Viva la France en Afrique – especialement dans Ouagadougu!
We have just returned from our first exploration beyond Ghana’s borders and we feel as though we have just returned from France! A foursome of VSO’s, ourselves, Pete, and Helen with her Ghanaian boy-friend Souf, ventured forth into Burkina Faso for a long weekend; once across the Ghanaian border and into Burkina, if you could not speak French you were in big trouble, nobody could, or would, speak a word of English in the part of Burkina that we explored.
So, it was French road signs, kilometre distances counting down to your destination on the Route National and to our disbelief a péage charging for the use of the roads; add to that supermarchés, boulangeries, croissants, pain au chocolat, baguettes, proper coffee and French wine – what more could you want? We very definitely felt as though we were in a foreign country and three of our compatriots, including our Ghanaian friend, felt totally excluded through not being able to communicate in French; the place at which three of us stayed (the other two stayed with the Ghanaian Ambassador!) even hosted the Tour de Burkina Faso cycle race! Mais oui, c’est vrai!
Mais tous la meme c’était un trés bon repos!
Ougadougu is the capital city of Burkina and is very well laid out and organised and much more appealing than Ghana’s capital Accra, it is more clean and tidy, the traffic lights all work, the banking system is user friendly – plenty of ATMs that work for getting cash, and you can pay by Visa in the hotels.
The colonial legacy – good or bad, that is the question?
Burkina Faso and its people have much in common with Ghana; it is the colonial powers that put in place the wholly artificial and inappropriate borders and imposed alien languages. All in all for we Obruni (Ghanaian for foreigner), it is a salutary experience to see both the good and the downsides of colonialism – we have to leave it to the Ghanaians and Burkinans, who are both exceptionally friendly and hospitable people, to be the judges of the pros and cons of its consequences.
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Sunday, July 08, 2007
Interesting people and places.
A fortunate consequence of my extended stay in Accra was an invitation to a party at the British High Commission; it was a really enjoyable evening and for a couple of hours I was able to share a dinner table and conversation with the British High Commissioner (BHC) and a couple of distinguished Ghanaians. The BHC was a really affable chap and we struck something of an accord as his parents came from Salford, my birth place, and he is also an avid Man Utd supporter. We talked about VSO and its role in Ghana + world affairs etc - as you do!
One of our co-diners was the West African representative on the Bill Gates Foundation's HIV/AIDS initiative for Africa. She (Juliette) is also developing a horticultural/environmental landscaping business and is desperately short of trained staff to enable expansion; I thought that the Welsh College of Horticulture + WDA/DEIN (Nick W + Julie M) might be able to help set up suitable training programmes, which do not exist here: any possibilities out there?
Interesting times, people and places
A fortunate consequence of my extended stay in Accra was an invitation to a party at the British High Commission; it was a really enjoyable evening and for a couple of hours I was able to share a dinner table and conversation with the British High Commissioner (BHC) and a couple of distinguished Ghanaians. The BHC was a really affable chap and we struck something of an accord as his parents came from Salford, my birth place, and he is also an avid Man Utd supporter. We talked about VSO and its role in Ghana + world affairs etc - as you do!
One of our co-diners was the West African representative on the Bill Gates Foundation's HIV/AIDS initiative for Africa. She (Juliette) is also developing a horticultural/environmental landscaping business and is desperately short of trained staff to enable expansion; I thought that the Welsh College of Horticulture + WDA/DEIN (Nick W + Julie M) might be able to help set up suitable training programmes, which do not exist here: any possibilities out there?
Interesting times, people and places
Thursday, July 05, 2007
A crisis of conscience - but only briefly!
I guess we are VSOs with a difference:
We have worked for 40 years and now retired with skills to share but we are still adventurous and want to travel. Owning a vehicle might raise a few eyebrows amongst VSO and 'development' purists, but as far as we are concerned it will only help us perform the jobs we are here to do better if our life outside work is enjoyable; work life balance applies here as well!
Two on a 125cc motorbike is not feasible for the distances, heat and terrain involved out here, so 4 wheels it is and we will subsidise ourselves from our pension. We will still be using our pushbikes to get us around and about the village and to the office and back. So only a very brief crisis of conscience!
We have worked for 40 years and now retired with skills to share but we are still adventurous and want to travel. Owning a vehicle might raise a few eyebrows amongst VSO and 'development' purists, but as far as we are concerned it will only help us perform the jobs we are here to do better if our life outside work is enjoyable; work life balance applies here as well!
Two on a 125cc motorbike is not feasible for the distances, heat and terrain involved out here, so 4 wheels it is and we will subsidise ourselves from our pension. We will still be using our pushbikes to get us around and about the village and to the office and back. So only a very brief crisis of conscience!
Taxing times in Accra - with a potential dividend!
This is probably not a good time to write this:
I have been in Accra for a week now trying to secure the purchase of a vehicle. The extreme difficulties of travel by tro tro and bus in and out of Lawra district (from Lawra to Accra: 3 buses, 800km and a total of 24 hours travelling, including overnight) led us to decide that if we ever want to get any friends or relatives out here to visit us, a vehicle is a must. So here I am hoping to pick up a Mitsubishi Pajero this afternoon, which I have purchased from an extremely helpful member of the staff of the German Embassy. Regrettably events have conspired against me as my transaction required me to be in Accra at a time when Ghana was introducing a new currency; all foreign currency transactions were effectively suspended for four days during the changeover. A good thing for Ghana, it all went very smoothly, I just happened to pitch up at the wrong time!
