Aug 2009

"Only when you have crossed the river can you say the crocodile has a lump on his snout"
- Ashanti Proverb

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Although my primary purpose for being in Ghana in July was to teach at Senchi Ferry Methodist School each day, our group was free to explore on evenings and weekends. We spent most evenings eating and resting, but on weekends we formed into groups, hired cars or vans and hit the road!

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A dancer in New Akrade, Ghana performs on a stage at the outdoor community center

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I spent most of my time in the various towns I visited - Akosombo, Kumasi, Accra - wandering through twisting city streets and exploring markets selling everything from vegetables to textiles. That doesn't mean that I didn't get to explore museums and cultural sites, but to be honest, I found just wandering the streets and chatting with people at the market more interesting.

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Our first week a few of us headed 25 minutes by van north of Senchi to Akosombo and the local market. It only runs on Monday and Thursday, but is the primary shopping opportunity for people in the area. I had only been in Ghana for a few days, and found the Akosombo Marekt little overwealming - the crowds, mud, variety, the flies... In hindsight I am glad I started with this small regional market instead of plunging first into the swirl of Makola Market in Accra!

When I was in Ghana I always asked permission before photographing anyone, and initially had very little luck in getting people to agree. The more local language I learned and the more time I spend chatting with people BEFORE asking permission to photograph them, the better my conversion rate was. One time I asked a market woman if I could photograph her and she said "so you want to take my picture and take it back to America with you and leave me here? Why don't you just take me with you - that will be much better!" Touche!

The approach to Akosombo Market - part of it was paved with permanent stalls, but most was muddy and informal

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A muddier view of the market - women in Ghana carry everything on their heads, regardless of bulk or weight

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Second hand clothing for sale - on closer inspection, much of it appears to be from North America

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A woman sells a common local delicacy - smoked fish caught in the nearby Volta River

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I found this tabloid poster wall interesting - a crowd was gathered around to see photos and read a bit about Michael Jackson - yep, even in the interior of Ghana it was a big story... Also depicted are shocking photos of the wealth and punishment of "Sakawa", or mobsters/con men who have become rich through organized crime

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Ghana is famous for many things - Kente Cloth, High-Life music, Ashanti Culture - and on a few occasions we were able to explore a little of each.

Another shot of a dancer in New Akrade

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The Jr. High HIV club does a skit on how to avoid the dreaded disease - there was a whole assembly dedicated to music, dance and drama to further HIV/AIDS education

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The HIV Club Poetry contest!

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A Senchi Ferry student in traditional dress dances at the HIV Club assembly

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Our second weekend in Ghana a couple of us (Jeanne, India, Emily and I) hired a car and set out for the ancient Ashanti Capital of Kumasi. Although only about 150 miles away, because of the roads (occasionally excellent, but more frequently pot-holed or gravel) it took us close to six hours to get to our B&B in Kumasi.

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Our B&B in Kumasi, the Four Villages. Your home away from home in Kumasi!
http://www.fourvillages.com/

Even though it took a long time, I enjoyed the drive very much. There was so much to look at - the least being the diversity of the jungle sliding by, full of large and dramatic trees, the occasional baboon. What was most interesting were the glimpses into the life of local Ghanaians. Whenever we drove into a village we would slow way down to make our way over the ubiquitous "speed-bumps" and we all got a look at village life - the busy carrying, buying, selling and socializing that seemed to go on unabated all day and into the evening. As we drove accross the country from east to west we would drive through areas where different products where available for sale on the side of the road - bright orange palm oil in gallon plastic jugs in one area, sugar-cane in another, abundant fruit and vegetables in another.

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I am fascinated by the trees in Ghana - so many unfamiliar species, and so big!

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Cow Crossing - they had baboon crossings too, but I didn't get a photo

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Once we got into Kumasi the traffic thickened up and the hawkers started to appear at stop-lights. One could buy hot food, drinks, soap, you name it, and all from the window of your car!

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Kumasi is the center of the ancient Ashanti Kingdom, and although the Capital is Accra on the coast, Kumasi is described by many sources as the cultural capital of Ghana and the Akan people. The Ashanti Kingdom traces its roots to 1670, when a collection of local tribes banded together. Ashanti history invests a great deal of importance in the story of the "Golden Stool" which is the divinely inspired throne of this matrilineal society. The Ashanti were one of the few groups in Africa that put up a serious fight against European colonial powers.

