catchment area and even at the age of 4-5years old are walking 2-4km a day to school and back! It’s extraordinary and puts us to shame when we realise that some of the parents in the UK feel that they have to drive their children 200 yds to school.

On Day 4 of the first week I went with Sarah and Edith, the newly appointed Project Assistant, back to Dowine School to weigh and measure all the children. This is to give us a baseline to work on to establish the effect that the new feeding problem will have. It was a fun filled organised session with the children lining up in classes, waiting to be called, getting measured, weighed and their arm circumference recorded. Chaos reigned at times as I was trying to input the data with numbers being hurled at me from all sides from three different people! However we all enjoyed it and the children were so co-operative.

 

It only took a couple of hours and we then met briefly with the cooks, including ‘Wow!’, before we were then on our way back along the red dusty roads to the house for lunch. On the last day of my first week I spent the morning back at Karbo Primary School making an analysis of the attendance register. This gives a good indication of how many children now attend school because they are getting a free school meal. This has increased dramatically from three years ago to a staggering 90%+ now! So encouraging! I loved spending the morning there – the teachers and children made me feel very welcome and I walked home feeling that a good morning’s work had been achieved.

That afternoon I went with Nick to get a few bits in town and to also get measured by Theresa for my smock top. We managed to find our way around town and succeeded in getting phone credit and washing up liquid but you can’t buy a kitchen sink plug for love or money in Lawra! It certainly wasn’t for lack of trying! We went out to eat in town that night. A newly opened bar on the main street. Incredible value – red fish, rice, spicy sauce and salad plus several beers all round for just 75 Ghana cedis for 6 of us! That’s less than £15!!

So that’s it! My first week completed and what a week it’s been – hot, dusty and challenging at times but incredibly emotive, inspirational and thought provoking. Can’t wait for more…………………!!!