Ho! Ho! Ho!

Last Thursday, all the volunteers in southern Ghana travelled to Ho, the capital of Volta Region, Ghana's most easterly region. It was a good opportunity to catch up with other volunteers and meet the new recruits who arrived in November. The meeting finished on Saturday morning, when Krishma and I took a tro tro to Tafi Atome, where there is a sanctuary for Mona monkeys. There are four tribes within the sanctuary and we found the one nearest the village and fed them bananas. The sanctuary was set up 11 years ago as part of a volunteer led tourism project.

Prior to the Ho meeting, and after three months in Ghana, I was unable to put off the inevitable any longer. I had a hair cut. There is no real discussion as there is only really one hair cut available and that involves a thorough going over with the clippers. I now have the shortest haircut I have ever had but it is very practical and needs no attention whatsoever.

This is the last blog entry I shall make before Christmas, so I would like to wish you all a very happy Christmas. I'm off to back my bags for the coast.

Christmas in Ghana

Christmas is approaching. This is relatively low key compared to home and probably no bad thing. There are Christmas hymns on the radio, and there are one or two artificial trees about. The Christmas holiday itself is a time for family and friends. Two of the five VSO volunteers in Koforidua - Abi and Krishma - go home for good at Christmas and Dan will be home for the holiday and back in January. We celebrated early on Friday - a holiday here as well to mark Farmers' Day. We ate well, pulled crackers, wore hats and played games.

I would just like to thank everybody who has donated to VSO over the past few months. Hopefully I thanked you all individually by e-mail, but if not I do apologise. In addition to the amount shown on the just giving website, CIPFA, my professional institute has donated 1,500 pounds on my behalf. The webpage will be closing on 31st December so this is your last chance to give. There is a link to the page just across to the right...

Some Snaps

Just a few pictures as a catchup while I am at the VSO office. From the top - Aburi Botanical Gardens, with Dan, Hugh and friend in Paga, the Tamale bus in Accra, moody shot of Koforidua and Cape Coast.

Chicks and Money

Just over a week ago, exactly 2 months after arriving in Ghana, I finally gained access to my Ghanaian bank account. This was a lengthy process, not helped by the three weeks my application spent in a desk draw. It does mean that I now have access to the allowance that VSO pay me quarterly (in advance). The actual application meant spending a number of hours in the Koforidua branch of one of Britain's best known banks, shuffling from one seat to another as I got nearer to the desk officer. I now have a cash card with a pin number, both of which were created on the spot in the branch. We are advised to withdraw over the counter though, as this is safer than using the cash machines. Money generally has been slightly more confusing than the usual problems you have on holiday. In July the Ghana Cedi lost four zeros and colourful new notes were issued. The old ones though remain in circulation and will do until at least the end of the year. When shopping, prices are still given in the old denominations so 5,000 cedis has now become half a Ghana cedi and combinations of both notes and coins can be used. A new Ghana cedi is worth about the same as a US dollar and there are two to the pound. One big advantage is that the new notes go to a much higher value. The previous highest value was 20,000 cedis or one pound! It is now 50 Ghana cedis or 25 pounds but try getting change from one of them!

Virgil, one of the Filipino volunteers spent the weekend with Krishma and me. In his honour Krishma made chicken curry for us and the other Koforidua volunteers. As everybody locally will tell you, the best chickens are bought live from the market. We collected one on Saturday morning. Adjua, our landlord's niece had agreed to kill and pluck it but when it cam to it, Virgil did the deed. Without giving details, it was a fairly straightforward process and the results were done justice in the cooking and the eating.

One final thing. When I introduce myself to Ghanaians, I usually have to say my name is ree-CHARD. Richard is a common name in Ghana but if I pronounce it Rich-ud, I usually get blank looks and the request to repeat it.

