Hello everyone!

I would just like to say that at this point that I would do anything to have internet at my hotel. You can’t really skype at internet cafes, and by the time Riley gets home from school I am usually in my bed. Long distance phone calls are pretty expensive to Ghana, and it has been hard to get a good connection. We just got cut off mid-conversation and my phone is out of credits so I couldn’t call back. In short I miss everyone in Canada and I am working on the contact thing. I really hope that wherever my accommodation is… it has internet but I think the chances of that happening are pretty slim. Lol

So things here have been picking up pace. Unfortunately this past weekend I was very ill and so unable to really go anywhere or do anything. Fortunately for me, however, it was not too serious and I have made a good recovery. I just have to go a bit slower on food and make sure I READ the labels on all my medication before I take them.

I did start work on Thursday (before the sickness hit) and there was a lot to do. So how many details I have disclosed regarding my job thus far, I don’t know, but I work in the WUSC office.

Although AFRRI radio is a program that is under the heading of GNECC, their office is located at WUSC which, conveniently enough is located really close to our hotel. AFRRI stands for African Farm Radio Research Initiative. It’s a project that  operates it many countries around Africa, however, our team is solely responsible for its implementation and operation in Ghana. Essentially, there are 5 radio stations that have agreed to play a 1 hour program (I think they are usually one hour), once a week (sometimes they repeat the program depending on the station). The program is an educational program that discusses farming practice and it is aired in a number of rural communities all over the country. The program is conducted in the local language and dialects of each community and aims at educating people on the growing, cultivation of certain crops and the keeping of farm animals as well as how to market their product and enhance the community’s overall income. Also, I should mention that the program differs depending on the needs of each community (i.e.: one community might be listening to a program on Animals housing while at the same time another community is learning about the cultivation of a specific crop). Many of these communitie members have a minimal education and so this initiative offers really great opportunities.
We have arrived at a time where they were in-putting and analyzing the data that has been collected in the field regarding the first “campaign” or round of programs. The data entry process has been pretty demanding considering this is our first week here but that seems to have come to an end and analysis and report writing is about to begin.

For the past two days we have had the privilege of attending a two-day meeting aimed at creating an outline for the next 5 year plan for Unitterra (the volunteer organisation that has sent us here). It has been really interesting! First we learned about the workings of Uniterra and what the organisation (through volunteer work) has accomplished over the past 5 years. Then we have been divided into groups in order to discuss the topics that may require emphasis in Uniterra’s mandate for the next 5 years. We have been talking about the quality of education, exclusion and accessibility of education and vocational training with a special focus on girls, gender sensitivity and equity. My team in particular has been trying to develop strategies and activities that can be implemented in order to enhance the quality of education for girls in Ghana. I have learned a lot about the education system here.

There is a lot of work to be done in teacher training on gender sensitive issues, the lack of teachers (especially female) in rural areas, and the overall quality of education (although it must be noted that a lot has been accomplished in the past couple of years). For example, in many areas, girls do not have women role models or teachers to look up too, they may be overburden with chores and therefore suffer lower grades, and many schools lack facilities that are gender friendly (such as girls washrooms and sports programs).

I know a lot of you may be wondering about my accommodation…so am I. I was told I will find out on Monday, then told Wednesday… now maybe Thursday? Anyways, don’t worry. For the time being I have a nice hotel room until I find suitable (and safe) accommodation.
I bought some phone credits so I should be able to text! (with my new Ghaniain phone)

Anyways I will write more soon!

Love and miss everyone!

