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.
Monday, 17 December 2007
Monday, 10 December 2007
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...
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...
Monday, 3 December 2007
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.
Monday, 26 November 2007
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.
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.
Thursday, 15 November 2007
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.
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.
Wednesday, 31 October 2007
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.
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.
Monday, 22 October 2007
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.
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