The Ashanti Kingdom, which also fought wars with the Fante and Ga people of Ghana, had upwards of 100,000 soldiers, making it more powerful even that the Zulus of East Africa. From 1823 to 1900, the British fought four wars with the Ashanti and it was only in 1900 that the interior area around Kumasi was incorporated into the British Gold Coast colony. Bottom-line: the Ashanti were tough, and even in colonial times, the British never trained Ashanti warriors to join the British colonial army for fear they would apply their military skills and rebel. One of the most interesting places we visited in Kumasi was the Colonial Fort and Military museum which had everything from African weapons captured in the 19th century, British Colonial photographs, German, Japanese and Italian weapons captured around Africa during World War One and Two, and even an old Bradley tank left behind by the Americans!

We toured around Kumasi to explore "cultural sites", but I quickly slipped off on my own to explore Kejetia Market, which is touted as one of the largest in West Africa.

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On my way to the market, I made my way through various neighborhoods

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Although I only scraped the surface of Kejetia, I was able to get a sense of its scale on this quiet Sunday morning

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This woman was selling cooked eggs in spicy tomato sauce and found my attempt at Twi - her language - hilarious

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I am told one can buy just about anything at Kejetia Market, and I sure saw lots of stuff!

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In a poor country like Ghana very little is wasted - here used bike parts are for sale

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Motor-bike repair shop in the muslim quarter in Kumasi

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A cobbler if your sole is in need of some work

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The Sunday that I visited Kejetia most of what was for sale was food and produce

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This woman - named Ama - took some convincing, but I finally got her to smile

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This woman - also named Ama interestingly enough - was all smiles and giggles until it was time to shoot, then she posed in a rather serious manner. When I met her she had her box on her head, navigating the crowd, selling bread

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One evening after tutoring, we had the chance to visit a nearby bead factory (Cedi Beads) that designed and produced Krobo-style beads from recycled glass. Although an ancient art form utilizing various materials, in the past century, discarded beverage bottles have become the most common raw material at Cedi.

Raw material

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An artisan prepares molds for liquid glass by "painting" them with colorizing agents

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Glass bottles are melted down and placed in molds to create beads

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After they are removed from the kiln, they are allowed to cool

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Another view of the kiln area

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After cooling, the beads are removed from the molds

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and polished in a stone basin

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Bead molds and finished beads on display

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A pile of the finished product - rough, but beautiful

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Traditional beads - painted with colorizing agents before being fired

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Plenty to buy in the gift shop!

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Some more delicate painted examples

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A view of the Akosombo Dam and Lake Volta beyond from the Volta Hotel

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The largest public works project in the history of this region, and a source of great national pride for the Ghanaian people is the Akosombo Dam. The dam was built in the early 1960s to power an American built aluminum smelter in nearby Tema, and opened in 1965 creating Lake Volta - the largest man-made lake in the world (8,500 sq/km). The lake covers 3.6% of the land in Ghana and required the resettlement of more than 80,000 people (some in nearby Senchi Ferry New Town). The damn is an internationally controversial subject - leftists would tell you that it is an example of neo-colonialism in that the majority of the project benefits foreign investors, a point of view with which I sympathize, but that said, the project might never been built otherwise. I have many opinions on foreign aid and investment in Africa - more pro-business than many of my comrades might expect - but I shall share these elsewhere...

Where was I? Oh yes - big dam, bigger lake, impressive powerplant, etc. A few of us went up one morning to take a tour. Later that weekend, Emily, Jeanne and I took a bout tour on Lake Volta itself.

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Maureen, India, Shirley and Maria pose with our guides on the dam itself - the southernmost tip of the lake in the background

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Looking down river from the top of the dam

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The turbines leading to the power-plant

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A view of the Dodi Princess docking on Dodi island on Lake Volta. Jeanne, Emily and I took a cruise one day. Not that much to see, but it nice to get out on the water.

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Dodi Island - one of the many in Lake Volta.

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I was surprised at how few boats there were on Lake Volta. I understand that it is restricted to those who live nearby, but in five hours I only saw three or four boats.

