Jan and Dave in Ghana

title-3961037

2008-03-29T09:21:42+01:00

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title-3960972

2008-03-29T09:06:27+01:00

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Independence Day Abor

2008-03-29T09:00:33+01:00

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Sunday 16th March

2008-03-25T18:39:31+01:00

Sunday 16th March

We woke early, did some chores and then decided that, as we were surrounded by palms, we should see how St. Theresa’s Centre celebrates Palm Sunday. We weren’t disappointed. Eric, the post and garden boy, arrived looking very dapper in a sports coat and waving a huge frond decorated with pink flowers. The women were all wearing white or very light colours and we paraded from the priests’ chapel to the Centre’s church. “ Boogied “ would be a better word as the occasion was a hybrid, solemn in parts but largely given over to singing and dancing with a mass for good measure. “Sing Hosanna” was clearly a favourite and we were literally dancing in the aisles. Dave’s description was “letting it all hang out” but this may have been a reference to the breastfeeding young mums in the congregation! Somehow a lone little girl in a sugar plum fairy dress attached herself to us and proceeded to clean her shoes with her dress. It was only later that we realised her shoes were of the tap variety. We can’t think where she found them but they were clearly her pride and joy- most of the children being barefoot.

After lunch we headed off to Aflao , looking forward to a spell away from the centre. We were immediately scooped up by one of the Italian contingent in his car. I was given the best seat , in fact the only seat in the back and told to watch my toes. The footwell was full of machetes. We careered down the sandy highway a la Mr. Toad, our driver having consumed a few glasses of chianti over lunch. Somehow, don’t ask me how , we made as small diversion via an enormous “charismatic church” which was in the middle of the bush. I began to protest that we had only limited time to post our blog in Aflao when suddenly we HAD to meet the Bishop. He proved to be the biggest man I’d ever seen who laid hands on us and preached a sermon to anyone who was listening thanking God for volunteers like us who are “dropped into Africa like manna from heaven”. Even our driver had had enough by this time and so, with four extra passengers, we hurtled off along the causeway. Trying to distract myself from the close encounters, I discovered that all the land around here is multi-purpose and that as the rains are arriving, there is now acre after acre of rice-field with fishing in the wetter parts. Extraordinary how quickly the rain impacts on the landscape. What was yellowish when we first arrived is now tropical green.

Monday 17th March

Most of the students packed their bags this morning and readied themselves for the Easter break. In the afternoon they were given their reports and Financial Statements. The able-bodied are expected to pay their own fees in return for tuition board etc.(Even the State School pupils pay fees). Those with a disability are funded by the charity. The first group were warned that if they were still in arrears after Easter then they couldn’t return. This seems very harsh but the situation is made clear from the outset and most try to respect the rules. Some students were clearly very anxious. One boy called round last night to see if we’d change two ten pound notes. He’d evidently been sent the money by a previous volunteer who intended that he should purchase a mobile phone to stay in touch with his family. In fact he confessed that the money was being given to Mother to pay school fees. His conscience was obviously troubling him.

Most students left the assembly with dire warnings from the priests about sexual activity during the vacation.

The Post Office man was delighted to hand over a delayed birthday parcel for Dave. He was very amused that the contents were; balloons, stickers, wallcharts and tea bags. Thankyou, Tom, Judy and Emma. The posters look great on our kitchen wall! The gecko(?) likes the one with peppers.

Tuesday 18th March

The transport arrangements appear to have worked and the centre is now like a ghost town. We discovered that all but the most severely disabled, make their own way home by tro-tro to their far flung villages(some a days journey away). We have not, to date, asked for any assistance with transport and certainly won’t feel we can now! Do wish I had the knack of riding a bike with a cross-bar though, as there is a spare in the shrubbery somewhere.

Dave and I spent an uninterrupted morning in the Computer room, except, that is, for a group of stray, visiting goats who kindly left their scent on the doorway.

