A humbling experience...

What a privilege it has been living in Ghana, working with and getting to know Ghanaian people, culture and way of life. I would not have traded this life changing, eye opening experience for anything – I am so bless to have had this opportunity.

While I can only hope that the children I met and interacted with here in Ghana did indeed benefited in some small way from my presence and work, I thank them deeply for what they gave to me. Their charm, enthusiasm, ray of hope and faith won over my heart.

I’ll miss the call of “Miss Canada” or “Natalia” from the children I passed each and every day as I walked to work, the little faces that peeked out of classroom windows during each and every school visit and the one on one conversations I had with children hearing about them, their life, their story, their struggles, hopes and dreams for the future. It is these callings, these little faces and these stories that ground me, keep me humble and inspire me each and every day.

I ask everyone to not take for granted all we have, as items such as food, water, medical care, and the notion of opportunity are present in our lives daily. Availability and access to clean and safe drinking water and food is not the reality for many in developing nations. Nor is basic education. Medicine too is most often not available in moments of sickness and medical care in emergency situations is not a phone call away.

I thank you children of Ghana for all you gave to me. Having gained a much greater and richer understanding of Ghanaian culture and way of life, I am far better able to assist with efforts to improve quality of life and quality of education for children in Ghana. With the sound of their little voices in my head, and pictures of their charming faces in my mind, I hope to do just that.

Madina Primary School

Wednesday December 2, 2009

Today I had the opportunity to visit Madina Primary School. Medina is located in the Greater Accra Region. The afternoon I spent at the school went very well. I had the opportunity to speak with the Head Mistress and her Assistant - they were wonderful to speak with. Our conversation was in depth and very informative, but I will just summarize my findings for you.

1) The following is a list of what the school needs:
- First Aid supplies: for cuts and scratches that happen during recess and lunch
- Notebooks and writing materials: many students cannot afford these
- Funding for students to buy uniforms: most students only have one that is torn and worn out
- Shoes: many students come to school with no shoes, shoes that are too small or these plastic shoes they have here, because they are cheap to buy. These shoes create blisters, cuts and sores - especially in this heat.

2) The Case of Salome
There is a little girl in the school, Salome - she is in Grade 6. She has poor eye sight, and also some problems hearing. I am very concerned about her because her Aunt (whom she lives with), is not responding to the Head Mistresses and teachers request to come to the school and speak with them about the situation and agree to take her to the eye doctor and get her glasses. Salome has had eye problems for 3 years now - she cannot effectively learn and I am very concerned that her eye sight and hearing it getting worse because it is not being taken care of. There is much more to this case but this is the gist of it. I have arranged for this unfortunate situation to be made a case here in the office and the school has agreed to follow up with my supervisor on the the status of Salome. We need to get this girl in to see an eye doctor and determine what the problem is and solve it. I hope glasses will correct her sight problem and it is nothing more serious. I'm so happy I was here to bring attention to this situation.

Thursday December 3, 2009
On another note: Today I submitted an article on Education Rights to a paper here in Ghana (Daily Guide) - We'll see if it gets published!

Tuesday December 1, 2009

Today we visited the Remand center - which is located just up the street from our office. Here minors, both boys and girls are housed if they have been convicted of a crime or if there case is still pending. We had some items to donate to the facility. After the donation was made, those of us who had not been before were given a tour. It was very upsetting to tour the grounds, see where they are housed and hear the stories. Those who run the facilities are genuinely trying to run the program to best benefit the children - but the lack of funding greatly hinders these efforts. The children are receiving some education while there, but that's it. There is nothing for them to do, arts and crafts, read..nothing. Rather, then spend their time sitting around in their room one the 4 inch mattresses they call beds. There is simply no money, no resources. The boys room was particularly disturbing. Not all the boys have a mattress to sleep on, the room is bare, bars on the windows - locked in. We went in and the boys where there - they all politely said hello, but they looked sad and lost. There are boys as young at 9 years old here, some serving a year sentence - at 9 years old. Truly heartbreaking to witness. Our role in this center is to ensure the youth have representation and that their rights are being protected.