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Anne and Peggy pose near one of the entrances to the food portion of Makola Market

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On my last weekend in Ghana we all travelled to the Capital, Accra, for the day in order to catch our early morning flights home. We had a full afternoon to explore the city, and Anne, Peggy and I headed right for Makola Market. Billed as the biggest in West Africa. I couldn't tell if it was bigger or smaller than Kejeta Market in Kumasi, but since I spent at least four hours at Makola, it certainly seemed bigger.

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The crowds in the streets surrounding the market were crowded - not as crowded as say, Stanley Market in Hong Kong, but for Ghana, as busy as it gets!

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A woman sells two varieties of local peppers. One of the best things about Ghanaian food were the spices - hot and lively, but not too hot

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These are actually palm kernels. They are pressed to make palm oil, a local staple

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Fresh crabs

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Although the market area looks spacious enough, most of the action was down very narrow alleys or packed into vast collections of partially covered stalls.

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This fellow's shirt was too white for him to be a butcher - I suspect he just liked posing with entrails

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The African staple crop of cassava. It doesn't taste like much on its own - its like a very bland sweet potato - but serve it with a pepper sauce and subsistence never tasted so good!

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Two women take a break from grinding cassava flour. Note the t-shirt - from some goodwill box in Oregon all the way to Ghana...

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More snails - these ones were big, but not the biggest I saw

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Granted, that is Anne's petit hand, not mine, but it gives you a sense of scale

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The spice grinder

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Household goods of every description

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Small dried fish and shrimp

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Spices and other ingredients

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Bananas and more snails

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Newsstand at Makola Market

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A roasted grass-cutter. This West African delicacy is like cross between a beaver and a rat - quite expensive and much loved.

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A gregarious seller of pig's feet. From Jacksonville, Florida to Beijing, people seem to love their pigs feet....

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Anne and Peggy grew tired of Makola after about an hour, so we split up and I explored deeper into the clothing section on my own. It was amazing - hundreds upon hundreds of small stalls, all selling used clothing, much of it from North America. I was looking for some Obama in Ghana t-shirts, but since it was two weeks after his visit, I couldn't find any. A local guy, led me deep into the market - down back alleys, through underground sweatshops where men sweated over ancient sewing machines, and finally to one stall that still had the shirts I was looking for.

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Imagine this scene going on for hundreds of yards, twisting and turning, the ground under-foot soft with discarded rags

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I did find a few shops with new textiles, and in hindsight I wish I had bought some, but I was so dazed by the variety that I ended up buying almost nothing.

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Although not the Kente cloth that Ghana is most famous for, the selection of textiles was of very high quality

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Buttons galore!

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Finally, on the way to the airport, one of the hundreds of Welcome Obama billboards in Accra

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I had a wonderful time in Ghana and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in exploring Africa, but a bit nervous about how intense it might be. The people in Ghana - both in the capital and the countryside - are wonderful, and will go out of their way to welcome you and help you out if you have lost your way. Certainly a little tip is always a nice gesture, but is rarely, if ever, demanded (except at the airport).

The museums in Accra and Kumasi are limited, and this is not a big tourist country, but the countryside and the people make it worth the 12 hour flight from New York!

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My next stop? Hilary and I are off to Tokyo, Hakone and Kyoto in October - look for the Japan blog in November!

Peter, Conscious, Doh, Shalom and Esther after tutoring

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“Education is a human right with immense power to transform. On its foundation rest the cornerstones of freedom, democracy and sustainable human development.”

- Kofi Annan, former United Nations Secretary General, Nobel Peace Prize winner, and famous Ghanaian

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Although our team worked on multiple projects while in Ghana, most of us were placed in one of three schools in Senchi Ferry - Catholic, Bea Akoto, and Methodist. The denominational names are based on their founding years ago by missionary groups - they are now all part of the public system. From first to seventh grade, we were scattered throughout the community based on need and our preferences. I ended up working at the Methodist School, teaching 6th grade with Mr. Daniel Ankamah.

Mr. Ankamah and Bryan

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Mr. Ankamah is a seasoned educator with 35 years of experience teaching in Ghana. He grew up in the region east of Lake Volta, near the border with Togo, but had been teaching in Senchi Ferry for years. Actually, our local group leader, Benjamin, was in Mr. Ankamah's class back in the 6th grade!

I was welcomed into his classroom, and taught all subjects to his sixth graders for three weeks. Mr. Ankamah was present most of the time in the classroom, but on occasion left to attend to other business. My situation was common, in that I was not filling a void in the school's teaching needs, but rather invited in to assist regular teachers already in place. The Global Volunteers model is based firmly on the concept that volunteers work with local partners and participate in a cultural exchange. Thus, none of us was supposed to be working alone. That said, some of our teachers were present less than others.