We trecked into the village this afternoon to see if our cheque books had arrived and to withdraw money. We hadn’t opened the bank door before we were proudly told that the books were waiting for us and were a bargain at six pounds, sterling. The whole community now knows how much we withdrew and where we’re staying. Of course we are still very much novelties and young children are regularly presented to us to greet their first “Yavoo”. We’ve also had our first encounter with an insistent beggar. I simply had to walk away but Dave has to engage everyone in conversation.

We’re now preparing to bite the bullet and take a spot at the staff meeting to offer some Staff Development . How will this be received? I feel ridiculously nervous because so much of the sustainability element of our brief rests on our being trusted and accepted.

Wednesday 19th March

Well we never said it was going to be easy. Yesterday’s meeting was not comfortable. The opening management remark that the centre’s problems were the result of “poor staff mentality,”did not help. Suggestions for staff development didn’t exactly flow and so we put forward some ideas. One or two individuals were supportive but largely there was either lack of interest, a questioning of why vocational tutors needed generic skills and finally a request for a salary advance.

The result was that staff are to have development imposed on them and we are the lucky deliverers. We’ve left a suggestions sheet for those who want to contribute, confidentially. Will know more after Easter.

We were glad to be taking a few days break after this encounter and in the afternoon we took tro-tros to Ho, which is three hours north of Abor, in the hilly area, bordering Togo. We met, Devi, another VSO volunteer at her office and she then took us to her place. She is an Indian woman working in organisational development, who has a lifetime’s experience of this kind of work – she was very much involved in the recovery of her Tamil area from the effects of the Tsunami. In Ho she is working with a number of NGO’s in particular disability groups who are presently competing with each other for scarce or non-existent resources. She’s having some success and is slowly building networks. We were present when a leader of the deaf community arrived. He was clearly very enthusiastic but presently has to juggle his shop work with his campaigning activities. Two others in his group had just been employed by a local shop which was a major breakthrough. We had a bizarre conversation with him translated from sign language by a Twe speaking helper who himself is learning Ewe.

On behalf of our centre we visited an examination centre where we lobbied for the much needed syllabi and generally tried to draw attention to the difficulties staff are experiencing. Having seen the premises we’re not surprised by the inefficiency. We’ll have to continue to try different strategies.

Ho is a lovely, bustling market town with a cooler climate and a fresh breeze from the hills. From Devi’s base we travelled north into the mountain region to Ghana’s highest village. We walked up Mt. Gemi, a modest 2,200ft and then took a track which plunged down the hill to the next village. We were advised to follow a water carrying woman but couldn’t keep up, such was her agility. When we finally returned to the village we ate rice and beans from the local chop bar for approximately 20p. This area is very beautiful, hills covered in tropical forest, with clearings which are fertile and cultivated. We met a lone Swedish woman walking the same valley and spent a few minutes comparing notes. There’s evidently a guest house called “Paradise Lodge” which warrants a visit later in the year. Forgot to say that our vehicle on the way there, was a car with twelve people in it, the children being immediately dispersed to the laps of complete strangers. On the way home we had a roomier vehicle but then the boy with the goat got on and space didn’t seem to be a factor.

It was a real treat spending time with Devi. She is Hindu and a vegetarian so she preferred to eat at home. Somehow she cooked for all comers and we ate delicious curries and chapattis, with custards and tropical fruits to follow. We also met Kiran and Michael another couple of volunteers from London who are working in Ho. We’ll meet up with them next week. Another fascinating guest was a young man called Bernard who is a Ghanaian Youth Volunteer. He’s being doing the work for six months and has yet not been given a penny of his allowance. Somehow he remains cheerful and committed to his work with disability groups. Next year he’s joining the British Navy which is sponsoring him to do an Engineering and Telecommunications degree at Northumbria Uni. As a tea-total, devout Christian we think he may find the north east a challenge and have promised to stay in touch.

Sunday 23rd March

Today, Easter Sunday, we made our way back south. All was going well until we reached Aflao, on the Togan border where we were deposited by a well-meaning driver. We were immediately warned that”thieving Nigerians “ were operating in the area and were even told how to arrange our money in our pockets. When we were asked if we’d changed our currency we realised there had been a mistake. We were being directed to Habor rather than Abor. We didn’t know the former existed and the difference in pronunciation still eludes us.

