Jul 9, 2012

Na Ka Kay? (Where Are You? or Holy Molé!)

"Forgive me, it’s been two months +/nine weeks/63 days since my last blog post."

I apologize for my slack attitude towards writing on this blog - there’s no excuse , but I’ll try and come up with a few ;)

Seeing as I never really planned on staying in Ghana past the end of April, I’ve been taking the last couple of months to settle more into day-to-day life. Less of the travelling, mass family functions and drum circles. More like sparingly tending to the huge garden, helping younger cousins with homework and hand washing my laundry (boo!).

I’ve been brushing up on my Hausa skills (not to pay the bills, unfortunately) and can genuinely carry on conversations with people. I can talk about things I like, places I've been, ask questions, give opinions … "Inna da chaw" (It's good!) 
Not too shabby; I deserve a Gold Star).

I’ve been a bit more focused on professional pursuits like locking down a job in Canada (for when this daydream ends), writing content for Youth Alive’s blog and documenting regional projects around the country. We've been busy organizing graduation ceremonies for our apprentices, helping set up their shops and providing financial literacy training. Peace marches and media conferences have also been held across our three operational regions as part of the Youth in Governance project to encourage and support peace during the 2012 election season.

Baboon
I pretty much wrapped up spring by keeping my nose to the grindstone but my fingers have been itching to share some of the super interesting stuff that’s been going on lately. A wise man once said that all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. That must have been what motivated our little detour on our last work-trip to Molé National Park. Molé is a wildlife reserve in Northern Ghana where the animals are free to roam and live protected, with few restrictions. We woke up at the crack of dawn to get there right after sunrise for a safari. I know that plays into the "My Trip to Africa” cliché, but it was still so amazing to see. 


Well-endowed elephant ;)
We saw families of antelopes, baboons and warthogs acting like they owned the place (technically, they kind of do). The highlight was definitely the elephants. They are massive! Although this was my second trip ever to Molé, it was still breathtaking. They appear to be so large, gentle and docile, but apparently our tour-guide Chris told us that they are the second fastest land mammal (for real) after the cheetah. Another fun-fact:  elephants (in Africa anyways) actually have black skin and only look grey because of the mud/muddy water that they bathe in. Really educational J According to him the last lion was seen in 2008, so we didn't see anything else too crazy. Now I have crocodiles, camels & elephants added to my list of animals I've come face-to-face with since I've been home.





The rainy season is also in full swing now and my ‘rents and bro have all come back to Ghana to join me for the summer! Needless to say I’m super excited and it’s been good catching up and falling into back into our  family dynamic. From watching old movies, to saving our house from flooding during the rains (only in Ghana) and cooking together; we've been doing your run-of-the-mill family stuff. After so much time apart I’m really grateful for the chance to hang out with them again. We've also got a few family weddings on the go in the next couple of months which should be quite the cultural experience – we’ll see how they compare to the funerals (I have a feeling there’ll be more similarities than differences).

'Til the next randomly exciting moment!
Shee-day anzuma (Later!)

Apr 17, 2012

Ka-sani yun-zune-ga (It's Official or Part 2 in a Series of Firsts)

The issue of my true Ghanaian-ness has been the topic of much debate amongst random strangers who hear my North American accent, so I was more than ready to jump at the chance to "perform my civic duty" and register to vote. Finally, I'd have a legit piece of ID I could whip out as proof that I belong! (despite not being able to speak a local language or cook a local dish - indicators of true African pride)!

Now I know it doesn’t sound all that exciting but this wasn’t just a matter of filling in some paperwork and signing my name on the dotted line … this was biometric registration! There was going to be technology involved – fingerprint scanning AND lamination, how could I say no? I couldn’t, so I went down to my nearest polling station which happened to be conveniently located five minutes from my house.

The rules for getting registered are pretty standard; any current form of government issued ID could be used to confirm your identity and information OR you could bring two newly registered voters to vouch for your identity.( I still find this concept incredibly interesting as it seems to impede the government’s efforts to discourage non-Ghanaians and those who are not of voting age to participate in the general elections, but that’s a tangent for another time :)). With the relevant information a government official fills out details like name, age, DOB, address as well as both parents’ names before directing you to the “biometric station”.