Cassie

So last Friday, at around 5pm we were all feeling a little defeated and really wanted to get out of the city and see more of Ghana. Jess and Nelly had decided that they were going to take a weekend trip to a place called Ada Foah, about 2 hours outside of Accra. I jumped aboard, so did Jackie, Inka and Marilyn (another volunteer who recently arrived). Bridget, a long term volunteer who has been living here for a while decided to come too and was our guide seeing as she had done this trip some months before. So eventually the group grew to 7. We left early
Saturday morning (7am) and went to meet bridget at the Tros-Tros station. I don`t know If I have explain the tros-tros yet but they are basically the public transportation system here in Ghana. They are these big vans (that look like they are breaking down…the door doesn`t really work properly) and they shove as many people on a bench as possible. The plus side is it is pretty cheap transportation and so you get used it. We arrived at the tros-tros station which is kinda like Ghana`s version of a Greyhound station. I think it might be called Lories? Not sure. But basically it was the craziest thing I have ever witnessed. These vans were EVERYWHERE and so were people. Stalls everywhere, markets down streets and in between the tros-tros.
Everywhere you looked there was someone balancing tons of merchandise precariously on their heads while holding some in their hands, and trying to sell it to us “Obrunies” (which is what they shout at us; translated it means “white person”). I had so many people crowding me and asking me where I was going that I couldn’t even answer, I had to just walk on. We eventually found this really nice lady who took us to the tros-tros going to Ada Foah. Once there, we realized that Bridget was waiting for us at ANOTHER tros-tros station beside the one we were in. So the lady again led us to the right place, weaving through noise, hissing, snapping , music and exhaust smoke. Finally we found where we were meant to be and we thanked the lady (with a hug and a couple of cedis) and boarded the tros-tros. It was actually a lovely ride. The scenery was beautiful outside Accra; the fields and little villages that we passed along the way were exactly how pictured Africa. This ride, in a way, was my wakeup call.

So we arrived in Ada Foah at around 11 am. Where we met some locals who were happy to take us where we wanted to go. Estuary Beach was our final destination. Bridget described it as paradise, and I have to say she was not far from the truth. The local brought us weaving through a very calm very nice little market, full of wooden stalls, and to a river where a boatman awaited. We negotiated a price (3 cedis) and hoped on. Boating down this river was absolutely gorgeous. On either side of us there were communities surrounded by palm trees. Never in my life have I seen so many beautiful palm trees. There were simple communities living mostly out of mud and grass huts, and there were beautiful beach homes (most likely privately owned property). The water was so clear and inviting, that is before we heard about the crocodiles (I did not see any but just knowing they were there was enough to deter swimming-let a long the warnings from my doctor). We arrived on the beach and there were rows of grass huts, a drink booth, and grass umbrellas near the water with lounging chairs underneath. Amazing.

It was called estuary beach because it marks the place where the ocean meets the river (or sea? I heard it being called both). We were basically on a small strip of island, and on one side was the river by which we traveled and on the other side was the Ocean. Literally right there. I had never really been in the ocean before so that alone was amazing. The sky was so blue that if you stood on the hill it was hard to see where sky ended and ocean began. The waves crashed so ferociously yet somehow, it was calming…. ok, I am being a little romantic with my writing now but I have to say, having hardly been around oceans, this was amazing. We “swam”, if you can call it that. There are no life guards in Ghana and the tide looked very dangerous so we slowly edged into the water and let the waves push us onto the shore. As we got braver, it got more fun. Afterwards we napped in hammocks under some coconut trees (cliché but it had to be done) and I got a tan! YAY.

The food was really good, which was a bit surprising considering we were quite literally in the middle of nowhere. No washrooms except a grass outhouse, no shower, but good food.
As the day wore on crabs came out of their millions of homes on the Ocean beach and danced around our feet. They were so cute! I also spent half the day picking seashells.

When night fell a giant bonfire was prepared and to our surprise and pleasure chairs were placed around the fire and we were graced with traditional African music and dance! There were a group of very good drummers, lots of signing and some cowbell! The dancers were like nothing I have ever seen. They were so fast and agile (especially considering they were dancing on sand), and the crackled of the fire behind them made it all the more mystical. After about an hour of strait dancing (and in this heat!) they invited us to come and try our hand at it, or rather or hips lol. What a workout! I am definitely taking up African dance when I come back to Canada, 10 minutes and you have lost 20 pounds and your abs are screaming for a break. I loved it.

Afterwards I retired to my grass hut on the beach. I know, cool right? There was no light and it was my first mosquito net experience… there were 3 pounds of sand in my bed but aside from that I slept well.