Calvary School

Monday November 30, 2009

Today I visited another school. My roommate is in the HIV/AIDS awareness program and so while she and her team spoke with the students I had the opportunity to speak with the Head Master. Our conversation was very informative, for the both of us. We spoke about the lack of funding and the various challenges the school faces in their efforts to provide education. It is a private school, but regardless the available funding and resources are scarce. This is a great example of how you cannot assume that "Private" schooling means adequate facilities and good quality education - this is not always the case. After graciously offering me a cold drink and cookies he gave me a tour of the school. The school does have a computer lab - but the computers are very old (25 yrs old or older) and not all are working. Building of the school library has been suspended due to lack of funds since 1998...yes 1998! Over 10 years! This is a picture of what is suppose to be the school library.

Kakum & Cape Coast

Friday November 27, 2009 - Sunday November 29, 2009

This was my last weekend in Ghana, and a great one it was! We spent the weekend South, in Kakum Friday night and Cape Coast Saturday night. We visited the Kakum National Park - here we did the canopy walk and hike. It was a 5am start to the day - which worked out great because the park isnt busy at the time, there were very few people there. The canopy walkway passes over 7 bridges and is extremely high! (not sure the exact height). The walk across each canopy was very shaky, as the walkway would sway back and forth as you walked across - a little nerving i must admit! Following this we went on a guided hike through the park. We didnt see any animals unfortunately but saw many different species of trees and learnt about there common usages - Very fun morning!

Before leaving our hotel in Kakum we had the opportunity to feed and "touch" the alligators. The hotel we stayed in was build on and around alligator swamps and territory. We were told that there are just over 40 alligators in the waters that surround the hotel - we were lucky enough to see three! One in particular we got to know much better and we feed it mini chickens and as well touched it. (see pic - me totally on guard going in for a touch!). Yes, the hotel workers were laughing at me as I thought about it realistically...I thought to myself "the alligator at any minute could just turn his head and snap at me!" But then...I just did it - no regrets!

Later that day we traveled to Cape Coast. Here we visited the Cape Coast Castle. The Castle was first build for trade in timber and gold but later it was used for the trans-Atlantic slave trade. This is what it is most known for. Not sure if anyone saw it on CNN but President Obama visited the Castle this past summer. This Castle was one of the largest slave housing/trading ports in the world. Standing and walking on the ground where horrific, inhumane atrocities took place was overwhelming. We had a guide walk us through the Castle which I always enjoy, because it gives you a richer understanding and appreciation for the space and its history. I am very happy to have had the opportunity to experience it. (see pic)

New Puppy

Friday November 26, 2009

No work today. It is the "The Feast of Sacrifice" - a Muslim holiday/celebration.
I woke up early had breakfast and planned to go shopping for material and then go see the dress maker. I would like to get a few dresses/skirts made before I come home. The materials are just beautiful and the dress styles are so unique.
I went to leave my house in the morning and noticed that the family living down stairs from us got a new puppy. At first I wasnt sure if this puppy had a home - dogs wander the streets here and arent taken care of the same as at home. So I asked and the family and they said "yes this is our new puppy - she just arrived today". She was getting no attention, was shaking, scared and so skinny. My material shopping trip was put on hold for the time being. I went and got the puppy food and I sacrificed one of my two towels to make her a bed. I spent about an hour with her making her feel safe and tried to feed her. Finally she settled in the bed I made her :) I cant help but keep checking up on her! - I think (no I know) the family thinks I'm crazy! haha

Talks

Thursday November 26, 2009

Talks:

"Framing a Constitution of Ghana for the 21st Century"
Speaker: H. Kwasi Prempeh
British Council Hall

"Breaking the Silence Surrounding Violence Against Women"
International Conference Center Accra

Books, Books, Books!!!

Wednesday November 25, 2009

I have become very much interested in school libraries and books for children in Ghanaian schools. School libraries are more or less non existant here in Ghana (Private school being the acception). Library time in the public school is a box of books in the class room that gets taken out for an hour one day a week. The Teshie Primary School needs a Library as does the school in Tafi Atome and Oduman (once the school is built) - So...I've been looking into how much it will cost to build a library, and also I've been looking at African Publishers for library books, as well as Canadian Publishers.