First, you're welcomed to the fingerprint station where they employ the 4-4-2 system . So they scan the four fingers of the left hand, four fingers of the right and then both thumbs. I’ve only ever seen “bad guys” get their fingerprints taken on TV and it always looks as though the scanners are extremely sensitive and barely require any pressure to be applied on the screen – NOT THE CASE. I felt like a criminal AND a bit of an incomp when I had to go through the process twice to obtain a full scan of my fingerprints. It was pretty impressive to see a copy of my “unique” prints on the computer screen though.

Next, was the photo, le sigh. It doesn’t seem to matter how much preparation goes into attempting to looking good for a piece of government issued ID, it just never turns out as well as its supposed to. Just as I sat down to have my picture taken and asked the guy if I could smile, he smugly informed me that he had already taken it. I look offended or bored in the picture, which makes me wonder if I always appear that way :/ 

I'm also really fortunate that the polling station I registered at didn't experience any disruptions or violence (particularly from the youth) due to inter-party conflict. Hopefully the peace and tolerance observed during this first step in the electoral process is a sure sign of good things to come. Youth Alive's governance campaign geared at the youth has been gaining momentum mainly in the Upper West Region by educating and encouraging peaceful participation.

As the registration process comes to an end May 5th I'm thankful that things have gone smoothly thus far. I’m glad that I got to participate in a new system that hasn’t even hit North America yet :p – let’s just hope having my fingerprints on file with the government doesn’t come back to haunt me :)

PS I apologize for the lack of photos (i.e. NONE) but I didn't think it would be apropos to take pics at the registration station or to have "government issued ID" on display for the world :)

More visuals next time!

Apr 5, 2012

Mma (Mother or Part 1 in a Series of Firsts)

How is it mid-April already?
So far this month has been filled with a few interesting firsts.
I spent April Fool’s Day attending an event 33 years in the making …
My grandmother’s funeral!
Yeahhh.
No joke (there’s no punchline)

In Ghana it’s not unheard of for families to put off a funeral and then have a big, en mass one to acknowledge the death of a group of people. My maternal grandmother (mom’s mom) passed away about 33 years ago, and now her side of the family (based in the Upper East Region/Bolga area) was ready to have a ceremony to commemorate her and her only brother (my great grand-uncle?!). Although at the time, a funeral was held in the house where my grandmother was married, her side of the family wouldn’t have had much of an opportunity to be part of the process  given the state of communication and transportation in rural Ghana 30+ years ago.

Unfortunately for the short timing, not all of the children were able to attend. I went, repping my mom, along with six of my aunts and uncles. In true Ghanaian fashion we roadtripped it up North to Bolga in a tro-tro that stalled and started rolling backwards on more than one occasion. Thankfully we made it in one piece. For me it was a chance to see my mom’s oldest brother, my uncle Dan (55) and so now I can say I’ve officially seen all 14 of my aunts and uncles since arriving in January (I should get a prize).

The delegation - mom's six siblings & their aunt


Main compound
We did the traditional jaunt of meandering between huts and greeting relatives that I can barely trace. The most memorable part of the trip was actually seeing my great-grandfather’s house where my grandmother was raised. Despite all the development in the area the house was still as traditional as ever – thatched roofs, no electricity or running water – old school . We even slept in the main compound that night, underneath the stars (which sounds like the biggest cliché ever).


Shared wall
Retatching the roof


They say the course of true love never did run smooth, it apparently had a lot to do with proximity because we also got the privilege of walking over a mile (fun right?) to the house where my great-grandmother lived in (my great-great grandfather’s house) before she got married and had my g-ma (long family line, I know!).

View of g-ma's ma's house
Sacrificial altar near the exit














Old school kitchen
 
My grandmother’s cousins (58) still lived in the house and were able to tell us stories about her and how clearly they remember the day they heard the news about her passing.


Two generations of uncles (Left, my uncle. Right, his uncle)

Another of grandma's cousins

Funerals in Africa are never a bleak affair and thus we began at the crack of dawn with the 3Ds – drinking, drumming and dancing. Young and old, the entire community came out to pay their respects. The “funeral house” was packed with people as the drumming processions came in waves and the local brew of pito was fresh and flowing a-plenty.

