Arrival in Ghana
Well, today is the end on my first 10 days in Ghana. WOW! Never would I have expected I needed some warm clothes, but I was actually complaining that I was cold last night. It is the end of the rain season, and everything is cool because of it. I will enjoy it, because I know it comes to an end in one month, when the rain stops at the end of August.
The rain has been plentiful this year. When I last departed back in April, my friends here were clearing a plot of scrub land for planting. I could not believe when I saw this plot last week. Full of corn ready for harvest. It is truly amazing how fast plants grow here when there is water.
The life here has been very good so far. Meeting new people, saying hello again to familiar faces, finding new food and drink. I am taking a new anti-malarial medicine this time, and I hope it is working well. It feels like I am playing roulette each time I get bitten. I have talked with other foreigners who tell me they get bit all the time and in 3 years still have not gotten ill from the mosquitoes.
I have been to graduation ceremonies at 2 schools so far. At one, I was the Honorary Chairman and was given a seat in front & center and helped distribute awards for excellence. Graduation ceremonies here are very elaborate affairs, with students participating in drama, dance, singing, poetry recital, and other activities. Most of the stories that are acted out are desigened to instruct. A couple of the most amusing ones were 1) a tro-tro accident and 2) community cleanliness. Both are huge issues here.
A tro-tro is a form of public transit here. Imagine your minivan stripped and shoved full with up to 23 people. Yup. That would be 4 rows of 5 people, a driver, and 2 people in the front passenger seat - and even a few chickens under the seats or a goat in the back if you are lucky. And no, there is no air-conditioning. At your stop, everyone in front of you has to get out to let you out. Then we reload and move on. Tro-tros are cheap, uncomfortable and a great way to get friendly with people. How can you not engage a person in conversation when you are practically sitting in his lap? Many young children will say they want to be a tro-tro driver when they grow up.
I have seen horrible traffic accidents on the roads in Ghana. I guess for a developing country they are decent roads, but by Western standards, we would call them a death trap. When it only takes $1 to bribe a policeman at a checkpoint, why bother obtaining the necessary insurance. Or even a driver's license for that matter. You can only imagine the consequences of a tro-tro being crushed by an overloaded truck carrying timber.
The student's story about the tro-tro accident was sponsored by the Red Cross. The Red Cross is responsible for this segment each year, so students are doing the same skit at each school. It is instruction on how to provide aid for a nose-bleed and for fainting. At one school, these were induced by an assault from a drunk. At the other, it was a tro-tro accident that caused these medical conditions.
Drunkenness, poor hygiene, inappropriate urination and defecation, pregnancy, and the consequences of a poor education were common themes in these mini-dramas that the students perform. The other skit I remember vividly had a number of children pretending to be sick and vomiting and having diarrhea. These children were in grades 4-6. The cause of their pretend illness was an outbreak of cholera because of various demonstrated unsanitary actions of 3 other children. It is a very serious subject and the story line evolved into a physical fight between those calling for cleanliness and the 3 offenders. The students had everyone laughing so hard, but underneath we all are acutely aware of the seriousness of this story.
I have one more graduation to attend on Thursday. This is at the most recent school where I have organized an essay contest concerning community health. I will be making presentations of awards again, but this time they are awards from the TransCAP Foundation for their excellent essays. The 6 winners, 3 boys and 3 girls, are additionally receiving certificates they may take to their school to pay for school fees. At this time I do not know exactly how much the fees are at this school, but I am estimating that the $125 award will pay for two terms at school, with a small amount remaining for supplies.
I have the winning essays scanned, but unfortunately I did not upload them before I departed. Bandwidth is difficult to find here, but I will try to attach them to this letter. I also have a couple lovely videos from one of the graduation ceremonies. It is impolite to be jumping around taking pictures when sitting at the dignitaries table, so I have no photos from the second graduation ceremony. I will bring along a photographer when I attend Thursday's graduation. Again, it is difficult to determine when I will be able to upload a copy of these videos.
At this graduation, I also have a special gift for each participating student. When the President of the TransCAP Foundation read the student essays, he immediately opened his wallet and asked me to purchase a Life Straw for each student that wrote an essay. The essays are truly touching. To read about the conditions and the issues that these young children must endure cannot leave you unshaken.
A Life Straw is a personal filtration device produced by Vestergaard Frandsen. It is a tube that you drink through that filters dirty water and makes it safe for the person drinking. It is an amazing device. There is also a family filtration device they sell that filters 18,000 liters. The personal device is $8.50, and the family unit is $30. I have a goal now to raise $3,500. I can get a box of 500 personal Life Straws for $7 each, and I have a remote area already selected for distribution of these devices. Check this web site for more information: www.vestergaard-frandsen.com
As always, I am continuing to solicit funds via the TransCAP Foundation that I volunteer with in the USA. 100% of any tax-deductible donation comes directly to me in Ghana to support their activities here. It does not pay my rent or for the food I eat or anything like that. Be assured that every penny you donate is going directly to a child or to a clinic here in Africa. I know it is only a drop in a bucket, but I am here to do what I can for the few short months that I will be living here.
OK, this is enough for now. I will try to keep making postings regularly. I AM LOVING IT HERE !!!!