Thus I have been kicking my heels whilst the necessary transactions run their course; thus time for a little reflection I suppose.
Ghana is really good and people are exceptionally respectful of each other and of visitors; we (UK) can learn a lot from the generally hospitable disposition held by all of the Ghanaians we have met thus far; both rural and city-based. Life in the city echoes many of the facets of city life in the UK, lots of traffic and extremes of health and wealth, though the infrastructure, sanitation and under resourced services are markedly different. Similar issues of inadequate access to services in rural areas obtain, but these are accentuated many fold, especially with the lack of access to potable water, intermittent electricity supplies for the few that have electricity, and extremely poor roads, transport systems and poorly funded health and education services.
For us, in general, so far so good; the acquisition of a cooker with an oven, at last, should now expand our culinary capacity and a vehicle will enable us to explore Ghana as well as Burkina Faso and Mali in the near future. We will also be able to get to the Internet Cafe more easily and maintain better communications with the outside world.
That's it for now, time to go and get my number plate changed from (CD) Corps Diplomatique to the regular Ghanaian plate; with a bit of luck the next time we write up our blog will be by virtue of having been able to drive the 100km to the Internet Cafe instead of spending all day travelling by tro tro!
I have been in Accra for a week now trying to secure the purchase of a vehicle. The extreme difficulties of travel by tro tro and bus in and out of Lawra district (from Lawra to Accra: 3 buses, 800km and a total of 24 hours travelling, including overnight) led us to decide that if we ever want to get any friends or relatives out here to visit us, a vehicle is a must. So here I am hoping to pick up a Mitsubishi Pajero this afternoon, which I have purchased from an extremely helpful member of the staff of the German Embassy. Regrettably events have conspired against me as my transaction required me to be in Accra at a time when Ghana was introducing a new currency; all foreign currency transactions were effectively suspended for four days during the changeover. A good thing for Ghana, it all went very smoothly, I just happened to pitch up at the wrong time!
Thus I have been kicking my heels whilst the necessary transactions run their course; thus time for a little reflection I suppose.
Ghana is really good and people are exceptionally respectful of each other and of visitors; we (UK) can learn a lot from the generally hospitable disposition held by all of the Ghanaians we have met thus far; both rural and city-based. Life in the city echoes many of the facets of city life in the UK, lots of traffic and extremes of health and wealth, though the infrastructure, sanitation and under resourced services are markedly different. Similar issues of inadequate access to services in rural areas obtain, but these are accentuated many fold, especially with the lack of access to potable water, intermittent electricity supplies for the few that have electricity, and extremely poor roads, transport systems and poorly funded health and education services.
For us, in general, so far so good; the acquisition of a cooker with an oven, at last, should now expand our culinary capacity and a vehicle will enable us to explore Ghana as well as Burkina Faso and Mali in the near future. We will also be able to get to the Internet Cafe more easily and maintain better communications with the outside world.
That's it for now, time to go and get my number plate changed from (CD) Corps Diplomatique to the regular Ghanaian plate; with a bit of luck the next time we write up our blog will be by virtue of having been able to drive the 100km to the Internet Cafe instead of spending all day travelling by tro tro!
Saturday, June 23, 2007
The Xylophone makers and musicians of Lawra District
Lawra District is renowned for its xylophone makers and players; one such musician and xylophone maker lives just a few hundred metres from our house and we can hear him ‘tuning-up’ and practising most evenings. On our way back from our Burkina Faso border cycle trip we met this gentleman and his band who had been accompanying George’s 90 yr old mum’s funeral celebration the previous evening and into the following day!The xylophones have wooden ‘keys’ with carefully selected and shaped gourds fixed underneath providing the resonance chambers; the overall timbre is a very soft, mellow and round, xylophone type of sound which is better heard than described!
A Father’s Day bike ride to the Burkina Faso border – Sunday June 17th
It’s hard to believe that we have been in Ghana for 5 weeks and that this was our first real ‘leisure’ day out. Last night we experienced a huge tropical thunderstorm with lots of thunder, lightning and rain so the air was clear and fresh and the day relatively cool. We set off on our bikes with a picnic comprising a bottle of water and a packet of Crawford’s shortbread biscuits. 5km of dirt track later we arrived at the Black Volta River which forms the colonial era imposed border between Ghana and Burkina Faso. We just missed the ‘ferry’ across the 30 m wide river to the French speaking ex-colony of Burkina Faso on the other side. Whilst at the ferry crossing we received a Skype call to our mobile from Safi and the Horrockses in Cornwall; it was such a good thing to happen, the mobile reception was excellent and we exchanged ‘Father’s day greetings etc – it was really quite surreal. Ghana is rapidly developing its mobile communications networks; telephone lines hardly exist in the Upper West Region where we live; we hope that it won’t be too long before we are able to get Internet access here in Lawra, maybe within 12 months?We returned home after a plethora of conversations with many Dagaaba (the local residents): working in the fields, relaxing by their villages, travelling to and from church, and with a group just winding down after a ‘funeral’ in Dykpe (just 1 km from the river); the deceased was the 90 yr old mother of George, a Guidance Counsellor at the local secondary school where we live. We were invited to meet George and the local ‘band’ gave us an impromptu performance on their Xylophones and drums, a very special privilege which we captured on camera. So, a very good ‘first day out’ rounded off with Guinness and Coke in the Evergreen Garden Bar, an avocado and orange lunch at home and a good home made beef curry for supper!