After the kids got used to me, and I them, I did my best to teach Math, English Grammar, Science, PE, and yes, Ghanaian Citizenship. Each class had a very detailed syllabus, so after studying this and available text-books, I was good to go!

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Hagga poses in front of Senchi Ferry Methodist School

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This is the classroom - tin roof, open to the outside on the sides, chalk board

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Classroom lighting provided by openings in the cinderblock walls

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Each student in Ghanaian public schools is required to wear a uniform, but school fees have been abolished in recent years. Thus any student with enough money for a uniform (about $4) can attend school. That said, there seemed to be lots of a la carte expenses the students had to pay. For example, at the end of the term, in order to take the exams that would secure or deny their promotion to the 7th grade, each student had to pay 20 peswas for the copying of their exam (20 cents).

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Christian and Emmanuel work on their Maths

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Victor stays behind during recess to complete his assignment

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I brought a stack of photos with me to share more about my life in the U.S. with my students. I then used these photos as prompts for a writing exercise. Here Eric writes a paragraph about the photo of my Nephew Jacob eating ice cream

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Gladys prepares to ring the bell (analog) for recess. Gladys was one of the students who was obviously hungry each day. Although very bright, she didn't have much energy. During recess I would share my Cliff-bars with her and she would perk right up.

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Diku relaxes on a bench during recess

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Mavis, Conscious and Abigail

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Priscilla learns to throw a frisbee during recess. I brought a frisbee and soccer ball with me for my students to enjoy. The school had only one ball for all 400 students.

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Catch!

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Helen during break

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The Library at Senchi Ferry Methodist School. The selection of books was very limited, but there were plans to install electricity and install a donated computer. Its a start!

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Patricia reads an old favorite

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After a snack, Gladys reads during library time - she is puzzling over the concept of "Igloo" (she has never experienced a temperature lower than 75 degrees, so her concept of ice is limited to the freezer at the local market).

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Gladys, Esther and Martha

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Another wing of the Methodist School

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I picked up a soccer ball at Target before leaving for Ghana, and I suspect it was the most popular thing I brought with me (including myself!)

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Who needs shoes - that is why they call it football!

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Moro and Diku

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Elijha

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Diku was about 15 and in the sixth grade, so he tended to dominate at recess

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Al-Haji, one of the few muslim students in my class, takes a shot on goal

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Karen, another volunteer on our team, teaches her 5th graders the Hokey-Pokey

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One morning as I arrived at school I saw what seemed like the entire student body in the main yard leaning over. I soon realized that they were "mowing" the lawn... with machettes. Apparently, they do this as a group now and then. And apparently, every kid in Ghana has their own machette (they call them cutlasses). And they can often be seen toting them to school. I am not sure why I was so fascinated by this. It was interesting to see students taking care of their school, but also funny to think that in the Untied States we expel kids for bringing toy guns to school, where in Ghana, kids are required to bring big, heavy, sharp cutlasses to class....

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The girls seemed especially good at it - I suspect they had lots of practice

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Eric mowing

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Hagga takes a break

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Some of our group worked on a construction project in the center of Senchi. The Library was a partnership between the community and Global Volunteers, and the July goal was to complete as much of the roof structure as possible.

Benjamin, Emily and Samuel post in front of the Library

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Anne, India and Shirley take a break (while Brendan, Austin, Mark and Matt toil in the background!)

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Brendan provides the muscle

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Cleaning valuable tools

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Regardless of where we were working in the community, in the afternoons we all gathered in the yard at Senchi Methodist School for afternoon tutoring. We showed up on first day and were swarmed with kids eager to read and spend time with us. Benjamin, our group leader, did his best to limit our groups to three or four, but there were always extra kids hanging around wanting to join in. Although the afternoon program was designed specifically to help kids with their reading skills, I used the time for Math and Geography as well. I found that my 5th grade boys responded enthusiastically to competition, so I devised geography and math challenges where teams of boys would compete against each other and score points for finding a country on a map, calculating a math problem correctly, etc.