A School for Oduman

Tuesday Novmeber 25, 2009

The Oduman Case has been pending here in the Human Rights Office since June 2009, but due to several road blocks there has been no work on the case since September 2009. To sum it up, Oduman is a village here in Ghana that has no school. Early in the case the government was pressured to give funding to this village to build a school and maintain it - but so such luck. The request was simply dismissed, as the government responded saying there is no funding for a school in Oduman. People who were working on this case during the summer months, approached several NGOs asking them for funding to build a school - once again no such luck. After several mounths, these efforts came to a hault. So it's been about 2 months since anyone has looked at this case. Being interested in education rights and education here in Ghana, the case of Oduman is of great interest to me. After reviewing the case file and discussing the case with my supervisor and others here in the Human Rights office the Oduman Case is still pending but a plan is in place. Projects Abroad will build Oduman a school in Summer 2010. Now, there is no guarentee that the government will fund the school once it is built, but it is a chance that must be taken if the children of Oduman want to attend school. The hope is that once the school is built (with no cost to the government) then funding and sustaining the school will be more favorable. I would like to assist in these efforts by supplying the school with books to make a fully stocked library for the school. So I hope this school will indeed be build in the summer 2010.

La Palm

Sunday November 22, 2009
A little taste of heaven as I like to call it! :) Today I spend at La Palm Hotel. It's located up the road from my house - about a 3min tro ride. You can pay a small fee of $10 to spend the day at the pool - well worth it! I arrived at the hotel at 8:30am and stayed till about 5pm. First thing I did once arriving was order myself a nice big pot of tea! mmm mmm mmm! what a treat! Seeing as it's a 5* hotel you dont have to worry about the quality of the food and drink - which is so very different then life here in Ghana. So the tea with milk I very much enjoyed :) I spent the day between the pool and my sun chair - didnt have to move much cause they take your order from where you are and bring it to you. Really great day - a nice treat! :)

Travel to "The Hills"

Saturday November 21, 2009

It was an early start to the day - we left the city at about 8:30am and started our journey to "The Hills". Took us about an hour to get there - a beautiful region! As always it's nice to get out of the city. Here we spent the morning shopping at the wood market. The woods work was wonderful - amazing talent and craftsman ship from the men and women in this region. There was so much to choose from - and I was able to pick out a few items to buy and bring home :) For lunch we stopped at this little restaurant - a big bowl of rice, an omelet and salad for what would be equivalent to $3 CAN. At the restaurant I got speaking to this older women who used to live in Canada (Scarborough!) Small world - So when I told her that I knew the area she was very happy to talk with me.
We spent the afternoon at the Botanical Gardens. About a 30min walk up hill from the wood market. Beautiful grounds here! A great way to spend an afternoon :)

Research at Teshie School

Thursday November 29, 2009

I spent the day at Teshie Plesbyenian Primary School sitting in class and observing. Teshie is a fishing community in the greater Accra Region - a region that for the most part doesnt consider education of great importance. It is common for boys to follow in the path of their fathers and become fisherman and girls do as their mothers did and become domestic caretakers. While a community can benefit by having such a commodity, problematically the community does not have any system in place to export the fish. Rather, the fish are caught to feed their families and as well sold within the community.
I sat in on four different classes Grade 1,2,5, & 6 and as well I spent some time in the Kindergarten classrooms. I was able to observe the daily learning, speak with teachers and the Head Mistress. Also at the end of my visit a meeting took place with the Head Mistress, myself, my supervisor, the head of the school district and some other school district members and I discussed with them what challenges the school faces and what is needed. What a great opportunity meeting and speaking with this influential group of individuals. A summary of my Report is as follows:

Recommendations for what the Primary School needs:
- a library, full stocked with books appropriate for grades 1-6
- a computer lab
- services available for children with physical or learning disabilities
- ensure all children have the necessary notebooks to write in and materials to write with
- a breakfast and or lunch program that provides those children whose guardians do not have the means to provide them with necessary food for learning, with breakfast and or lunch during the school day.

Recommendations for what the Kindergarten section of the Primary School needs:
- books for story time for the teachers to read the children
- stimulating interactive learning visuals and materials (i.e posters, toys, activities, and activity centers)
- face lift to the children's playground (need safe playground equipment)

About my Internship/School Outreach

Wednesday November 18, 2009

I havent talked at all about my placement here at the human rights office. This is because I have just started into the work :) The three days I spent in the office last week I got to know how everything operates and plan with my supervisor what I would like to accomplish in my time here, also I had a lot of reading to do to prepare myself for an outreach program on Mon-Tues. There are many cases/projects pending or in progress here in the office, in the area of women's rights, children's rights, workers rights etc, as well as some more social work like cases such as finding orphans an orphanage. All of us here in the internship are either lawyers, MA Graduates and a few are applying for Grad school. A great group to work with. This past Monday and Tuesday we were at a church run school educating youth ages 9-18 on their rights in regards to domestic violence. After an informal talk and open discussion with the children we offered them the opportunity to speak to one of the 3 support workers we brought in, all of whom are from different organizations that help children dealing with violent situations. These individuals were here to see students one on one - I feel this was extremely beneficial for the kids. We offered a service that I hope the children benefited from and for those who spoke one on one, I hope at the very least the children now know who they can go to for help and that this is the start of putting an end to the abuse/violence they are suffering.