The following day was just as good. I walked to beach when I awoke and there were around 15 men pulling at a giant rope from the Ocean. Curiosity pricked me so I went to check it out. They were fishing! This was not fishing like we are used to it. This is HARD work. I decided to help… 2 hours of constant pulling in the African heat and still they had not pulled in the net yet. Basically, there is a giant net that they (somehow… I think by boat) cast into the ocean. At each end of the net there is a long stretch of thick rope. There are two groups of about 15-20 people each who grab each end of the rope and stand about 50 feet or more away from each other to pull it in. It took me a while to realise that the two groups were pulling at the same net. I have never sweat that much in my entire life (and I can say that in complete honesty.) The fish was meant to feed the entire village. I was soon distracted, however, by a GIANT sea turtle which had washed up on the shore. It was one of the saddest things I have ever seen. The turtle was dead… belly up but still so big and beautiful. The feeling of seeing it there for some reason filled me with so much sadness. The turtle was easily half the length of me and probably twice as wide. One thing I should note is that the pollution on the beach is unbelievable. All of the garbage from Accra gets washed up on the shore in Ada, and pollutes the peoples land and animals. Apparently, a mile or so down river there are no washrooms for the people, and so the ocean it is. I am SO glad that I learned this after I swam. There are volunteers there who are currently in the process of building toilets.

So we made our way back around 3 pm and it was a wonderful weekend all in all. We caught a tros-tros all to our selves, and some of the people who were at the beach accompanied us back to Accra. It felt really good to shower.

So this afternoon I am supposed to be moving into my new Hostel with Jackie-looking forward to having a place to settle into.

Tata for now!

Bonjour, je m’appelle Nelly Desmarais et je participerai cet été au programme Étudiants sans frontières de l’EUMC. Durant mon stage, j’occuperai le poste d’enseignante de français à Awaso au Ghana.

J’ai complété au printemps 2009 un Baccalauréat en études littéraires à l’Université du Québec à Montréal (UQÀM) et je poursuis en ce moment des études dans un programme de création littéraire. C’est après avoir suivi un cours sur les littératures francophones (notamment africaines) en 2008 que le désir de voyager sur le continent africain a commencé à m’habiter davantage. Lorsque j’ai entendu parler du programme ÉSF, j’ai su qu’y participer serait une façon de satisfaire à la fois mon intérêt vis-à-vis de ces autres cultures et ma volonté de m’impliquer. Je suis très heureuse à l’idée de pouvoir compléter ma formation universitaire par une expérience de terrain et avoir l’occasion de mettre mes connaissances au service d’un projet concret. Très attachée au monde de l’enfance, je m’intéresse beaucoup à l’enseignement et à l’éducation. J’ai eu le plaisir de travailler à plusieurs reprises en lien direct avec les jeunes, notamment l’été dernier au camp de francisation de la Commission scolaire de Montréal et du Comité jeunesse Notre-Dame-de-grâce. J’espère sincèrement pouvoir contribuer, à petite échelle, à travers les tâches que j’aurai à accomplir, à une meilleure qualité de l’éducation pour les enfants de la région d’Awaso.

Je découvrirai ainsi le Ghana de l’intérieur, soit en travaillant et en vivant avec la population locale. Si j’ai déjà vécu auparavant une expérience de volontariat en Pologne avec Chantiers jeunesse, je sais que ce sera différent cette fois-ci, puisque je serai immergée dans une culture où le mode vie diffère considérablement de celui auquel je suis habituée. Je me prépare pour cette expérience en gardant en tête l’objectif de conserver en tout temps une ouverture d’esprit afin d’en retirer le plus possible. Je suis impatiente à l’idée de rencontrer les enfants d’Awaso ainsi que mes collègues du projet de l’école Kanaso! Plus qu’un mois avant le grand départ…

While in the guesthouse, my days began with an hour and a half taxi rides through the traffic jungles of Accra. Accentuated by murky smog, hordes of street vendors and irate drivers, each morning proved to be engaging and adventurous. I would debate and discuss various issues on those rides with my colleague and fellow Canadian volunteer, who despite the 40 plus degree whether never failed to don one of an assortment of trusty cardigans at her disposal.