Pito being brewed the good ol' way with millet
Drumming procession 1
Drumming procession 2

Older relatives dancing for offerings

Even though I’ve never met my grandmother I felt extremely honored to be able to participate in and be a witness to the celebration of her life. I feel like we have a special bond because I was the first grandchild to be named after her; Hawa. For this reason my aunts and uncles all call me “Mma” which means “Mother” in Hausa. I'm so proud that I get to rep my grandmother’s memory and the name we share (which is really my middle name, p.s.) forms such a part of my identity; the person I am and who I hope to become.

I write this for my mother, to her mother; where words fail us, rituals & timeless traditions will bring us back together.

Mar 30, 2012

Inna Keewa Key (I Miss You or Discomfort is Just a Symptom of an Unfamiliar State of Being, so Familiarize Yourself)

I’ve been doing so much travelling lately and despite the long hours and unpaved roads I seem to have a taste for it now! I absolutely love Tamale but any chance to get out and see more of Ghana is an opportunity I simply have to jump on J.

Needless to say I took full advantage of various family members’ travel plans and decided to just casually tag along and see how far across the country that would take me! Little did I know I’d get to cross six of Ghana’s 10 regions!

Luckily one of my cousins was getting ready to head back to college in the Brong-Ahafo region after a mid-semester break, there we’d meet our aunt Amina who had some errands to run in the capital Accra … so my route was pretty much set! My plan was to attempt a trip all the way down South to Accra and then back up North to Tamale, by road, within a week…

My route across the country!

Our journey begins on a cool Monday morning at precisely 4AM. My cousin Zalia and I had to go to the bus station and buy our tickets, which of course could only be bought on the day of travel! By the time we arrived at the station the line was so long that there was a good chance that we wouldn’t even get standing room. In our dire desperation we had to bribe a transport worker who was a friend of a friend of someone important, to get us tickets (when in Rome right?) Thankfully it worked and by 6AM we were off on a 4 hour journey to Techiman.

I’ll interrupt the flow of this post/the  journey to note a few key travel survival tips that I’ve picked up. For ease of comfort during long road trips such as this it is key to: drink as few fluids as possible and eat a lot of bread and bananas; it’ll keep you from squirming in your seat every time you hit a pothole or from needing to use questionable bathroom facilities or popping a squat in the bush.

After an relatively calm trip to Techiman, we still had to get to Attebubu, the town where my cousin attends college and where my aunt was meeting us. This meant chartering a taxi to drive us the 2.5 hours. I’m sure this leg of the trip should have taken longer, but our driver was flying around corners and speeding to beat no discernable traffic but rather his own personal record. As exhausted as I was by this point, it was the scenery that kept me alert. Ghana is absolutely stunning and in a few (relatively) short hours we’d moved from the dry savannah of the North to the forest belt in the middle of the country. It was so green with an abundance of banana and plantain trees all over the place.  

Once in Attebubu I received the grand tour of the small town from its bustling marketplace to the Teacher’s Training College Campus. In a country like Ghana, I always make the assumption that the further North you go, the harder the living conditions and vice versa. That little illusion was shattered in Attebubu; here we were, a good almost 7 hours South of where Tamale (where I normally live) and I found myself in a town with a water shortage and questionable electricity distribution. Long story short, I took a bath in the pitch black darkness with half a bucket of water … that was an experience, definitely made me feel like more of a local though.

Day #2 and my aunt and I are getting ready to continue on South. This started with getting a seat on a Tro-tro from Attebubu to Kumasi, one of Ghana’s most populated cities in the Ashanti Region. Tro-tros are like big vans from the 1970s that can carry about 15 people (legally), if not more – they’re very Scooby-Doo Van-esque and notorious for less than stellar driving records.
 
Scooby Doo Van - The Mystery Machine


Tro-tro ... see the resemblance?












I was a little apprehensive to have to be in one for 2 hours, but at least I wasn’t alone. Again, the scenery was enough to keep me distracted; especially this really amazing gorge we passed that just gave an amazing view of the mountainous areas of Ghana. 

