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.