Wli Falls/Waterfall Lodge

Saturday November 14, 2009

After a really good sleep, it was the start of a great weekend! Today we hiked up Wli falls - this was the most physically challenging experience of my life! So difficult! a 1 hour walk to the lower falls and then a few hour hike up the falls (see picture). The heat was unreal, my legs went dead, my ankles gave out, i started to get asthma like symptoms, and your body just shuts down on you! What a challenge - luckily we made it! :)
Then, after we did the difficult journey back down the falls we went to rest at the lower falls (see picture), here we meet a teacher and her school children. Beautiful place to rest.




That afternoon we made the 1.5 hour journey (by tro then taxi) to the Monkey Sanctuary - great experience! (See picture). Again I was thinking I wish Jason was here - he would love this! :)Those monkeys are smart little creatures - peeling bananas! Best part of the journey was I was able to speak to our guide about the community (Tafi Atome), about the government funding they receive for social services (which they receive none), and more specifically about the school. They have a primary school (see picture), but with scarce funding not all the children in the village can attend, or stay enrolled because of the indirect costs associated with education (i.e paper, pencils etc), and then few children have been sponsored by an NGO to attend secondary school. The school has no library, so no books for the children to read or learn from, no pads of paper and nothing to write with. Of course ideas flooded my head after learning all of this - maybe this is a community I can help! The waterfall and the monkeys were an amazing experience but I have to admit the best part of the weekend was travelling through/visiting these little villages. I was happy to be more North (in the rural areas) seeing village after village (walking through some), children run after you, and wave as you pass. The poverty is indescribable and unacceptable. All I can think of is the possibilities if children can access and attend school - this is the start of poverty alleviation. I felt sadness and yet hope.

A scary night!!!

I've been so busy and have had no access to the net - sorry for not having posted!!!

Friday Novmeber 13, 2009
After a busy three days getting to know the ropes at the human rights office my first weekend here I decided with a few others to go to see Wli Falls. Of course the first thing that entered my mind was that Jason isnt here with me to experience this! He would love it!
The journey there was about 5 hours, a taxi, two different tro-tros and another taxi. Having gotten back late from a mission we were sent on in the morning we left Accra late and therefore ended up travelling in the night. This was the most terrifying experience of my life - have never been more scared. Everything went wrong - we had to wait for the tro tro to fill up (waited in a crowded station/market place) here the ladies come up to you window and sell their product - a neat thing to experience actually (see picture). Then after that journey (4hours) when the time came to take the taxi, no driver knew how to get to our lodge. I have never been so scared - honest i cant even describe it. 9pm in a little village, the streets lined with people, fires burning on the sides of the roads, people swarming you to buy food, every driver pushing you to drive with them, no lights anywhere except from the fires and the candles burning on vendor booths. I will never again be stuck travelling in the dark. At least if Jason was there with me I would have felt much more secure and safe - when you are alone essentially with 4 other girls it's a very scary situation to be in. Thankfully, after getting a tro to take us to the lodge (which was a 30min drive), literally "in the bush" (cant classify it a road)- no lights, in a tro jammed packed with people, and our seats in the back row were not securely screwed to the floor thus over ever pot hole our seats would lift up off the ground, speeding then slamming on the breaks for each pot hole - and I could go on!!! FINALLY we arrived at the Lodge. I cant describe the feeling/sense of relief I had once arriving. I then joined my other friends (whom I was sharing a room with and had arrived earlier). Finally I felt safe and in no danger.