The rain has been plentiful this year. When I last departed back in April, my friends here were clearing a plot of scrub land for planting. I could not believe when I saw this plot last week. Full of corn ready for harvest. It is truly amazing how fast plants grow here when there is water.
The life here has been very good so far. Meeting new people, saying hello again to familiar faces, finding new food and drink. I am taking a new anti-malarial medicine this time, and I hope it is working well. It feels like I am playing roulette each time I get bitten. I have talked with other foreigners who tell me they get bit all the time and in 3 years still have not gotten ill from the mosquitoes.
I have been to graduation ceremonies at 2 schools so far. At one, I was the Honorary Chairman and was given a seat in front & center and helped distribute awards for excellence. Graduation ceremonies here are very elaborate affairs, with students participating in drama, dance, singing, poetry recital, and other activities. Most of the stories that are acted out are desigened to instruct. A couple of the most amusing ones were 1) a tro-tro accident and 2) community cleanliness. Both are huge issues here.
A tro-tro is a form of public transit here. Imagine your minivan stripped and shoved full with up to 23 people. Yup. That would be 4 rows of 5 people, a driver, and 2 people in the front passenger seat - and even a few chickens under the seats or a goat in the back if you are lucky. And no, there is no air-conditioning. At your stop, everyone in front of you has to get out to let you out. Then we reload and move on. Tro-tros are cheap, uncomfortable and a great way to get friendly with people. How can you not engage a person in conversation when you are practically sitting in his lap? Many young children will say they want to be a tro-tro driver when they grow up.I have seen horrible traffic accidents on the roads in Ghana. I guess for a developing country they are decent roads, but by Western standards, we would call them a death trap. When it only takes $1 to bribe a policeman at a checkpoint, why bother obtaining the necessary insurance. Or even a driver's license for that matter. You can only imagine the consequences of a tro-tro being crushed by an overloaded truck carrying timber.
The student's story about the tro-tro accident was sponsored by the Red Cross. The Red Cross is responsible for this segment each year, so students are doing the same skit at each school. It is instruction on how to provide aid for a nose-bleed and for fainting. At one school, these were induced by an assault from a drunk. At the other, it was a tro-tro accident that caused these medical conditions.
Drunkenness, poor hygiene, inappropriate urination and defecation, pregnancy, and the consequences of a poor education were common themes in these mini-dramas that the students perform. The other skit I remember vividly had a number of children pretending to be sick and vomiting and having diarrhea. These children were in grades 4-6. The cause of their pretend illness was an outbreak of cholera because of various demonstrated unsanitary actions of 3 other children. It is a very serious subject and the story line evolved into a physical fight between those calling for cleanliness and the 3 offenders. The students had everyone laughing so hard, but underneath we all are acutely aware of the seriousness of this story.
I have one more graduation to attend on Thursday. This is at the most recent school where I have organized an essay contest concerning community health. I will be making presentations of awards again, but this time they are awards from the TransCAP Foundation for their excellent essays. The 6 winners, 3 boys and 3 girls, are additionally receiving certificates they may take to their school to pay for school fees. At this time I do not know exactly how much the fees are at this school, but I am estimating that the $125 award will pay for two terms at school, with a small amount remaining for supplies.I have the winning essays scanned, but unfortunately I did not upload them before I departed. Bandwidth is difficult to find here, but I will try to attach them to this letter. I also have a couple lovely videos from one of the graduation ceremonies. It is impolite to be jumping around taking pictures when sitting at the dignitaries table, so I have no photos from the second graduation ceremony. I will bring along a photographer when I attend Thursday's graduation. Again, it is difficult to determine when I will be able to upload a copy of these videos.
At this graduation, I also have a special gift for each participating student. When the President of the TransCAP Foundation read the student essays, he immediately opened his wallet and asked me to purchase a Life Straw for each student that wrote an essay. The essays are truly touching. To read about the conditions and the issues that these young children must endure cannot leave you unshaken.
A Life Straw is a personal filtration device produced by Vestergaard Frandsen. It is a tube that you drink through that filters dirty water and makes it safe for the person drinking. It is an amazing device. There is also a family filtration device they sell that filters 18,000 liters. The personal device is $8.50, and the family unit is $30. I have a goal now to raise $3,500. I can get a box of 500 personal Life Straws for $7 each, and I have a remote area already selected for distribution of these devices. Check this web site for more information: www.vestergaard-frandsen.com
As always, I am continuing to solicit funds via the TransCAP Foundation that I volunteer with in the USA. 100% of any tax-deductible donation comes directly to me in Ghana to support their activities here. It does not pay my rent or for the food I eat or anything like that. Be assured that every penny you donate is going directly to a child or to a clinic here in Africa. I know it is only a drop in a bucket, but I am here to do what I can for the few short months that I will be living here.
OK, this is enough for now. I will try to keep making postings regularly. I AM LOVING IT HERE !!!!
posted by Easy Track Ghana at 11:12 AM
1 Comments:
Hello, darling! Barbara and I are at work reading your latest blog - sounds like you have been busy. You must be very proud of your students. What an inspiration you must be to them. Good luck, hugs and kisses.
Kurt and Auntie Barb =)~
Post a Comment
<< Home