Caleb, Tika and Moses read about Obama from a book on of our team-members brought along

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Nancy works with her girls on their reading

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Anne, Benjamin and Shirley at our tutoring session

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My guys swarm the map looking for Sri Lanka in one of my GEOGRAPHY CHALLENGES!

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Tika, Alfred, Caleb and Moses

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Miss Emily and three of her students. One day she was sick and couldn't come to tutoring and they cried all afternoon...

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Peggy, from San Bernadino, California, works with her group

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One of India's students walks her home after tutoring. Men and women of all ages hold hands in Ghana

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Even with the rough hewn building, the oppressive humidity and the lack of student foot-ware, sometimes, deep in a lesson about descriptive adjectives or translating fractions into decimals, I would forget that I was in Africa, 6,000 miles from home.... Then, I would be reminded...

There were lots of bats living in the rafters of the classroom - a fact that hardly elicited any notice from my students or co-teacher. The classroom is open to the outside all day, all night - if I was a bat I would live there too. One day, a particularly big one was up top and it shit on me while I was teaching. I was disturbed by this.

A bat, minding his own business in the classroom rafters

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My students caught on to my annoyance and during recess they killed the offender and left it on my desk. I was horrified as where I am from, we are taught not to touch bats as they can harbor rabies. My students saw my horror and Akoto said: "don't worry Sah Bryan, it is dead, it will not feces on you anymore...." True enough. I guess I will need to do some more work on nouns and verbs though...

Akoto and the Bat

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On a final note - I plan to continue my relationship with Global Volunteers and Senchi Ferry Methodist school. I hope to help support the school as best I can in the future. If you are interested in going to Ghana through Global Volunteers, I strongly recommend the program. If you would like to assist me in gathering supplies for the school or offering support in any way, please let me know. Even a little bit can help this community immensely!

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Greetings from Senchi Ferry Methodist School!

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Next time - exploring Ghana - Music, dance and markets!

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Billboard in Makola Market, Accra, Ghana

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Now, that triumph must be won once more, and it must be won by you. And I am particularly speaking to the young people. ...
You have the power to hold your leaders accountable, and to build institutions that serve the people. You can serve in your communities, and harness your energy and education to create new wealth and build new connections to the world. You can conquer disease, end conflicts, and make change from the bottom up. You can do that. Yes you can. Because in this moment, history is on the move.
- President Barak Obama, July 10, 2009, Accra, Ghana

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I arrived in Accra on the 4th of July after an 11 hour flight from JFK. I stepped off the plane into oppressive equatorial humidity and local jubilation at the prospect of Obama's visit the following week.

Although I was not in the Capital during the Presidential visit - I was about two hours away in a small community called Senchi Ferry on the Volta River - everywhere I went Ghanaians were buzzing. When people found out that I was an American they would perk up beyond their normal friendliness and tell me how happy they were that Obama was visiting Ghana and how important Ghana's friendship with the United States was. How refreshing!

Once, while I was wandering through Kumasi - Ghana's second largest city - I was surrounded by a crowd of children. When they found out I was from the United States, they started singing a locally popular song about Obama - see here for the studio version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L85YF0pyPH0

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Even my students, many of which had never seen the Atlantic Ocean (90 kilometers away) knew all about Obama

Conscious, one of the students in my class, shows off his Obama chocolate candy

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But wait, why was I there? As many of you know, I was laid-off from my job in May and I received a modest severance. That and some savings gave me a little breathing room and I decided to explore volunteer opportunities in Sub-Saharan Africa. A friend told me about Global Volunteers (http://www.globalvolunteers.org/) which had a program in Ghana in July. After ruminating on the idea for a day or two, I decided to make the trip. I spent much of June networking and sending out resumes, and on July 3rd, headed off to Ghana - first to the capital, Accra, then on to a small community called Senchi-Ferry.

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Downtown Senchi-Ferry one evening

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Global Volunteers runs year round projects around the world, and their work in Senchi-Ferry is focused on education, construction and medical services. Our team of 19 taught in local schools, helped in building a community library, and worked in area medical clinics. We were from all over the United States (and one Canadian) and some of our group had been on numerous Global Volunteer teams before. (Jeanne was up to 17 I believe!)

Shalom and Jeanne after an afternoon tutoring session

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After an initial orientation session with our local leader Benjamin, we were formally introduced to the community chiefs and the next day we got to work. My job was to serve in one of the local schools - Senchi Methodist - where I taught sixth grade for three weeks (more on this later).