Our Journey to Market (Ngaree Daa)
The local market is about 20 minutes away on foot and about 10 on the bike, subject to distractions en route. On this occasion we stopped to sample the equivalent of a savoury pancake; it was made from ground bean flour, fried in a ‘buttery’ substance similar to ghee, which is derived from the fruit of one of the local trees (a Shea tree). It was served topped with local peppery style spices and was very acceptable; with those we ate at home it was especially tasty with fresh chopped tomatoes as filler!
Our local Internet Cafe – 3 hours away!
Our local Internet Cafe is here in Wa, a 3 hour nightmare ‘tro tro’ journey away. Tro tro = 20 people in a 12 seater minibus with bikes, chickens, maize, market produce etc bulging out from everywhere as well as piled high on the roof, not for the faint hearted! The big snag is that Ghana is experiencing huge power cuts meaning that we sometimes get to Wa and find that we cannot use the Internet because the power is off, usually 12 hours at a time. This is as a result of Burkina Faso building a new hydroelectric dam, which is taking away the water that Ghana needs for its huge Volta dam hydroelectricity scheme, built 25 years ago; the Volta dam is 4 ft below the level needed to operate all its generators and is running at just 50% capacity, a huge economic problem for the Ghanaian economy and thus for wee internet users like us!
Ordering furniture from the local IKEA.
Our house has very little furniture so we have been negotiating with a local carpenter to supply us with a suitable bed, some dining chairs, and possibly a dining table. The furniture is being made to order by Augustine, a local carpenter, at quite competitive prices e.g. £30 for the bed! The furniture arrived by DHL (Damned Heavy Load!) express two wheel delivery, made to order, within the week – and very good it is too!
Friday, June 08, 2007
The Evergreen Garden Bar is our nearest Local
The bar is half-way between home and work and serves a number of functions. It is a pleasant shady courtyard with a well and a mango tree at its centre; we along with many others, including, hens and goats, have already passed many a relaxing hour under the ‘local networking mango tree’. We share the courtyard with a steady flow of colleagues and local residents who park their bikes, motorcycles and bottoms, like us, to seek a shady spot during the heat of the day, accompanied by the occasional ‘tonic’ or Gulder beer as refreshment. A few roasted peanuts, grown 100 metres away, from the stall nearby and a few mangoes from the tree above us serve to make this a most agreeable meeting place. The short walk home, we are learning to navigate our way under the starlit Ghanaian sky, helps us to recover our senses in preparation for the long Ghanaian night. We have a feeling that a few tales could revolve around this bar over the next couple of years.
We have a Garden!!
5.30pm Sunday 3rd June 2007-Well, not exactly a garden but a fenced in piece of land which we intend to develop as a vegetable plot. It was not what we intended so early on in our stay but it just happened. We had been discussing the possibility between ourselves and then mentioned it to Fatou, a senior student at the school who has been helping us out with water collection and a bit of housework/cleaning etc. At lunchtime, he and Nigel were just outside looking around for what might be a suitable spot. Around the house, the land is owned by the school but the local farmers use if to grow yams and graze their goats, cattle, hens and pigs. There seemed to be a patch of land fairly close to our house that was not being used. The next thing we knew was that Fatou had been across the fields to the local village and found out who used the land, asked if it was OK for us to use it, and within minutes there were the farmer and about 7 village men all raring to go putting up a fence (to keep out the goats and the headmaster’s pigs! Money was exchanged for fencing materials but no sum fixed for the, construction (There was a certain reluctance to put a cost on the work, but we decided to adopt the Ghanaian attitude of haggling later and go with the enthusiasm!) They had a job on tomorrow, so they insisted that they could do it today. Digging and pole collecting began, the area was measured out by stride and width between poles. With a degree of apprehension we watched as one man shinned up the trees just outside the house to cut down branches, but unlike Malawi, where the whole tree would have been cut down, only what was necessary was “pruned” so that the tree would continue to provide shade and vital wood for fuel etc.
Within 5 hours, our fence was built and a small patch of land duly designated as our “Garden”. Payment time came and the negotiation began. There was somewhat of a language barrier as the men only spoke Dagaare, Fatou spoke Waala, and we spoke neither. However, Madame Kubino a nurse at the local hospital, who lives in the house adjoining ours and who speaks both Dagaare and good English, and who had taken a great deal of interest in the proceedings, helped out with the negotiations and a price was settled; half of what they had first suggested but amicably agreed upon.
Our next task is to decide what is to be planted!
Within 5 hours, our fence was built and a small patch of land duly designated as our “Garden”. Payment time came and the negotiation began. There was somewhat of a language barrier as the men only spoke Dagaare, Fatou spoke Waala, and we spoke neither. However, Madame Kubino a nurse at the local hospital, who lives in the house adjoining ours and who speaks both Dagaare and good English, and who had taken a great deal of interest in the proceedings, helped out with the negotiations and a price was settled; half of what they had first suggested but amicably agreed upon.
Our next task is to decide what is to be planted!