Call Back

To complete our in country training all new volunteers attend a two day meeting to compare experiences and look at solving any early problems that are emerging. Because most VSO v0lunteers are based in the north of the country this usually happens in the north. This year it took place in a hotel on the edge of Tamale. All the southern volunteers travelled up by coach from Accra, on Wednesday of last week. This was a 12 hour trip with breaks on the way, on the edge of Kumasi and in Kintampo. We left Accra at 7:30 am and arrived at 8pm. It was really good to catch up with the other volunteers and we spent a couple of enjoyable evenings together. On Friday night a few of us went to one of the local nightclubs in Tamale. As frequently occurs the white people are the focus of attention and I think we all recived complimentary remarks about our dancing. On Saturday morning Hilary, Al and I paid our respects to the local chief and visited his house and many wives. (Nobody present was prepared to say quite how many wives he had.)



Most of the volunteers then returned to their placement towns and villages but Dan and I stayed a few days longer and were provided with excellent hospitality in Navrongo and Bolgatanga. It was good to see the conditions and circumstances in which other volunteers live. The north is different the south in many ways. One of the most striking practical differences is how much drier it is. Our clothes dried out much more quickly than at home. The dry Saharan Harmattan winds are also beginnig to blow. This will make everything including our throats very dry over thhe coming weeks. On Sunday, Dan Hugh and I visited the crocodiles in Paga right on the border with Burkina Faso and we spent a large part of Tuesday with the volunteers staying in Bolgatanga to have motorcycle training.

The journey from Bolgatanga to Accra is 816 kilomtres, over 500 miles. The bus was scheduled to leave at 9 am yesterday, it left at 10:30, at Tamlae it was taken away for 90 minutes, At Kumasi we had to change onto another bus and we rolled into Accra at about 3 am. I am currently at the VSO office in Accra and should be back in Koforidua later today.

I had expected that by this point life would have settled down and I would have started to write about some aspects of day to day life in Ghana but at the moment there are far too many things going on to do that.

Last Tuesday the Municipal Assembly was visited by small group from Rochester, NY near the Great Lakes. One of their number was a Ghanaian who had lived in the States since the '70s and was now keen to set up some partnerships in the Koforidua area. I was fortunate enough to join the group for lunch and a trip out to the Akosombo Dam, to the north east of town, at the foot of Lake Volta, the largest man-made lake in the world. We were taken on a brief tour.

At the weekend I visited three volunteers in the Central Region. I took the tro tro to Asikuma where Behi lives. Unfortunately the mobile phone transmitter failed at a crucial moment andI spent half an hor chasing sightings of Behi around town assisted by three Cubans. Once I found her, we discovered the hotel was full and I spent the night in a very basic lodging house, but there were no bugs. On Saturday we met up with Virgil (Phillipino) and Sulliman (Ugandan) in Cape Coast. We had lunch overlooking the ocean and then spent the remainder of the afternoon on the high walkways 100 metres above the rainforest floor in Kakum National Park. After a night with Sulliman we visited Cape Coast Castle on Sunday morning. This was a British fort used as the last holding point for thousands of slaves before they were transported to the new world. It was last used for that purpose in 1807. The guide was excellent and sensitively dealt with all the issues. After lunch it was tro-tros home, except thant on reaching Swedru with Virgil, I found the connecting service dod not run on Sunday afternoons. I spent the night at Virgil's house and left for Koforidua in the morning.

It feels as if the rainy seasaon is noe coming to an end. I havenot felt rain properly since Saturday afternoon.

On Tuesday next week I leave for Tamale for the end of our introductory training. This will involve a night in Accra and and all day coach to the north. I hope to see some of the wildlife up there, but it may be a fortnight beofre I can post about it.

Kumasi

Lightning on Friday knocked out our power supply. (It is still out on Monday morning) Fortunately Krishma and I had already decided to spend the weekend in Kumasi, Ghana's second city and a four hour tro tro ride from Koforidua. We were on the road by 8:15. Kumasi has one of, if not, the biggest markets in West Africa. It has 10,000 traders -rather bigger than Skipton Market but without the flourescent jackets. It was also ridiculously busy with people constantly on the move. We found a Lonely Planet recommended hotel near the centre at the top of an office/business block. It had hot water, TV and soft sheets. We visited the Cultural Centre which had a range of very tasteful locally produced craft work. It stayed dry, but in the evening it rained heavily and we were glad of the restaurant in the same complex as the hotel. Although there were a few white people about we felt less conspicuous here than in Koforidua. People were just too busy to be bothered with us. On Sunday morning a man explained to us about the medical properties of the elepant bone his friend was sawing up. We peered through the gates of the Ashanti king's palace and then took the tro tro home again.

