Monday 10th March

We decided not to stay the full weekend in Accra as the hotel we’d booked into for a cool, air-conditioned night, proved to be in an area where the water supply was problematic/cut off. We bought a few “luxury” items, including cartons of milk and washing powder and headed for the bus station with our packs. We were told that there were no remaining seats on the bus and that we’d have to wait until the next day. Nothing daunted we headed for the tro-tro station where we were told that there would be transport that day. After two hours there were ten people so we were allowed to board the minibus. We finally left two more hours later when more passengers arrived.. Everyone was remarkably patient, even the babies didn’t cry. Some people did all their market shopping from within the bus. It was claustrophic, but entertaining. At one point we counted twelve pairs of hands coming through the windows, selling anything from hard-boiled eggs and pickle to computing texts and safety pins. One wag tried to sell Dave a razor. This process is repeated at every junction in urban areas and disturbingly when the vehicle slows in the middle of the countryside. Obstacles are placed in the road to ensure that you don’t miss the local delights.

When we finally set off we realised that we would be making much of the journey in the dark. The journey took twice as long as it should have done because the combination of dust and absence of headlights does not make driving easy. Dave thanked the driver when we finally disembarked and he was quite overwhelmed by the recognition.

We finally reached home to find that we’d missed a visitor. There was a note under a nut on our porch. It reminded me of “Swallows and Amazons”. An old school friend of Dave’s had dropped by to say hello and had promptly broken down. One of the lay brothers had fixed his car and he’d carried on his journey. We had no idea of his connection with Ghana but he’d had our round robin Christmas message. Dave was delighted but not surprised, apparently people from Hull often meet up like this!

On Sunday we took set off to meet Les at a seaside town an hour’s journey away. As we waited for transport a military Land-rover stopped and a Swedish ex-soldier/gold-miner offered us a lift. He entertained us with observations about “ the lazy people of Ghana,” and advised that we imported all our food supplies. We were also told of his kidnapping experience in Accra, when he was held by three men for thirteen hours. Apparently had there only been two he would have been quite able to take them on and kill them, such was his training. I was very happy to leave his company at the agreed junction and catch the tro tro to Keta.

Keta is a decaying town which has obviously seen better times. There are signs of the splendour of its colonial past but much of the land was lost to the sea a decade or so ago. Recent attempts have been made to restore parts, but as yet tourists are few and far between. The town is on a land spit some thirty five k long. It separates a huge fresh water lagoon from the Gulf of Guinea and is the home for vast numbers of birds, many being migrants from Europe. We will try to make this a regular haunt.

It was surreal to be with Les, who has evidently been coming to this part of Africa for
some years. He is a professional drummer and all-round musician so this is heaven for him. He evidently bases himself in Accra for two months of the year. In Keta he was staying in a beach chalet – basically a palm- thatched hut complete with bed, mosquito net and storm lantern. We swam in the sea and then ate fish, rice and plantain as we watched the fishermen trawling from the beach with funnel- shaped nets.

This week has been rather uneventful work-wise. The students have been taking exams and it has become even clearer how much work needs to be done to support both them and the staff. There were not enough tables to sit at and some were bent over leaning onto chairs. The lucky participants had a single sheet of writing paper, others wrote on the reverse side of question papers.

We have asked for a meeting with the Director with a view to having an item about staff development in the end of term staff meeting. Somehow all the theory about change management is difficult to handle when resources are so scarce.

12th March

The rains have finally come and with a vengeance. Afternoon school had just begun when there was a huge crack of thunder and rain fell in torrents. At first it was hot as it drained from the corrugated roofs. Imagine the noise in the classrooms. Electricity has been spasmodic all week and its clear that the rainy season is not without issues. We took a walk after the storm and local people were immediately clearing up and planting seedlings which must have been somewhere on-hold! Two houses down the road a stray iron roof was blocking the entrance. Fortunately no-one was injured.

13th March

Dave began to feel unwell last night and was very hot this morning. Much consultation of the oracle/VSO Medical text followed. One of the volunteers drove us to a clinic, ten k. away, where Dave had blood tests and tried to look better than he was feeling. We were then effusively greeted by a giant of a doctor who trained in Leeds. He insisted that we admire his self-framed picture of a snow covered Elizabethan house before pronouncing that Dave had both malaria and a type of Salmonella/Typhoid. “Aggressive treatment “ was needed for the feeble whitey and before we knew what was happening Dave was upstairs and connected to a drip. Another surreal and slightly bizarre experience. The courtyard was full of mothers with sick babies and the noise was deafening as a party- political roadshow chose that moment to arrive in town. It was also market day, so whilst Dave languished the medical staff ate take-away food on our balcony, apparently oblivious to our presence.
They were much amused that it was Dave’s birthday and the doctor sang,” Happy Birthday”.

On the way home it emerged, from chat with our driver, that many of our students were not born with their disabilities, as we’d been led to believe. Most are infantile polio victims. This was disturbing news but does explain why the incidence of mis-shapen limbs is so high. Apparently there is still a reluctance amongst local women to have their children immunised or to even discuss the nature of the complaints. We know that the vaccine is available in most regions now, so there is a desperate need for sensitive health education. Several of the children with amputations are evidently the victims of well-meaning traditional medicine men, others experienced traffic accidents. A sobering picture.

We’re now home, with enough tablets for a pharmacy and strict instructions to return if dehydration sets in.

15th March

Dave is now feeling much better and beginning to eat. As he is still weak I made my first solo walk to the village this morning. Fruit supplies are spasmodic and its definitely essential to buy when you see. Today the avocados were good so I bought a couple thinking that we could have Dave’s delayed birthday meal this evening. As I paid I realised that I was a few feet from a coffin complete with half reclining body. I’m sure I recognised the large woman occupant as someone who served us at the market when we first arrived. Music and singing were beginning so I moved on in search of oranges. Death appears to be treated in such a different way here, almost casually, but that’s not quite right because respect is shown but privacy in mourning doesn’t feature. The celebration aspect, which we occasionally see now in the north, seems to be the major factor. Very healthy really!

Late yesterday we had a useful meeting with the senior management here and it was agreed that the sensitive subject of staff development should be raised at the end of term meeting. We’ll begin with ideas from the group, with the opportunity for individuals to approach us directly. We have a suggestions list in reserve.

Tomorrow, if all’s well, we’ll try to get to an internet café and catch up on news. We also need to make plans for Easter. We want to travel to the mid Volta region around Ho and Ho Hoe, hopefully to do some gentle walking in the hills. Later we have to get to Tamale for the next VSO training. The journey promises to be interesting and necessitates overnight stops en route.