Cliffside beauty
  
Once reaching a severely over-populated Kumasi (takes forever to get anywhere). We got seats on a coach to take us from Kumasi to Accra; a straight 6 hour shot. Now I have to mention how nice this coach was; it had full air conditioning, two flat screen televisions and lots of leg room (essential when you’re tall!) … faaancy J Road trippin’ in style, as it were. The most memorable part of this bit of the trip was that as we were leaving, a man got up and started a 30 minute preaching spiel in Twi (Chwee, the local language) where he blessed the bus, the journey, warded off  highway robbers (yeah, that actually happens here!). He did all this before introducing his friend who was selling Anti-Hemorrhoid tea?! And it was a hardcore sell too, like a live infomercial! And people were actually buying it! That kind of commercialism would never fly in Canada, let alone with hemorrhoid tea. Only in Africa.

That 6 hour bus ride took us through the Ashanti, Eastern and Greater Accra regions – phew! Little did I know my aunt was about to spring a surprise on me … we weren’t going straight to Accra – no, no. We were actually going to continue on further West into the Central Region to see my mom’s eldest sister (my aunt Zet) whom I hadn’t seen since I was 8! This meant getting picked up by relatives (42 - my family count!) and driving an hour from Accra to Kasoa (Ka-soo-wa), spending the night then waking up at the crack of dawn on Wednesday (Day #3) to take another Tro-tro into Winneba on a 1 hour journey.

Cocoa beans :)
16.5 hours and 6 vehicles later and we had finally arrived! I was so excited to be in Winneba, visiting my aunt and her husband (44). Since she was busy during the day with her job teaching, I spent a lot of time with her husband who showed me all around their property and around their small coastal town.

They had actual COCOA BEANS growing in their backyard! Ghana is famous for them but I’d never actually since or touched one!  

Traditional fishing on Winneba beaches














Winneba seaside fish market




We then went on a driven tour of Winneba from the beautiful beaches full of towering coconut trees, to the seaside market full of fresh catch-of-the-day and finally to the university campuses spread out across the town. 
 
Winneba University campus
 After a couple of chill days in Winneba I went down to Accra to spend some time with my dad’s side of the family whom I hadn’t really seen since my grandma’s funeral 2 months ago (52). They did a really great job of taking me across the entire city and pointing out big landmarks like the University of Ghana and Kwame Nkrumah circle (a major round-about) 



Chowing down with my cousin Keilan :)
Sunday was time for some reverse culture shock when I spent the day with my cousin Keilan, and his friends and we were reminiscing about the first time I had come to Ghana in 1995. My brother and I had insisted on eating pizza and it had been an absolute disappointment for those of us who knew what it should have tasted like and for Keilan who had never tasted it before. Accra has become much Westernized and now pizza is apparently quite common, you can even order it to your house. So we went out for pizza and I will say, it was pretty legit, I was surprised at how good it tasted … oh globalization! 
  

The evidence ...

On my very last day in the city I made my final stop at Teshie, one of the main army barracks in Accra, to visit my mom’s younger brother, whom again, I had not seen since 1998! He barely recognized me and we had so much catching up to do J Luckily, during that visit too, his son, my cousin Taufiq came home from work and we got a chance to hang out as well (54). It was nice to reconnect with people I’d been inseparable with on my trips to Ghana as a child, I was very thankful for that opportunity!

I woke up on Tuesday faced with a solo journey back home. I had opted for the road; it would be long and tiring but it would be a heck of a lot more interesting than just taking the plane, and at least this time it would be a straight 12hr (or so) shot across the country!

We left Accra at 9AM and pulled into the Tamale transport yard by about 10PM that evening. Surprisingly, I was awake the entire trip that took us through five regions and all manners of traffic; city, highway and highway construction. We passed toll booths, bodies of water, villages, towns, fringe towns and hubs that had transformed into mini-villages due to their proximity to the major highway routes. I literally watched the scenery modify from dense tropical forest to flat and sparse grassland and felt the moisture evaporate each mile we moved further North.

I pretty much took all of this past week to recover from the journey(s) but I got to see, live and breathe 6 more regions of my beautiful home, bringing my total to 8 - only 2 more to go! (Western and Volta Regions).