The Road to Wa – our Regional Capital
Internet trials and tribulations
Having had one unsuccessful trip to Wa to the Internet cafe last Saturday and finding it was “Lights Out” – local term for a scheduled power cut – our hearts sank when we arrived this Saturday to the same situation. Fortunately, however, it was merely a fault and by 12.30pm all was working and we could at last make our first blog update and send emails home since our arrival in Lawra.
Nansara (white person) Shopping
Whilst waiting for the electricity to come back on we sat in “Mummy’s Kitchen”- a local cafe, having a drink when the skies turned black, the wind began to gust and it looked as if it was going to be a real downpour. Street Vendors quickly removed fabrics from their stalls and secured their goods. Sadly, for the local farmers, there was scant rain and all was back to normal as the clouds passed by. The temperature dropped significantly though which made for very pleasant conditions. We have found the Princess Store, a small lock-up shop which sells green beans, green peppers and carrots, so we can supplement our diet with these treats for a short while. I am sure that once the rains begin and things begin to grow we will eventually see them in the local markets. With our rucsack packed with fresh pineapple, avocado and CHEDDAR CHEESE! We headed off for the bus station to find the tro tro to take us back to Lawra. Just get-by taxis on a shoe string (tro tros)We were not impressed with the look of the vehicle, but what could we do, it was the only one going our way. We duly paid and then came the long wait for it to set off. Tro tros will only go when they have a full passenger list i.e. 17 passengers. It took 1 ½ hrs for the bus to fill! Once loaded we were then told we had to change to a different vehicle (fortunately the one we were transferring to looked in much better condition. So, All Change. Then, the engine wouldn’t start so we had to be pushed out of the bus station – backwards, to bump start the engine. Within 2 mins of setting off, the side-door of the minibus fell off!! With the driver’s lackey holding the door in place we set off for Lawra, making a quick stop at the Welders to have the door fixed and at last, after about 2½ hrs delay we were on our way back. No more incidents until about 10 kms from home when we ran out of diesel. There was a loud groan from all the passengers as we all thought we might have to walk!! However, the day was saved by the driver’s assistant who leapt on a borrowed bike, with a plastic jerry can and rode off to find some, further down the road. Miraculously, and to everyone’s delight he was back in about 10 mins complete with full jerry can. We arrived back in Lawra just as the sun was going down feeling that all in all, we had had quite a good day. It is amazing how quickly you adapt to the pace of life out here. Frustration counts for little, patience, a lot.
Having had one unsuccessful trip to Wa to the Internet cafe last Saturday and finding it was “Lights Out” – local term for a scheduled power cut – our hearts sank when we arrived this Saturday to the same situation. Fortunately, however, it was merely a fault and by 12.30pm all was working and we could at last make our first blog update and send emails home since our arrival in Lawra.
Nansara (white person) Shopping
Whilst waiting for the electricity to come back on we sat in “Mummy’s Kitchen”- a local cafe, having a drink when the skies turned black, the wind began to gust and it looked as if it was going to be a real downpour. Street Vendors quickly removed fabrics from their stalls and secured their goods. Sadly, for the local farmers, there was scant rain and all was back to normal as the clouds passed by. The temperature dropped significantly though which made for very pleasant conditions. We have found the Princess Store, a small lock-up shop which sells green beans, green peppers and carrots, so we can supplement our diet with these treats for a short while. I am sure that once the rains begin and things begin to grow we will eventually see them in the local markets. With our rucsack packed with fresh pineapple, avocado and CHEDDAR CHEESE! We headed off for the bus station to find the tro tro to take us back to Lawra. Just get-by taxis on a shoe string (tro tros)We were not impressed with the look of the vehicle, but what could we do, it was the only one going our way. We duly paid and then came the long wait for it to set off. Tro tros will only go when they have a full passenger list i.e. 17 passengers. It took 1 ½ hrs for the bus to fill! Once loaded we were then told we had to change to a different vehicle (fortunately the one we were transferring to looked in much better condition. So, All Change. Then, the engine wouldn’t start so we had to be pushed out of the bus station – backwards, to bump start the engine. Within 2 mins of setting off, the side-door of the minibus fell off!! With the driver’s lackey holding the door in place we set off for Lawra, making a quick stop at the Welders to have the door fixed and at last, after about 2½ hrs delay we were on our way back. No more incidents until about 10 kms from home when we ran out of diesel. There was a loud groan from all the passengers as we all thought we might have to walk!! However, the day was saved by the driver’s assistant who leapt on a borrowed bike, with a plastic jerry can and rode off to find some, further down the road. Miraculously, and to everyone’s delight he was back in about 10 mins complete with full jerry can. We arrived back in Lawra just as the sun was going down feeling that all in all, we had had quite a good day. It is amazing how quickly you adapt to the pace of life out here. Frustration counts for little, patience, a lot.
We have bikes.
We are awaiting our “call back” to Tamale when we will receive our in-country motorbike training and hopefully our licences. In the meantime we have been offered push bikes from G E S. We took possession of these on Friday morning. VICTORY – nothing to do with success. That is the name of the Chinese -made 18 gear bikes. We tried them out around the GES compound and admit there was a cheer as I managed to get my leg over the cross bar (I really could have done with a Ladies bike at my age! ) and pedalled in a large circle without falling off. I haven’t ridden a bike for years, but you never forget, even if you are a bit wobbly at first.