First Few Days

Sunday November 8, 2009
After 19 hours of travel I arrived in Accra at 7:30am this morning. I was greeted by the intense heat! It is very hot here. I was picked up at the airport and taken to my host family. Once arriving I was welcomed by my host mother and her husband. She showed me to my room and around the house - where everything is and such. I’m sharing a room with another girl who is from Australia, and there are also two other volunteers in the room beside us - All very nice. I was then left to unpack. I hung my mosquito net up and went to get some sleep. This wasn’t so easy to do! The daughter of my host family was getting married today, so after settling me in the mother got ready and they all headed to the church. I slept a bit but could hear outside the load music, singing – just a full out celebration! Like a parade in the street. Prior, the Bride was getting ready right outside my room – she wore a two piece outfit. It was a long fitted skit and a short sleeve fitted top, white with blue glittery patterns on it - very pretty. Accompanying this song of celebration was a periodic “cock-a-doddle-do” from the several roosters’ right outside my window and I could also hear the children playing in the street. I did although manage to get some sleep. My pillow is a bag of cotton balls and I don’t really fit the bed (it’s too short) – but it all does just fine! The other three girls and I meet for dinner (the host family cooks for us each night) and then lights out soon for me! I have orientation in the morning.

Monday November 9th, 2009
Mornings comes early here! At about 5am you can start to hear people outside and the “cock-a-doodle-do!” of the roosters. The windows in my room are simply mosquito netting with a thin piece of material on top – not sure what it’s for because it’s too thick and too short to keep out any light or give any privacy. So this is why we can hear all that is going on outside. The town where my house is located is called La, its a little ways from down town Accra (the capital). I was picked up at 9am from one of the staff members (she was very nice!) and was taken all over! We picked up another new volunteer also and she came with us. To get around here you take the tro-tro. Tro-tros are like vans – actually they look like those “hippy vans” from the 70s! Each tro-tro has a driver and a man that opens the door for people to enter and take the money (less the 1CAD to ride it). This guy calls out the window the destination and also gives the hand gesture for the destination as well. They drive along the road doing this until someone waves them down or a stop comes. I was introduced to this transportation very quickly today. We took 6 different tro-tros throughout the day and a few taxis! Sitting beside me in one of the tro-tros was a boy, looked about 15 or 16 not older than that. I couldn’t help but peek over to what was on the paper she was reading. It was a study sheet for Business/Law. He studied it intensely as we were all crammed into the tro-tro and as we bounced around, driving over and avoiding pot holes one after the other. I think he was heading to school for a test. There was a lot to observe in transit today. Many of the women are carrying jugs of water, and bowls of cut watermelon on their heads. Kids in small groups of 2 or 3 are skipping along the road side, dressed impeccably in their school uniform. We passed a store that made coffins - It had to be pointed out to me this is what they were because they looked much different. The coffins were shaped and painted - for example I saw a beer coffin, a shark coffin and a thomas the train coffin. So different! Lots to take in. After a long morning/afternoon of traveling around, making several stops and getting to know our way around, we went for a bite to eat. Food so far is very good, except vegetables are scarce! There is a lot of rice, plantains, dumpling like foods – a lot of carbohydrates. Vary tasty – but lacking veggies! They cook with a lot of hot spices too so you have to be careful if you don’t like the heat.
After a long day out and about it was nice to get home. Before getting back to the house we made a short visit to the Human Rights Office where I’ll be working (I start tomorrow). Here I was able to get on the computer shortly which I was very thankful for, as I had not contacted home since my departure two days ago. The heat here is so intense! Luckily though, good clean water is always available (about 5 CAN cents) for a ½L bag – I haven’t paid for a bag yet as water is provided to us. Also, with this heat you need to shower often as you can imagine. So this evening I attempted this (and I say attempted for a reason). We have no running water in the house - so no shower, no running toilet, no sink. To wash you fill buckets of water up from the bins of water right outside the washing room door. And then you pour the water over you as you stand in this “bath like” structure. I went into the other room to confirm with the host family I was talking the right water and he responded “yes you use the bin water” and then in a friendly/cheeky voice he says to me “you’re in Africa now!” and then we both chuckled. I think it will take a little getting used to (this type of cleansing that is) – although it was easier then it looked! Well...a little.

Almost set to go!

Hello all! - This is the first of many posts over the next month or so! It’s finally here - I’m on a plane to Ghana in 3 days. Both excitement and nerves have set in at this point, as one emotion overpowers the other depending on the moment. A weird feeling I must admit, but normal I think for the type of travel I am about to embark on.
Over the past few weeks support from family and friends, wishing me well on this trip has been remarkable. I feel sincerely grateful and I am overwhelmed by the generosity shown to me.
I think I’m all set to go! Only thing left is to pack my bag!
Looking forward to my time in Ghana, and sharing my experience with you all! Thank you for coming along with me :)