Mar 7, 2012

Moo Ba Moo Zamaa Yara Ba (We're No Longer Children)

March is in full swing and there’s no better way to gear up than with a ROADTRIPPP. That’s right, part 2 -  this time YA Director Agnes, fellow volunteer Alex and I ventured to Wa, the capital of the Upper West Region where the organization operates locally to combat youth poverty. 

The route between Tamale (right) and Wa (left). The roads can be so bad that people often travel further south to link up with a better route.

We met some of the standard organizational beneficiaries including school children, trades apprentices and women’s co-operative groups. 


School visit








Hairdressing apprentice



Women's co-operative group













Over the three days spent in Wa, we also had the privilege to meet some truly unique and inspiring individuals within the community who act as reminders of the great potential we all carry. There were three particular encounters that helped me  put things in perspective; a gathering at the transport yard with young street porters and two home visits to children supported by the organization.

In the last post I discussed the upcoming YA campaign to peacefully involve street youth in the 2012 election. Through co-ordination with our Wa-based staff a meeting was arranged at the main transport yard with at least 20 young porters between the ages of 18-25. The purpose was to discuss the importance of their peaceful engagement in the election and to highlight important skill building sessions that would equip them to become informed community advocates amongst their peers.


Nashiru & I
 To be completely honest I (regretfully) had preconceived notions of an uneducated group who would instinctively accept whatever plans we proposed because they were uninformed and didn’t know any better - after all, isn’t that how they had ended up earning a living in a transport yard? Instead, I was (deservingly) slapped with the refreshing reality of a dynamic dialogue with the group, headed by their leader Nashiru.

We proposed training sessions to explain rights, democracy and the new biometric registration process. The need for sessions on conflict prevention and the co-existence of political ideologies was also a necessary inclusion given the group’s extensive experience with party-imposed bribery and its subsequent violence.

During the meeting
The young men raised practical questions and points from issues regarding substituting their time earning money to attend training, while others worried about facing the threat of violence themselves in the attempt to spread the message of peace. They also thoughtfully addressed the need for visual indicators (clothing & accessories) to affiliate them with the credibility of YA while actively campaigning during public rallies and marches. These were important organizational matters to consider as we were putting these youth on the front lines to literally be agents of change.

I walked away truly impressed by their maturity and willingness to harness control over their future welfare. It was living proof to me that given opportunity, outlook and desire are important pieces of the puzzle in changing one’s circumstances. Needless to say, this group will be one to watch for motivating change amongst their peers as the election season gets underway.

Group shot! :)

Lastly we had two home visits with YA beneficiaries. Normally, when the organization supports school children it is routine to conduct school, home and community visits to gain a holistic view of the their development as a problem in one area can often negatively affect the others. So far we’ve done quite a few school visits and spoken to several teachers, but this was the first time we were going on-site to view living conditions.


Agnes (YA Director) & Richard
We first met Richard, a polite and charming  12 year old boy who lives with his grandmother and uncle. Richard has a rare spinal condition and intestinal disorder that trouble him with decreased mobility and physical control over his bowels. He requires the use of a wheelchair and a constant supply of diapers due to the nature of his condition and is therefore heavily physically and emotionally dependent on his family. YA has been financially supporting Richard’s educational pursuits despite his medical problems. Although his developmental challenges see him currently enrolled at the Nursery 2 level, Richard speaks English at a High School level, enjoys learning  and has high aspirations of studying Computer Science.


Rosemary & Agnes (YA Director)
Rosemary is  a teenage girl who has overcome many obstacles to make it to where she is now. As a child, she was labeled as a “witch” by members of her community. Unfortunately, this is can be common in rural communities where witchcraft (aka “Juju” or African Electronics) is still practiced and a well-held traditional belief. One day she climbed a tree to escape the taunting, fell, broke her arm and was unable to seek medical attention due to the community’s belief that she would use sorcery to heal herself. Eventually, her arm had to be amputated to stop infection spreading from the broken bone. By this point the entire community, including her mother had rejected Rosemary and she had nowhere to turn until YA intervened. In co-operation with the Department of Social Welfare, the organization conducted counseling sessions for Rosemary, her mother and the community and rented a structure for the family to live in away from the influence of witchcraft believers. Rosemary is now a 15 year old girl who is reunited with her family and progressing in her education at the primary 3 (grade 3) level.