We set off to town to explore but by the time we got there – only 5 mins away – both the back tyres on our bikes were flat. We found one of the many puncture repair guys who had set up shop under a tree in the middle of the day market. Both of the inner tubes had split, so we had to buy new inner tubes for them. Whilst the guys were repairing them, the parcel carrier on the back of Nigel’s had come apart, so we were taken off to the local welders to get that fixed. On the way there the chain on Nigel’s bike fell apart so he had to push the bike there and then back to the repair man who fixed the chain, sorted out my back brake which was catching, lowered the saddle, and raised Nigel’s saddle. OK, we thought we were sorted. We managed to cycle home but found that we weren’t able to change gear!! So Nigel did a bit of tinkering about in the afternoon to see if he could sort them. Well, it is fairly flat round here – who needs to change gear anyway!!! . As the evening approached and the weather got a little cooler we decided we would go out for a little explore. We had only gone 100 yds when the chain snapped on Nigel’s bike. Mission aborted.......
Perhaps we can exchange these super looking bikes for a local Phoenix non geared bike!! These bikes, as the name suggests rise from the dead again and again. Nothing sophisticated but purely basic, simple and repairable.
We set off to town to explore but by the time we got there – only 5 mins away – both the back tyres on our bikes were flat. We found one of the many puncture repair guys who had set up shop under a tree in the middle of the day market. Both of the inner tubes had split, so we had to buy new inner tubes for them. Whilst the guys were repairing them, the parcel carrier on the back of Nigel’s had come apart, so we were taken off to the local welders to get that fixed. On the way there the chain on Nigel’s bike fell apart so he had to push the bike there and then back to the repair man who fixed the chain, sorted out my back brake which was catching, lowered the saddle, and raised Nigel’s saddle. OK, we thought we were sorted. We managed to cycle home but found that we weren’t able to change gear!! So Nigel did a bit of tinkering about in the afternoon to see if he could sort them. Well, it is fairly flat round here – who needs to change gear anyway!!! . As the evening approached and the weather got a little cooler we decided we would go out for a little explore. We had only gone 100 yds when the chain snapped on Nigel’s bike. Mission aborted.......
Perhaps we can exchange these super looking bikes for a local Phoenix non geared bike!! These bikes, as the name suggests rise from the dead again and again. Nothing sophisticated but purely basic, simple and repairable.
Saturday, June 02, 2007
Journey's End-New Beginning
Hi all, from Lawra in Ghana Upper West Region.
We left Accra in the VSO Landrover on Tuesday to stay overnight in Wa, the Upper West's Regional Capital and then to Lawra; on the way up here it definitely seemed as though there was no easy way back without your own 4WD - which we won't have! So we are on our own now and it will be local 'minibuses' complete with produce and commodities for the market that will be our means of transportation henceforth, so a certain amount of adapting is going to be necessary over the next 2 years; this is going to be quite different to the African experiences with which we are familiar!
On arrival our house was a 'bit' of a mess; really really thick dust everywhere and remnants from previous occupants that had laid untouched since December, not a pretty sight. Thus we are currently staying in the Lawra District Assembly Guest House until the house is habitable. It's bread and cheese and jam (from Accra) at the moment as we have no catering facilities in the Guest House, not too much of a problem for me as I am recovering from my first bout of stomach upset!
So it's little by little at the moment, we know that this is going to be quite some challenge, once we can get in to a place that we can call and set up as home we'll take stock and begin to figure out how we handle the next stage.
It would be useful to have mobile phone numbers of friends and acquaintances who wish to keep in touch (definiteley no obligation and we'll fully understand if you do not want yet more unsolicited texts); texting is our best means of communication as the nearest e mail is 3 hours away and last time we travelled to e mail we got there and the power was off for 12 hours so we came back rather miffed.
We have now moved and are gradually settling in to our rather large but basic house, water is carried from the borehole, no tel line- just mobiles (which work very well), Very green, lots of trees including Baobabs but no wildlife in Lawra. Due to get pushbikes soon until we get our motorbikes in 6 weeks time. Local people are brilliant ,as are our work colleagues to be - not started yet!
We left Accra in the VSO Landrover on Tuesday to stay overnight in Wa, the Upper West's Regional Capital and then to Lawra; on the way up here it definitely seemed as though there was no easy way back without your own 4WD - which we won't have! So we are on our own now and it will be local 'minibuses' complete with produce and commodities for the market that will be our means of transportation henceforth, so a certain amount of adapting is going to be necessary over the next 2 years; this is going to be quite different to the African experiences with which we are familiar!
On arrival our house was a 'bit' of a mess; really really thick dust everywhere and remnants from previous occupants that had laid untouched since December, not a pretty sight. Thus we are currently staying in the Lawra District Assembly Guest House until the house is habitable. It's bread and cheese and jam (from Accra) at the moment as we have no catering facilities in the Guest House, not too much of a problem for me as I am recovering from my first bout of stomach upset!
So it's little by little at the moment, we know that this is going to be quite some challenge, once we can get in to a place that we can call and set up as home we'll take stock and begin to figure out how we handle the next stage.
It would be useful to have mobile phone numbers of friends and acquaintances who wish to keep in touch (definiteley no obligation and we'll fully understand if you do not want yet more unsolicited texts); texting is our best means of communication as the nearest e mail is 3 hours away and last time we travelled to e mail we got there and the power was off for 12 hours so we came back rather miffed.