By some quirk of fate the minibus we found ourselves in going to the correct destination proved to be full of Togans and Nigerians. After some miles of travelling, with a reluctant driver, there is no love lost between the countries, we were stopped at one of the many Customs Check points. We all had to disembark, but the occupants were not pleased. They were already late for some religious event and appeared to be very volatile, unlike the calm, laid back Ghanaians we’re accustomed to. The fact that the men urinated and spat did not improve tempers and we suspect raised the level of the back-hander. We maintained diplomatic silence but were sorely tempted to laugh as the music emanating from the van was Marley’s “Everything’s gonna be alright”.

Somewhat relieved we finally arrived”home” to find all was well and that we’d been missed. We went for a walk this evening and bumped into one of the boys who wants Dave to be his trainer. He evidently won the regional schools cross- country event last week and is now down for a major event before the nationals. Dave is going to have to do a bit of research on training schedules! As we walked on, a party of local runners passed us - a father with a group of village youngsters, toddler very ably bringing up the rear. Amazing!

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Mondqy 10th March

2008-03-16T16:46:39+01:00

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.

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The Band

2008-03-07T17:27:44+01:00

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Wednesday 27th February

2008-03-07T17:14:17+01:00

Disclaimer: The contents of this posting and any previous or subsequent postings are solely the views of the authors and are in no way linked to the VSO Organisation or any other institutions in Ghana.

Yesterday we went to Akatsi, a few kilometres away, to shop in the market. Our tro- tro was once again waved through the police road block. We’re beginning to realise that our presence as passengers may prevent police searches. We are near the border and contraband is commonly found. Greasing of palms is quite open and apparently expected, so it’s clearly advisable to carry money.

The market was enormous, covering an area bigger than that of the town. Most of the stall-holders have very little to sell and their wares are collected into very small units. Fortunately for us price is used rather than weight. Any attempt to use the Ewe language is appreciated so much that we’re almost given the produce - a real incentive to develop our language. Prices are pretty consistent and fair so I still can’t bring myself to even attempt to bargain. Our V.S.O. trainer warned us that we’d feel this way! The central part of the market was occupied by scores of stalls selling charcoal. People evidently buy everything, even fuel, on a daily basis. One of the priests told us “no one starves in Ghana.” He was referring to the fact that the climate allows a supply of seasonal produce at all times, though quantities are not great. Nothing is wasted. We plan to start a garden when the rains come. Do we compost our waste or do the pigs continue to fatten?

We’re gradually developing a picture of what needs to be done here in relation to our teaching subject areas. English only becomes a core subject, for the National Vocational Qualification, next year. This means that present third years do not see it as a priority.(I have responsibility for this group). This is also reflected in the time-tabling as these students have less than three hours per week and classes are in the afternoon, when they are hot and tired. Next year, present second year students will not achieve their vocational qualification without passing in English and Maths. They are understandably anxious about this. At the moment there appears to be no clear written curriculum for English which can be adapted and the syllabus for the new Core English is not yet available. When it does materialise there will be the challenging task of writing year plans for each year. The exam board does offer staff training but it is very expensive and this school can’t afford it. Model exam papers will therefore not be available to us. Interesting times ahead!

Thursday 28th February

Well, “best laid plans” as they say. V.S.O. should have contacted us by now to run through the evacuation plan which is to be used in the event of an emergency in Ghana. Evidently such a plan has recently been activated in Kenya. At present there is, of course, no cause for anxiety but its good to know that someone, somewhere, is developing a contingency plan! The country has been remarkably stable in recent years but this will apparently be put to the test when elections are held in the autumn. Electioneering has begun on a small scale and this morning’s radio announced the start of “political education broadcasts.” Are these the same as party- political broadcasts? We’re intrigued as there are already local rumours about the character and life-style of candidates.