Pictures!

Just a couple to catch up. A better way of leaving Accra than school bus, Boti Falls and our house in Koforidua. Sorry I feature so prominently but at least it proves I'm here!

Last Wednesday I travelled to Accra with the other Koforidua volunteers by tro-tro. The journey of less than 40 miles took two hours forty minutes partly because of the circuitous rout, but mainly because of the horrendous traffic in Accra. Tro-tros have a tendency to leave the main roads and take to rutty lanes when things get bad. We went to a VSO meeting on disabilities. Hot running water and a swimming pool at the hotel were welcome, the mosquito I shared my room with on the first night was not. The meeting was good for the three new volunteers. We got a good insight into the projects the established volunteers are working on, ranging for street children in Accra, mental heath care, disability issues in schools and sanitation facilities for disabled people.

Dan, Behi and I left the hotel on Saturday morning and spent that night with another volunteer, Steve based in Accra. On Saturday evening we watched England beat France in the Rugby World Cup semi-final at a sports bar. It was touch and go with the satellite equipment but it kept going.

Monday was a public holiday to mark the end of Ramadan. It was a rather dull day with nothing to do. Over the last couple of days we have had a tremendous amount of rain. On Wednesday the thunder sounded like a bomb explosion. I later discovered that a shop I used only that lunch time had been struck by lightning and there was stock everywhere. Unfortunately, though the rain is plentiful we only have water from the taps, one day a week at present. The good news is that the power crisis here is over and the only interruptions we currently have are the storms.

Culinary success this week has been yam, ochre and garden egg soup, which tasted quite leek and potatoey and looked quite glossy.

Bad computer day. This is my second attempt to post this blog as the first posting vanished at the crucial moment.

My time has now run out. So try again next week!

Boti Falls

Fortunately, I have found an internet cafe with a better connection rate. It's closer to the office and slightly cheaper - half a Ghana cedi an hour - about 25 pence.

At the weekend, Tom another short term volunteer, who Krishma had met when she arrived, came to stay from Accra. He is working with a national agency that deals in micro credit for small businesses and was fortunate to get a lift to Koforidua via the agencies local office. We had a meal out on Friday. The biggest difference to a British restaurant was that it closed at 8:30. By 8:50 when we left all the staff were watching us.

On Saturday, Krishma had arranged use of one of placement's cars and drivers. We were joined by Dan another of the local VSOs and were driven to Boti Falls, the local tourist attraction. We took up the offer of a guide on arrival and walked for three hours through the local jungly vegetation. Half way around we stopped to admire the views from Umbrella Rock and buy coconuts from a conveniently placed seller. The walk ended at the falls. The rain we have had over the last few weeks meant the falls were an impressive sight and I find it hard to imagine they could be any better.

Tomorrow I shall be going to Accra by tro-tro for a two day VSO meeting on disabilities.

Other than that our culinary highlight of the week has been corned beef hash using yam as potatoes are imported and therefore rare and expensive. I am currently experimenting with lunch time snacks -today it was a very close approximation to a Cornish pasty!

Koforidua calling

After Sun Lodge, internet cafes with slow connections do not have the same appeal. No pictures and I reckon weekly updates for the time being at least.
It is almost exactly a week since I arrived here. I am sure I will provide more details on life in Koforidua in the coming weeks but for the time being -
The house is beautiful, clean, tidy, currently mosquito free so not using nets and only lets in the occasional dead or dying cockroach.
I share it with Krishma a short term volunteer from the UK. She is a fashion designer helping a garment factory. She leaves at Christmas.
The power supply is only interupted briefly by the regular thunder storms. The water is more off than on. There is a decent sized water tank we share with immediate neighbours during the dry spells but it did run dry on Sunday. We then rely on the well where Krishma works. The staff there are very accommodating. We had piped water for the first time yesterday. There is no hot water so showers and bucket baths are bracing. We had a problem with the gas cylinder for cooking but this is now fixed.
I started work on Monday. It will take some time to get used to local government Ghana style but some things are very familiar. Busy with the strategic plan at the moment.
We have equipped the house with a wok, iron, toaster and a huge quantity of blue plastic bowls mainly used to carry around various grades of water. World Service comes through loud and clear. I hear that mysterious sculptures are appearing in Kilburn gardens...