We have now moved and are gradually settling in to our rather large but basic house, water is carried from the borehole, no tel line- just mobiles (which work very well), Very green, lots of trees including Baobabs but no wildlife in Lawra. Due to get pushbikes soon until we get our motorbikes in 6 weeks time. Local people are brilliant ,as are our work colleagues to be - not started yet!
Monday, May 21, 2007
Appreciating and Acclimatising to Ghana
Accra, a Capital City of contrasts
We are still in Accra but due to leave for Lawra tomorrow – sometime. How quickly one slips into the Ghanaian attitude to time. At present we are in the middle of a most refreshing rain storm. For the past hour and a half the heavens have opened and rain lashed down, settling the dust and clearing the air. It is blessedly cool and refreshing after our first week of high temperatures and even higher humidity and gives us a little time to reflect on our past week’s activities and experiences –and boy have they been varied!!
Our first week with VSO in Ghana has concentrated around meeting the VSO staff, local volunteers and gaining first- hand experience of shopping in the local area and markets, trying to find many of the things that we will need for our house in Lawra.
A visit to Makola market by ‘tro-tro’ is an experience that you never forget. It is a huge labyrinth of passages between open and covered stalls selling just about everything you could think of - beans and pulses, dried fish, pigs trotters , garden eggs!, plantain bananas, pot and pans, electrical goods, materials and second-hand clothes But to name a few. Sometimes it is best not to look down to the floor at what you are walking on or stepping over! Hygiene and sanitation are not at their best in the marketplaces. At the opposite end of the scale is Koala supermarket, just round the corner from our hotel on ‘Oxford Street’. There you can get just about anything European – We have succumbed and bought a box of Scots Porage Oats, and stocked up on spices to take with us to Lawra hopefully to enhance our cooking.
Cooking Ghanaian style
We had a very interesting cookery session with Comfort in the VSO office on Saturday morning. She introduced us to preparing and cooking yams, plantain bananas, bean stew and egg stew – all staples of the Ghanaian diet. Fried plantain banana is a particular favourite. The locals call it ‘red-red’ and it is delicious eaten with a black-eyed bean stew. Most of their cooking is done in loads of red palm oil. We will not go hungry. Needless to say regaining a waistline might be more difficult than we anticipated.
Travel by tro-tro is something that we will have to get used to. These are minibuses that travel around the cities and between villages and you get on and off wherever you can! The fares are set and once you know the cost they are a cheap and ‘interesting’ way of getting about. We have made one foray into the town this way. The driver’s assistant continually shouts out something vaguely resembling the destination you want and makes an appropriate gesture with his hand, like ‘circle’ and circles his hand in the air.
The FA Cup-Final with atmosphere!
On Saturday afternoon after our cookery session, we went off to Frankies, a local restaurant/bar on the busy high street, and watched the second half of the Man U -v- Chelsea match on their big screen. Ghanaians are mad about football, the place was packed and with a 50/50 mix of supporters there was a great atmosphere.
Our last bit of luxury
Yesterday, Sunday, along with Marieke, a Dutch volunteer, we decided to go in for a bit of luxury and took a taxi to the Labadi Beach Hotel, just east of Accra – to see how the other half live. It was really good to go for a cooling swim. The local beaches are quite polluted, especially those near to Accra and there is a very strong undertow which makes swimming locally pretty dangerous. We will have to explore further down the coast, near to Cape Coast when we next have some leave.
Sundays are special!
It was bliss to find that on Sundays the traffic is 75% less and travelling much easier. Taxis are still available and toot their horns all the time to attract customers or to tell other drivers to beware. They also drive fast when they manage to find a bit of open road – bit like Romans!! The majority of people go to church and all the ladies get dressed up in their finery - beautiful elegant Ghanaian clothes with headdresses and jewellery. It has made me determined to buy some local materials and have them made up for me, especially when we get to Lawra.
That’s all for now, we now await our 6.30 am start on Tuesday to commence our 14 hour drive north to Lawra, hopefully with an overnight stop, possibly at Wa.
We are still in Accra but due to leave for Lawra tomorrow – sometime. How quickly one slips into the Ghanaian attitude to time. At present we are in the middle of a most refreshing rain storm. For the past hour and a half the heavens have opened and rain lashed down, settling the dust and clearing the air. It is blessedly cool and refreshing after our first week of high temperatures and even higher humidity and gives us a little time to reflect on our past week’s activities and experiences –and boy have they been varied!!
Our first week with VSO in Ghana has concentrated around meeting the VSO staff, local volunteers and gaining first- hand experience of shopping in the local area and markets, trying to find many of the things that we will need for our house in Lawra.
A visit to Makola market by ‘tro-tro’ is an experience that you never forget. It is a huge labyrinth of passages between open and covered stalls selling just about everything you could think of - beans and pulses, dried fish, pigs trotters , garden eggs!, plantain bananas, pot and pans, electrical goods, materials and second-hand clothes But to name a few. Sometimes it is best not to look down to the floor at what you are walking on or stepping over! Hygiene and sanitation are not at their best in the marketplaces. At the opposite end of the scale is Koala supermarket, just round the corner from our hotel on ‘Oxford Street’. There you can get just about anything European – We have succumbed and bought a box of Scots Porage Oats, and stocked up on spices to take with us to Lawra hopefully to enhance our cooking.