Once again the year three English class was cancelled, on this occasion for marching practice, in anticipation of the Independence Day celebrations on 9th March. Neither of us can claim any skills in this area so we watched as all students paraded in the afternoon sun. The event is clearly important to the people of Ghana and so we’ll attend and support the festivities. The Italian volunteers are divided on the issue. One, an ex- paratrooper, was clearly enjoying teaching how to “wheel” whilst another muttered about Mussolini returning! I gather that I may not have an English class next week for the same reason.

You may detect some frustration on my part. Exams follow the Bank Holiday and then there are reports to produce. It may prove impossible to teach, in any systematic way, until after Easter. I will have to bide my time and then choose a good moment to ask if the staff are aware of the job description I was given. This includes staff development, which may be news to them! Have just had sight of some of the exam papers which have numerous slips in their wording. Another decision to make which requires sensitivity.

Will be pleased when the rains begin. They’ve been predicted for a few days but, to date, not a drop has fallen. The donkeys are cross too, so I’m in good company.

A young student approached us and asked if she could clean for us. After checking with staff we find that this is fine. Three girls arrived on Saturday morning and they are now planning to sweep and mop the hallway and the bathroom on a weekly basis. They evidently used my soap powder for the floor and attacked it with such gusto that it looked like a giant bubble bath. Can’t quite get over my inhibitions about using students as cleaners but they asked nothing and appreciated our small offering.

Sunday2nd March

The weekend has been uneventful as I have my first dose of ‘the runs’ and thus have little energy. It’s been very pleasant, though, sitting in our porch area, knitting and reading. The knitting has caused much interest among the girls, so I’ve promised to find knitting wool and needles when we make our brief visit to Scotland in the summer. I did point out that there can’t be much use for sweaters in Ghana but they thought they might try skull caps. Does anyone have a simple pattern? My alternative would be to make little bags, though money, if you have any, is kept in a rolled cloth here.

If I eat today then we can take a walk to Abor and see a funeral. They are much recommended as the best type of parties. We are assured that we would be welcome! We have yet to sample palm wine! The coffins are ornate and decorated with symbols which indicate the job of the deceased. Many have images of wheels, indicating a driver. Road traffic accidents are very common! We feel that we’ve already been initiated into funerals as ‘special drumming’ has been heard most evenings this week. Dave plans to begin lessons after the exams

Our second batch of post arrived yesterday and consisted of yet more communications from the Inland Revenue (absent landlord forms), a delayed and poorly printed copy of the Guardian Weekly and a post card from Lisbon. Thanks, Jill and Don. The local garden boy hung around for a while. We must check whether we tip him, the letters are produced with quite a flourish.

3rd, 4th &5th March

Some progress has been made. I now appear to have some more classes although to date no one has shadowed me. VSO will not be happy with this as the sustainable element is supposed to be that we’re cascading our methods, awareness etc to others in the team. Again, perhaps we’ll have to be more patient.

Today we visited St. Agnes the sister centre to St Theresa, managed by a different principal but the same Director. This is on the edge of Abor and has 46 female students between 15 and 25 taking courses in Dressmaking, Catering and Childcare. There is a dedicated room with 12 ageing computers and a couple of brand new machines still in boxes. Everything was gathering dust because as soon as they train a suitable individual they leave to take up more lucrative employment in a larger town or abroad. Of course we’ve heard of the “brain drain” from developing countries but never experienced such a graphic example. What is the solution? The frustrated young Principal desperately wants to use his resources but appropriate candidates are few and unlikely to stay. The present strategy is to cultivate appreciative ex-students who are local with family ties. Both centres are reliant on this method of recruitment and the generosity of ex-students funding new ventures. Abor seems to have a proliferation of faith and state schools all chasing and occasionally competing for limited funds. We can’t help but think that economies of scale might be useful but some of these establishments are dependent on close relationships which would be difficult to transfer to larger institutions.

We plan to visit Accra this weekend to post this entry on the blog and check e-mails.
Our diet is becoming a little monotonous so we’ll allow ourselves a few treats. There is a limit to how often you can eat pilchard pasta and corned beef hash. We are trying to eat as much local, seasonal food as possible but it’s often labour intensive to cook and we have neither the time nor the energy. Our resolve gave way tonight and we guiltily ate the packet of olives saved for Dave’s birthday.

