Going....Going....Ghana......For Now

I can’t believe it’s been over a month that I’ve been in Ghana and now is time to leave for Kenya. The past few weeks have gone by so fast and have been so jam packed, so much has happened my head is spinning and I’m not sure where to begin. But I will attempt.

Immediately upon returning from the Volta region the study tour from Seattle University arrived. The study tour is from the Albers School of Business and Economics (where I did my MBA and am completing my post-master’s certificate in International Business). It is led by Professor Harriet Stephenson, who is the director of the Village Net and the focus of the study tour was on microfinance in Africa. It was a great group and we had some amazing experiences together which I know we will never forget. In total with the study tour, we were eight. The first to arrive was Charles…or Chad…..either or! He arrived a day before the rest of the group and when we got back from a Valued Girls soccer game that Sunday he was there waiting for us in the garden at the lodge we stayed at. We sat around the table and introduced him to Prince, our beloved friend who works the night shift at the lodge. Prince was taking his dinner of banku with ground nut soup and chicken and invited Chad to join him. Banku is made by pounding cassava and corn into a doughy consistency. You take a piece with your fingers (of your right hand only, it is very rude to eat with your left hand as that is used for……other things……) and form a little scoop which you dip into the soup. We learned how to use our two forefingers as scissors and the thumb as a scoop. Chad dove right in and got the scissor technique down right away….was like he’d been there all along. The next day, along with Professor Stephenson, Noah, Patty, and Van arrived. Dave had missed his flight leaving Seattle and would be arriving after traveling for over 24 hours later that night. We had to conduct interviews that day so we only stopped briefly to welcome them and then went off to Ofankor to work. We brought Chad with us as he was not officially on the study tour (and he gets to stay in Ghana until November, which I am so jealous of I can’t even describe!!) and had some free time. He was immediately promised off in marriage by Akosua, one of the women borrowers who happens to have a 22 year old daughter Velma. Akosua brought us to meet her sister at her home and we sat and talked with them and her brother for the afternoon. They told us that we had to go up to the north of Ghana to ride the crocodile. There really is a place called Paga pond where there is a crocodile that you can sit on and have your picture taken. Everyone says that it is safe….they hold a piece of fowl out to distract the croc while you sit on it……I’m not so sure. Seems to me that fowl must get pretty boring, why not turn around and taste the obroni on your back instead? Akosua and her family assured us that this crocodile has a human spirit but the body of an animal. I’m focusing on the body of an animal part but I have promised Chad that when I return to Ghana after Kenya we can go and I will take his picture. I’m sure I’ll be talked into doing it myself…….we’ll see!!!!!

We met with different microfinance organizations in the area to see what is working in their programs. It’s hard to know where to start, so many things seem to be working and then so many don’t. The overwhelming consensus is that there is more money needed for bigger loans in order to really have some sort of measurable impact.

We went to an orphanage in Mmofortrom, about an hour from where we stayed in Ofankor. I was extremely impressed with the orphanage. It was on a beautiful piece of property on a hill overlooking a lush valley. It was built about 10 years ago, and they raise animals (including grasscutters…..a rodent which I will go into detail about later!) and have gardens and fruit trees to feed themselves and be sustainable. At one time there were fish that were raised and I believe they will be returning. The kids were so sweet and I just fell in love with them all. Soloman was one of the older boys and he led us on a tour of the property, including a clinic that was being built for the children. He was an excellent tour guide (his picture is on this post, the handsome boy in the striped shirt) and when the tour was over it was time for a soccer (sorry….football) match. Soloman was the star goal keeper and he hoped to play professionally someday. I opted to be the photographer for the game and let the rest of the group play. Not sure who won, but it was a lot of fun and I am so grateful we were able to spend the day with them.

We took a 2 day trip to Kumasi, which is the cultural center of Ghana and is the center of the Ashanti region. The Ashanti kingdom is still strong and anyone from the region is very proud to be Ashanti. We went through the Palace museum and saw artifacts from different eras. Kumasi also has Ghana’s largest open market. It was definitely much more conservative than Accra, and I felt like more of an outsider, the first time I felt that since I arrived. We met with a group from the engineering university in Kumasi, the largest in Ghana, who had been working on developing “twig lighting”…a process of making electricity using burning charcoal and water. We went out to a village nearby to have a demonstration….and on the way the tire of our van blew out. We were on the side of the road for about 3 hours, in this tiny village that I never caught the name of.

At a small shop right off the road, the women were making food. One of the options was grasscutter, which is a akin to a large rodent/rabbit hybrid. It’s not something most people try and we had been goading Dave to try it ever since he arrived. Now was his opportunity, and as is his way….he did not disappoint! We all ended up taking some, it was…….gamey. Not something I would have again, but was glad to have had the experience just to say I’d done it! Typically the grasscutter pellets are ground and added to the soup for flavor…..I’m telling myself it wasn’t in this case as we were told it wasn’t.

We went looking for sodas and Patty found a small shop owned by a woman named Mary. She invited us in and we sat and talked with her and drank sodas and gin for a few hours. At first it was difficult to communicate as her English wasn’t very good but Patty realized that she spoke French and they were able to communicate easily. Mary was originally from Togo, a French speaking country, and had moved to Ghana to marry her husband who had been killed eight years ago. Mary was left to raise her two children, who sat quietly and listened to us talk the entire time. It was so nice to sit and talk to Mary and learn about her life, it was one of our best days in Ghana. Her shop was also her home, and she welcomed us with open arms and a generous laugh. I have said it before and I will continue to say it over and over……I love Ghana. Where in the states would you break down on the side of the road and spend a day with a woman and her family laughing and sharing stories and drinking gin for an afternoon?

The Valued Girls put on a great day for us with traditional dancing and music, and a soccer match with us despite heavy rains. I admit I was of zero help to my team but I had a lot of fun! I also helped make the stew which turned out to be delicious. It was great to spend time with the girls at their camp.

We managed to have some free time during the whirlwind 2 weeks of the study tour and we took full advantage. We spent a night at the beach at Kokrobite on Saturday night for reggae night. We had reserved the only room still available and were surprised to find when we got there that it wasn’t so much a room as it was a large open a frame on stilts with mattresses and mosquito nets. Everything is an experience, this not withstanding. We had a blast and the next day left for a football game for the Valued Girls project that they played in Accra. The team they played was an older team and very good…but our girls managed to get a goal to win in the last minute of the game, it was amazing!!!!!

Now the study tour has left and it’s time to say goodbye to Ghana…..at least for now. I’m excited to go to Kenya and experience a completely different part of Africa, both in geography and culture….but I’m very sad to leave Ghana. We all are. I’m glad I’m coming back in 10 days and I feel like I’m leaving home. But……..onward to Kenya!!!!!!!!!!!