I organized my blog entries into this first one 1) an introduction and look at the community, 2) more detail about the school where I worked, and then 3) my explorations around Ghana - mostly in markets!

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One caveat - all of my blog entries are my own photos, observations and thoughts - they do not necessarily represent the opinions of Global Volunteers or any of my team-mates.

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My students from Senchi-Ferry Methodist School and I

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Me with the local Chiefs of Senchi-Ferry at our going away party at the end of our visit

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Senchi-Ferry

Ghana is a country of about 22 million people and is roughly the size of Oregon. Its neighbors are Togo, Benin and Nigeria to the east, The Ivory Coast to the west, and Burkina Faso to the north. It is a peaceful and stable country that was the first West African nation to achieve independence from England in 1957. Although seen as an African success story in recent years, Ghana is poor with a per-capita GDP of $2,480 in 2007 compared with $41,890 per head in the United States. 57% of Ghana's adult population is literate, and life expectancy is 60 years. For comparison, the literacy rate in the United States is 99.8% and life expectancy is 79 years.

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A few gentlemen in the community grab a lamb for me to photograph - yum!

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I was told that the conditions in Senchi-Ferry were average to slightly below average for Ghana, and that most of the residents were employed in subsistence farming as the primary source of their livelihood. They raise corn and cassava, gather snails and fruit in the jungle and raise goats and chickens around their homes. There is piped water in the community, and some homes have electricity, but very few. The school where I worked has no electricity, running water, or even walls - the classrooms were open to the outside.

Animals wander freely in Senchi, sometimes into class, but apparently at night they always go home - like house-cats. Some residents find work selling things at the market in nearly Akosombo, and some also work in local banana and pineapple plantations (owned by foreign interests and produced for export).

Goats and chickens everywhere!

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Corn growing near Senchi

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Even though most Ghanaians are of modest means, I found the people to be friendly, welcoming, and overwhelmingly generous. It was truly eye-opening to meet people with so little, yet so intent on sharing what they did have with me.

A woman in Senchi prepares Banku - a white yam that is a local staple

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We all walked from our guest house to our various work-sites each morning and passed through the community. I tried to learn as much of the local language (Twi) as I could. Even though almost all Ghanaians speak English, a little local language goes a long way and I was able to make many friends!

Desmond greets me on my way back to the guest house where we stayed

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The Banana Plantation

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Organic Bananas protected from bugs with blue plastic

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The Pineapple Plantation

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Pineapples!

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Many structures in Senchi was constructed of earth bricks - this is a kitchen

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A commercial building being built in a traditional manner - earth bricks

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Another view of a local street

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A home we visited one afternoon

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A girl in Senchi selling her catch - a plate full of big snails!

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Close up of local snails

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The Eye Clinic in Senchi

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Our team, accompanied by many of our students, pay a visit to a local home

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One of my student's courtyard (Caleb) - main house, apartment, kitchen

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Caleb helps his grandmother make Fu Fu - a mash of yam, plantain and/or corn - that is a local staple

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Caleb cleans the kitchen

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Caleb poses proudly in front of his wash-room

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Two neighborhood kids play on the only piece of equipment at the school

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There were lizards everywhere in Senchi - this one was at least 10 inches long

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Another, small orange guy

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Emily, Benjamin and Samuel at the Library - one of the projects our team helped with

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Some local guys play checkers in the community common

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This guy was relaxing on a sand pile and I told him to hold up his cutlass and look tough...

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The main road in Senchi leads down to the Volta River, where there used to be a ferry about 40 years ago

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Down at the river's edge, a small Tilapia farm

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Down by the river, a burned out church awaits rebuilding - it has been waiting for decades

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Anne, Benjamin and Shirley pose after one of our afternoon tutoring sessions

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A couple of friends pose on their porch. I asked them what was for dinner and took a closer look.

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Now, before you freak out, know that many residents of Senchi would find our love of Pork distasteful - many consider pigs unclean. In Ghana, many rodents are a delicacy

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The local diet is consists mostly of corn, yam, plantains, and a little meat. This treat was captured earlier that day over by the Banana Plantation

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Moses, Caleb and Alfred take a break during our regular afternoon tutoring sessions

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I hope you enjoyed your haphazard tour of Senchi-Ferry, next time I will share more about my teaching in Senchi-Ferry!