This evening we took a different walk through the cassava plantations, along sandy paths, marked only by bare feet footprints and cycle tracks. The scrubland is peppered with termite nests which look like rusty Christmas trees and for some reason are a source of real fascination for Dave. Expect lots of pics..! There are more communities than we’d appreciated, dotted around in the bush. We bumped into two of the staff from the centre who said, yet again, that the rains are due. Neither of them have electricity in their homes. A toddler was carrying a hurricane lamp so some change in the weather must be imminent. All the children ask for toffees and some search your pockets! A large bird of prey was hovering overhead, evidently searching for stray chicks for supper so we walked briskly back.

Thursday 6th March(Independence Day)

We walked, together with those who were able, the 3k to the town recreation area, where we were entertained by the march past of all the schools in the area. Our centre came last and certainly not least. In scorching heat they did their level best to win the trophy. For obvious reasons the technique was lacking but the effort certainly wasn’t. For confirmed pacifists who hate any militaristic displays we did an awful lot of clapping. The town “mad man “, who attempted to streak, was removed by a very large policeman. There was even a march by the women street vendors, with piles of eggs, bananas and pineapples loaded on their heads. Great fun! Once the youngsters in wheelchairs were safely on their way home, the workers met at the local “spot” and a good time was had by all. I was bought a large bottle of milk stout. Shades of Minnie Caldwell? Walked back with usual train of children streaming behind and all in party mood. This was followed, back at St.Theresa’s by a lively football match between education and health personnel. Where do they get the energy? Dave was asked by another youth, optimistically christened Wisdom, if he’ll organise “trots”. We assume this is a further customer for the fledgling running club.

Well 7am. start for Accra tomorrow so we’ll have an early night. Its allowed here, though we seem to be flagging earlier than most!

Sorry, Snowy, that we missed your birthday. Was it a big one, or is that next year? Apologies to anyone else feeling neglected!

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Wednesday 27th February

2008-03-07T17:07:48+01:00

Thursday 28th February

Will be pleased when the rains begin. They’ve been predicted for a few days but, to date, not a drop has fallen. The donkeys are cross too, so I’m in good company.

Sunday2nd March

3rd, 4th &5th March

Thursday 6th March(Independence Day)

Well 7am. start for Accra tomorrow so we’ll have an early night. Its allowed here, though we seem to be flagging earlier than most!

Sorry, Snowy, that we missed your birthday. Was it a big one, or is that next year? Apologies to anyone else feeling neglected!

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17th February 2008

2008-02-18T12:10:54+01:00

Now we’ve been on African soil for a week, we thought we should start to record first impressions before they’re replaced by others. We were prepared to experience sensory overload and haven’t been disappointed. We arrived in Accra on schedule and experienced the “steam oven”. The heat, approx.35c., evidently began just before our arrival and will continue through March and April. We were very warmly greeted by our driver Frank, distributing litre bottles of water, so our priorities were immediately set!

Luggage was duly attached to the roof of our vehicle and we were driven through busy but poorly lit streets to our destination. Everything was immediately new. All possessions appear to be carried on the head and we seemed to have a surfeit of them.
The first night was spent in a slightly seedy hotel, ours having “too many people”.

We woke to the sound of roosters and budgies and found ourselves in a concrete block in a kind of shanty town. The place was quietly buzzing at 6am and we felt as if we’d already missed some of the action.

The VSO office is itself an old, rambling and rather ramshackle building tucked away from a main highway under mango and avocado trees. Its certainly not designed to impress and is so busy that it’s a miracle any work is ever done. The staff gave us a lengthy welcome and made us feel very special. It was humbling and inspiring at the same time.

We were lucky to meet Father Giancarlo, our employer from St.Theresa’s who was in Accra on business. He was sporting a faded Hawaiian shirt and didn’t at all fit the image we’d created in our imaginations. He’s coming to Accra to collect us on Monday morning. Exciting!