Cooking Ghanaian style
We had a very interesting cookery session with Comfort in the VSO office on Saturday morning. She introduced us to preparing and cooking yams, plantain bananas, bean stew and egg stew – all staples of the Ghanaian diet. Fried plantain banana is a particular favourite. The locals call it ‘red-red’ and it is delicious eaten with a black-eyed bean stew. Most of their cooking is done in loads of red palm oil. We will not go hungry. Needless to say regaining a waistline might be more difficult than we anticipated.
Travel by tro-tro is something that we will have to get used to. These are minibuses that travel around the cities and between villages and you get on and off wherever you can! The fares are set and once you know the cost they are a cheap and ‘interesting’ way of getting about. We have made one foray into the town this way. The driver’s assistant continually shouts out something vaguely resembling the destination you want and makes an appropriate gesture with his hand, like ‘circle’ and circles his hand in the air.
The FA Cup-Final with atmosphere!
On Saturday afternoon after our cookery session, we went off to Frankies, a local restaurant/bar on the busy high street, and watched the second half of the Man U -v- Chelsea match on their big screen. Ghanaians are mad about football, the place was packed and with a 50/50 mix of supporters there was a great atmosphere.
Our last bit of luxury
Yesterday, Sunday, along with Marieke, a Dutch volunteer, we decided to go in for a bit of luxury and took a taxi to the Labadi Beach Hotel, just east of Accra – to see how the other half live. It was really good to go for a cooling swim. The local beaches are quite polluted, especially those near to Accra and there is a very strong undertow which makes swimming locally pretty dangerous. We will have to explore further down the coast, near to Cape Coast when we next have some leave.
Sundays are special!
It was bliss to find that on Sundays the traffic is 75% less and travelling much easier. Taxis are still available and toot their horns all the time to attract customers or to tell other drivers to beware. They also drive fast when they manage to find a bit of open road – bit like Romans!! The majority of people go to church and all the ladies get dressed up in their finery - beautiful elegant Ghanaian clothes with headdresses and jewellery. It has made me determined to buy some local materials and have them made up for me, especially when we get to Lawra.
That’s all for now, we now await our 6.30 am start on Tuesday to commence our 14 hour drive north to Lawra, hopefully with an overnight stop, possibly at Wa.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
First Steps in Ghana
In the Heat of the Night
Kotoka Airport, Accra, Ghana - as the aeroplane doors opened a blast of hot humid air and heavy rain greeted us. We had at last arrived in Ghana in the rainy season. It felt as if we had had a bucket of hot water thrown over us. 8pm and it was hotter than any day in the UK. Bags were unloaded pretty quickly and we were soon outside the building searching for that comforting sign - VSO. Patience was there to collect us and take us to our accommodation for the next week, Comfort Villa Lodge, a reasonable downtown guest house in the OSU district of Accra. A good night's sleep was required and thankfully our rooms had both ceiling fans and airconditioning. What a luxury - as we were to find out the next day. Power cuts have been frequent over the last three days and without air con the full blast of the heat and humidity - 30 degrees C at 10 o'clock at night!! is pretty sweaty. Under the circumstances we have slept pretty well, with the ceiling fan whirring its way through the night.
All in all we are coping well and enjoying our first few days; we know a little more about our future home in Lawra which we understand to be a quite reasonable house, with some electricity and borehole supplied water - should keep Jenny fit fetching and carrying! (No chance). We also learnt our first few basic greetings in Dagaare, our local language when we get to Lawra.
Kotoka Airport, Accra, Ghana - as the aeroplane doors opened a blast of hot humid air and heavy rain greeted us. We had at last arrived in Ghana in the rainy season. It felt as if we had had a bucket of hot water thrown over us. 8pm and it was hotter than any day in the UK. Bags were unloaded pretty quickly and we were soon outside the building searching for that comforting sign - VSO. Patience was there to collect us and take us to our accommodation for the next week, Comfort Villa Lodge, a reasonable downtown guest house in the OSU district of Accra. A good night's sleep was required and thankfully our rooms had both ceiling fans and airconditioning. What a luxury - as we were to find out the next day. Power cuts have been frequent over the last three days and without air con the full blast of the heat and humidity - 30 degrees C at 10 o'clock at night!! is pretty sweaty. Under the circumstances we have slept pretty well, with the ceiling fan whirring its way through the night.
All in all we are coping well and enjoying our first few days; we know a little more about our future home in Lawra which we understand to be a quite reasonable house, with some electricity and borehole supplied water - should keep Jenny fit fetching and carrying! (No chance). We also learnt our first few basic greetings in Dagaare, our local language when we get to Lawra.
Saturday, May 12, 2007
D-Day minus One
This is the final blog to be sent from home ground.
What a fortnight this has been. I must have climbed the height of Snowdon just going up and down the ladder to the loft, putting things away. Worse than moving house. You have actually got to find a secure home for all the possessions you have amassed over the years. But we did it and on Thursday finally moved out of our house and in with our long-suffering friends Trin and Cemlyn for the remaining few days. We seem to have packed and re-packed our bags on a daily basis finding things to remove and be replaced by fresh ones we want to take. We have now decided "enough is enough"!! both in terms of re-packing and baggage.