Still in Accra!

Sometimes things do not go according to plan.

Yesterday I spent the morning in Accra, visited the Tomb of Nkrumah and had my first fresh coconut. I had a very pleasant afternoon at Coco Beach with Behi and Hilary. We walked on the beach and watched the crabs scurrying across the rocks. As a last day treat we had cocktails overlooking the Atlantic.

This morning I was one of the small group that saw off the main group heading north on the Tumu school bus. They will not reach their final destinations until sometime tomorrow after a night in Tamale. We were relieved not to be joining them. The small group going to Wa have now been told they will not leave until tomorrow and nobody is saying when Dan and I will go to Koforidua. Currently looks like tomorrow rather than today, but we will see...

The in country training is now drawing to a close. We have spent a morning cooking outside the VSO office, familiarising ourselves with the gas burners and loal produce. The results looked remarkably like the dishes we have been served at the hotel. Some of the existing volunteers set us a task to buy everyday items from the shops around the hotel. This demonstrated just how friendly and helpful Ghanaians are. I cannot stress this enough. Wherever we go and whatever we do, we are met with courtesey and good humour. For example, on the tro tros (minibuses) other passengers make sure we get the correct change.We have had three lessons in the languages most commonly spoken in our placement locations. Fortunately, mine is Twi, the most widely spoken, used in much of the south of the country including Accra. My attempts to use it meet with mixed results at the moment.On Sunday a lot of us went to one of the local beaches. The sun shone all day. There were beer and snacks and musicians and acrobats. The rainy season is upon is however and on Wednesday, Sarah and I got completely drenched in the centre of Accra. The roads were awash with water but once it stopped it soon vanished. The drains are more capable of coping with this than those ar home. We ae slowly finding out how about our placements. Yesterday Behi, Dan, Virgil and I had a brief meeting with representatives from the Ministry of Manpower, Youth and Employment and the Ghana Federation for the Disabled. This will be my last blog entry from Accra. From Thursday we all (with the exception of Steve) leave the capital. We will be equiped with stoves, water filters, bedding, mosquito nets, first aid kits and equipment grants to furnish the accommodation that is being provided for us. I hope to be able to write again in the next week or so.

Only the third morning here and none of us are much nearer knowing how we will actually do our jobs when we reach the our placements. We do appreciate that this is very much a transitional phase. At the moment our Ghana experience is a very cossetted one. All the hotel rooms are air conditioned, the meals are regular and formidable. Even the coffee breaks (beside the swimming pool) are accompanied by sandwiches or spring rolls. The electricity has been on all the time we have been here (and the only upside of the northern floods is that we may get a more regular supply from the hydro electric plants for a while. The toilets are all European style and flush. When we venture out to other locations, it is by private bus (air conditoned, of course). Not for us the taxis or tro-tros. All that's missing is the onboard commentary and we could be a tourist party. This is not a complaint, but we know to make the most of these things while we have them.

Tim, if you are reading this, you on in the VSO picture near the entrance to the building.

Second Posting in One Day!

Don't intend to do this regularly, but the free wireless won't last.

You may be aware of the appalling rain that there has been across Africa in recent weeks. It has briefly featured in the British media. VSO are not saying much about it but the local press is taking about evacuations, relief supplies washed out roads and crops. Those volunteers travelling north next week are expecting to go and but it will not be directly affecting Koforidua directly. I guess it could affect supply of food in coming weeks.

Other than that, the one member of the group was reunited with his luggage today and another has had a very efficient piece of Accra dental treatment after he broke his tooth at the VSO offices yesterday during lunch. This afternoon we have covered etiquette and in particular the huge importance of greeting friends and colleagues.