The V.S.O. Country Director is an impressive man named Tanko who wears national dress and charms all the new volunteers. He gave us an insightful talk on the direction V.S.O. is taking and the new programmatic strategies it has chosen to adopt. Fascinating delivery style – we all felt we had made good decisions to work in Ghana.

Since then we’ve had an afternoon to venture to a market/beach area - desperately poor people were making a living from scavenging on a land- fill area behind the dunes. It was difficult to visit the market stalls and not feel very privileged and affluent.

Experienced volunteers set up a”Challenge Anneka” type exercise to raise our awareness of the local people and to introduce us to shopping and bargaining. My group, the Guinea Fowl, had to find/purchase a number of items including plasters, candles, a peanut burger and a fruit with an unrepeatable name. One of the party – me - had to have hair braids. We paid three times the going rate but still returned with change from a Ghana cede approx. 50p. Dave’s group had to purchase condoms and a coil! Of the mosquito variety! It was great fun but made us appreciate some the reality of living in this community. There’s a pharmacy with bare shelves and the drains are open and yet the people appear very positive. They’re incredibly proud and friendly, taking you to the shops of their rivals if they couldn’t serve you. The fellow with the bike stall did get a bit suspicious when asked by the third obruni(white) for the price of a bicycle repair kit!

We’ve also attracted attention when out jogging but again polite thumbs up or encouragement. Not sure that we’ll repeat the experience though as the 6am smog is red and sears the throat. On our second run we inadvertently met up with the local mixed football team, jogging to their ground. They were very amused by our presence.

We’ve now had three sessions with our language tutor and can make some basic conversation in Eve. Our tutor is a chilli and okra farmer from the Volta region whose farm is in an area we want to visit in the future. He’s insistent that he meets us to show us some paths so we’ve been to the National survey office to purchase extraordinary detailed maps of the East Volta Region. Dusty sheets emerged with surprising alacrity from shelves.

Our fellow volunteers are a great bunch of people. Two Kenyan, two Dutch a Phillipino and eight from the UK. We’ve been addressed by embassy officials and warned of all the dangers and delights of our year ahead. Ex volunteers have regaled us with tales of broken necks, lost possessions etc etc. Overall though, our impression is that this is a safe place to be, perhaps safer than home. John told us today that whilst there are words for danger and caution in his language one can’t ask “is it safe to be here?” The local people apparently don’t have a need for the word”safe”.

This is a little difficult to accept in relation to the roads, where the driving is completely anarchic. Dual carriageways where oil tankers do “U” turns over the central reservation, street children weaving in between fast moving traffic selling water bags and cyclists driving the wrong way. The mini bus or tro-tro journeys are hair-raising, involving sardining as many as possible into vehicles which shouldn’t be going any where.

Our medical briefing was a combination of pep talk and practicality. “Abstain and then you’ll live to boogie”! I won’t go into detail about the flies which invade the skin and pop out once covered in Vaseline but some of the complaints aren’t pleasant and I suppose we have to be careful. A few of the younger volunteers are learning the hard way. One, Richard overindulged at the Karaoke bar and missed his footing when entering his Taxi. He found himself in one of the drains and then had to pay the driver extra to drive fast as the smell was so bad!

Its now Sunday and we’ve said farewell to most of the volunteers, who have disappeared in the land-rovers to their remote placements in the far north east and west. The youngsters were putting on a brave face but its quite an adventure for them. We’re left with one other couple, Gloria and Dave who are due to take up placements at Cape Coast. They’re to work as Disability Fund Manager and Capacity Building Officer. To date they have no accommodation and no sign of any progress. They’re very stoical and we’re joining them for a pizza this evening to say farewell and good luck.

This will be the last time we’ll write for some days or even weeks as we don’t know what we’ll find at our centre in terms of technology. Keep your fingers crossed that our placement works out. We already know that the accommodation is not what we expected, more anon. Further news may have to wait until we find a town with an internet café. We have been thinking of all our friends and family and send you all our love. Belated birthday greetings to Alan, Liz, Helen and Jan!

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