Our time in Wa made me reflect on the innocence of childhood and youth - it’s supposed to be a time for young people to learn, develop and grow within a nurturing and safe environment, free from suffering, doubt and pain. Given this definition,  the said individuals are by no means children. The bus station porters have had their naivety manipulated against them and are now being educated and empowered as young adults who understand that they have a right to and a say in their own destinies. Conversely, innocent children like Richard and Rosemary both face challenges that will forever alter their journey through adolescence, despite this they are embracing the opportunities they DO have with open arms. This makes them all so much more than children with the ability to simply hope for a better tomorrow;  they are living proof of the determination it takes to transform those dreams into realities they can live today.

I am honoured to have met them and to be able to share what is surely just the beginning of their stories so far …


PS: Click this link to check out the Youth Alive blog where I'll be writing in-depth stories about the people and communities the organization reaches! 

Feb 29, 2012

Ka-dunn, Ka-dunn (Little by Little)


Active participation during extra classes
On more of a day-to-day operational level our work has involved trying to increase communication efforts at YA; chiefly social media engagement and website updates and articles on beneficiaries which is a process we are slowly trying to formalize for consistency. Alex, Mavis (my co-workers) and I have also taken it upon ourselves to hold extra English classes for any and all primary school children who are interested. It’s been so much fun, and a surprising number of students actually show up (out of their own free will!) We do a lot of reading, simple vocab and spelling to try and reinforce what they’ve been learning in school. One of our teaching “strategies” is getting them to act out parts of the stories we read to aid their understanding and to make the learning more hands-on. It ALMOST makes me wish I had gone into teaching ;)

Extra class sessions

2012 is a big year in Ghana with nationwide elections slated for the end of the year. YA plans to engage the local street youth of voting age (18-25) on the importance of their peaceful participation in Ghana’s political process. Too often, the marginalized  street youth are targeted by political factions to contribute in violent and disruptive behavior that causes fear, panic and disorder within communities that support their opponents.

It is every individual’s civic responsibility to ensure that the government represents the cumulative needs and desires of all Ghanaians, regardless of social background. YA seeks to improve the youth’s understanding of governance in Ghana and how they can use their voice to shape a nation that is receptive to issues that affect them daily. This can be accomplished by encouraging them to consider current policies in government services like education, health care, sanitation and transportation; researching  alternative political parties and their perspectives; formulating an opinion and officially registering to vote. Secondly, YA hopes to instill the ethics behind a fair and just electoral process that supports the right for every citizen (including the youth themselves) to vote without fear of intimidation or harassment.

Meeting with YA & Transport Union
This is a long term project that YA plans to support through various stages. Currently we’ve begun by meeting with youth leaders in organized areas of the community where the youth tend to seek employment. Many young men find work as porters and loaders at the transport yards and bus stations and are managed by owners of the transport union. We met with members of the union to explain our objectives and how their support as 3rd party advocates who co-operate with, mentor and encourage the youth would go a long way in achieving our goal. Luckily they were extremely receptive to our ideas and have committed to attending workshops and education seminars that will teach/introduce core concepts about governance and Ghana’s political landscape in a way that can be communicated to the youth workers they oversee.

Street youth porters

Wave of the future?
Youth will also be educated as to upholding the integrity of the electoral process through the “one person, one vote” concept. Ghana is at a revolutionary point in its political history as this election year will introduce a new biometric voter registration system that will include the collection of fingerprint and photo data to properly track and analyze votes and ensure a transparent election. I’m extremely excited to watch this all unfold throughout the country and in our local area. This is something that is not yet even done in North America during elections (the only place I’ve ever seen it done is at JFK Airport!) and has the potential to make Ghana a pioneer in Africa's democratic development.

It’s thought-provoking to notice the similarities and differences between Ghana and Canada’s issues with youth participation in elections. Back home it’s easy to forget that not everyone is able to go to a polling station without facing social backlash due to their beliefs. Conversely I do know that we encounter a similar struggle with voter turnout in the same demographic of seemingly ignorant or apathetic young adults who either don’t believe their voice can make a difference or know enough to make an informed decision.