Tough times and a little TLC
Strange emotions have been occurring over the past week or so, probably because I have been getting so tired with everything that has had to be done. On Tuesday night, if asked, I would have declared that I wasn't going through with it, that I couldn't leave my family and friends. However, after a good night's sleep and a bit of Trin's (and Nigel's) TLC I was ready once more to face the challenge. There are still very mixed emotions within me. At the same time I am both excited and nervous about the unknown situations soon to face us and the million and one questions yet to be answered.
Penultimate Goodbye
Last night (Friday) we gathered with a few friends for a meal at the local pub, 'The Three Pigeons'.
The evening ended up with a farewell musical rendering to the Horrockses, words kindly penned by Hilary Clare - a four part harmony to the tune of G & S's "Hail Poetry" from 'The Pirates of Penzance'. We apologise to David and Beth for embarrasing them but you can't get a group of Amateur Operatics folk together and not sing at least one song (often out of tune due to the effects of alcohol!!)
We know that we have been fortunate to experience the company and camaraderie of a truly diverse group of friends who have sufficiently enjoyed, endured! and respected each other's whims and idiosynchrosies to enable us to have had some great times together; we hope to rendezvous with as many of you as possible in the non too distant future, in Ghana, or somewhere in Africa!
Final Check-out and Check-in
Most of our goodbyes have now been said. We have checked in with British Airways online and booked our seats to save time and hassle at the airport tomorrow morning. A 'Last Supper' at Judy & John's house tonight before departure day arrives. We fly out from Manchester to Heathrow at 10.00am, then on to Accra at 2.15pm, arriving in Ghana at around 8pm.
I do hope I shall be able to sleep tonight!!!
What a fortnight this has been. I must have climbed the height of Snowdon just going up and down the ladder to the loft, putting things away. Worse than moving house. You have actually got to find a secure home for all the possessions you have amassed over the years. But we did it and on Thursday finally moved out of our house and in with our long-suffering friends Trin and Cemlyn for the remaining few days. We seem to have packed and re-packed our bags on a daily basis finding things to remove and be replaced by fresh ones we want to take. We have now decided "enough is enough"!! both in terms of re-packing and baggage.
Tough times and a little TLC
Strange emotions have been occurring over the past week or so, probably because I have been getting so tired with everything that has had to be done. On Tuesday night, if asked, I would have declared that I wasn't going through with it, that I couldn't leave my family and friends. However, after a good night's sleep and a bit of Trin's (and Nigel's) TLC I was ready once more to face the challenge. There are still very mixed emotions within me. At the same time I am both excited and nervous about the unknown situations soon to face us and the million and one questions yet to be answered.
Penultimate Goodbye
Last night (Friday) we gathered with a few friends for a meal at the local pub, 'The Three Pigeons'.
The evening ended up with a farewell musical rendering to the Horrockses, words kindly penned by Hilary Clare - a four part harmony to the tune of G & S's "Hail Poetry" from 'The Pirates of Penzance'. We apologise to David and Beth for embarrasing them but you can't get a group of Amateur Operatics folk together and not sing at least one song (often out of tune due to the effects of alcohol!!)
We know that we have been fortunate to experience the company and camaraderie of a truly diverse group of friends who have sufficiently enjoyed, endured! and respected each other's whims and idiosynchrosies to enable us to have had some great times together; we hope to rendezvous with as many of you as possible in the non too distant future, in Ghana, or somewhere in Africa!
Final Check-out and Check-in
Most of our goodbyes have now been said. We have checked in with British Airways online and booked our seats to save time and hassle at the airport tomorrow morning. A 'Last Supper' at Judy & John's house tonight before departure day arrives. We fly out from Manchester to Heathrow at 10.00am, then on to Accra at 2.15pm, arriving in Ghana at around 8pm.
I do hope I shall be able to sleep tonight!!!
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Our £1000 Fundraising Target Reached!
After a generous donation of £250 from Ifor Williams Trailers Ltd we have finally reached our target of £1000.
Curry and Ceilidh: Kwaheri* and Fundraising
That's what friends are for!On Saturday April 28th we had a really enjoyable knees up at Llanfair Village Hall dancing to the Angels' Share Ceilidh Band and enjoying curries, conversation and camaraderie to its full. Thanks to everyone for mucking in with the cooking, preparation, washing up, clearing up and fund raising, and for making it a great evening.
You can view a photo album of the evening by clicking on this link: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/Horrockses/280407CurryAndCeilidh
You can view a photo album of the evening by clicking on this link: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/Horrockses/280407CurryAndCeilidh
You can view the resulting donation to VSO of £500 at: http://www.justgiving.com/nigelandJenny
Well done everyone - what a great bunch of friends and acquaintances, keep in touch after we depart on Sunday May 13th.
* Kwaheri is the Swahili word for Goodbye
Saturday, April 14, 2007
SKWID 2007 April 10 -14
A Brilliant TeamWe have just completed an intensive 5 day Health and Skills for Working In Development (SKWID)Programme at Harborne Hall in Birmingham; a tough but enjoyable and really useful course with a great crowd of people who are heading to Ghana, China, Namibia, Malawi, Nigeria, Gambia and Thailand. We hope to keep in touch. Jenny also stayed on for an additional days's training for Teacher Trainers.
Ali, Carol, O, Bernie, Tessa, Martina, Scott, Emma, Pete, Stuart, Dorothy, Claire, Nigel, Jenny, Beth, Serita, Kate.
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