Another of the unexpected byproducts of preparing for VSO has been the IT I am now using. I wouldn't say I was completely backward in this area, but I now have an MP3 player, a mobile phone with a camera and radio and a lap top which is somewhat better than my 8 year old 9.5 Gb Time PC. However I had not expected that the first time I would use wireless broadband would be at the Sunlodge Hotel in Accra. This is the first such entry.

The picture is the VSO Office in Accra which we visited yesterday.

Accra, Ghana

Finally here!

Steve and Lucy took me to the airport yesterday morning along the M3 from Bracknell through the foot and mouth zone. Met up with the majority of the Ghana group in Terminal 4. Arrived after dark last night after a good flight.

Staying in two hotels in the outskirts. This morning we started the in country training. We were given 20 new cedis - the currency lost 4 zeroes in July. We then visited the VSO Programme office, had lunch and a brief presentation from the British High Commisssion.

A lot of pressure on the internet machines now so better stop.

Last entry before I leave

On Tuesday I visited Hookstone Chase Primary School and talked to Mr. Hirst's and Mr. Parker's classes. They asked me some very interesting questions and were very helpful indeed in suggesting things I could put in my suitcase. I now have a long list of things I need to find out about while I am in Ghana on a range of topics including school hours, chocolate, football, food, toilets, animals and sweets!

My passport and e-ticket details are now back from the VSO Travel Unit and I have the itinerary for the first block of training in Accra which starts on Monday. We will cover culture, languages, money, security and food. On 26 September I will be going to Koforidua.

My cases are nearly packed and the house is virtually ready.

It really does seem quite close now. I bought milk today which will be fresh until the day I leave for London and then Accra.

I've begun the farewells now. Today I had lunch in Harrogate with Janet, Marie, Susie, Gillian and Debbie. Most of the admin is out of the way. Tax forms have been sent and I've been to the optician's. I'd been hoping that the the 2007 edition ofthe Bradt Guide to Ghana would be available before I left. It is the only guide which deals solely with Ghana. The new edition was due out in July but it has been delayed several times and will now not be ready before I go. The publisher says it is still on a boat somewhere. I have had to order the Lonely Planet West Africa guide as a stop gap.

Next Tuesday, I will be going to see Mr Hirst's class at Hookstone Chase Primary School. I think we will be talking about the things you need take when travelling to Africa and how you can use e-mails and blogs.

Final day of training at Harborne Hall. It's seems like I've been here far longer than the week it actually is, but it was good to get a night off to see Debbie, Andrew and Ewan. On Wednesday morning Andrew suggested I went to the map shop in Upton on Severn. They had a 2007 edition map of Ghana, which is one less thing to have to think about.

We've covered a lot of facilitation and some negotation through lots of role playing exercises. I've been a five year old and a director of education, but usually a teacher (and female!). The last couple of days on organisational development have been a little less dramatic.

I've met a few people who will be flying to Ghana on the same plane as me, but at the moment nobody who is based any further south than Tamale, which is at least 250 miles away. According to my job profile there should be other volunteers in Koforidua but I haven't come across any of them yet!

Only 5 weeks to go

I've received confirmation that I fly to Ghana on 16 September. There's still a lot of preparation to do but I think I have all the major things in hand. I hadn't appreciated it was quite this close until Wednesday. I'm well through the injections. Rabies no. 2 and typhoid to come on Monday and Rabies no. 3 and Hep B no. 3 at the end of August. One or two more services to cancel and a lot to sort out at home.

I've seen a few people this week and whenever I talk about preparation they seem impressed but when I refer back to the VSO guidance there are always a few extra things to add on.

It's very easy to think about copying more music to my laptop rather than thinking about the practical things I should be taking with me and the preparation I should be making for my job. I'm hoping that a week at the VSO training centre in Birmingham will help focus my thoughts on the latter.

One of the things I had not thought about as part of preparation was all physical assessments - the dental check up, eye test, medical and blood test. Fortunately it was all pleasantly reassuring.

It's also a week since I finished work - the end, at least for the time being, of just short of 18 years in public sector finance. However with all the VSO stuff to think about and an energetic weekend at Center Parcs with Ian and the boys, it hasn't really sunk in...