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 :)