The workplace is a challenging environment. The physical expression of an organization that operates nationwide is two rooms: one being the director’s office and the other the rest of the staff’s. This second room somehow manages to accommodate three desks and computers, two printers, a copy machine, waiting area, book shelf, and six employees. With visitors and part-time staff there are at times 11 to 12 people occupying this very small space. This contrasts sharply with the experience of some other volunteers, who during weeknight gatherings at some uppity restaurants revealed that their offices are roomy and even luxurious. I was quick to learn that my duties would comprise a lot more than my mandate. Assignments range from compiling reports, arranging proposals, assisting in child’s rights cases and liaising with different organizations to drafting letters and completing simple administrative tasks. So there is a gamut of experiences in the actual work which I’m grateful for. Somehow, this crowded and intimate space works and works well, the only downside being the muggy heat during occasional power outages.

I reside in Awudome Estates, whose name lends it a sense of lavishness but is actually a decent middle-class residential area. Located in downtown Accra, it somehow manages to remain quiet and free of traffic. I’m there most of the week, until I travel for field work or excursions with friends. My landlady is a gracious old woman who runs a bar in the same compound. The owner, her son, is the spitting image of Sam Jackson, goatee, bald-head and Kangol hat included. Except that he’s a hairdresser. He seems to only be present to negotiate or collect rent. My experience there has been fantastic, despite the army of thumb-size cockroaches that emerged from the cracks in the walls of the bathroom one night. I killed, sprayed and quarantined. Only a few have amassed the fortitude to show face since. They faced the same dire consequences as their kin. I walk to work, a 20 minute journey past the TV Africa building, ahead of a cluster of traffic, over a bridge above a large open sewer, through a maze of shops and stands, beyond the huge tro-tro station, around Nkrumah Circle and up Adabraca to my faithful breakfast lady and her stand (she makes a meeeaan omlette!).

Good friendships with a few Ghanaians granted me access to areas and sights in Accra I’d never have seen otherwise. While briefly stationed in the Newtown area, my friend and ever-industrious colleague Festus, whose name is always preceded by the phrase “ever industrious colleague”, invited me to dinner at his home in Nima. Nima is a zongo or predominantly Muslim area, and is overcrowded and busy. Cars, trucks, people and livestock share the same slender roads in the middle of the city. To arrive at his place we had to walk through a labyrinth of narrow trails over wooden panels covering open sewers. Along the way, he’d greet characters from the neighborhood, with nods and mumbled greetings given to passerbys. We arrived at a sudden open clearing. This I learned was Festus’ compound. Many compounds in Ghana are arranged the same way motels are in North America, a rectangular horseshoe structure with separate rooms which have a door each facing outside. Festus’ room was the second on the right, past the playing children, his stepmom preparing banku and his fiancé pounding fufu, one of my favorite Ghanaian dishes. The urban sprawl in the area was very similar visually to Rio’s favelas (as I’d seen them in the film City of God).

I made a concerted effort to remain faithful to my travel clinic’s guidelines. Yet three days in I was eating and drinking everything from everywhere. And so I salute the makers of Immodium, whose unprecedented contribution to society continues to be criminally disregarded. My precarious eating habit allowed me to discover the rich Ghanaian cuisine. Kenkey, banku, TZ, omotuo, jollof, fufu, apapansa, yam, plantain and its various manifestations… and the list goes on. There is never a shortage of delicious foods. What’s nearly as interesting is how the different foods are prepared, the details of which I won’t attempt to provide because I’m too tense with anticipation during actual preparations to observe.

Ghana is a beautiful country with a welcoming and considerate people. This is a determined and strong-willed nation with a splendid and diverse culture. Its landscape is bountiful and thriving, and at times I almost feel guilty for places I’ve been fortunate to be. Its diversity in culture and language allows for much to be discovered. As soon as I learned elementary phrases in Twi and Ga, I had to do the same with Krobo and Ewe, not to mention the numerous other languages. As a country making strides in development, it appears as though Ghana has a bright and successful future. Medase.

I am now midway through my placement, here in Awaso, Ghana.
I am enjoying it so much and my experience so far has exceeded my expectations.
Although, several details have changed and are very different than I was originally expecting, everything has turned out for the best.

For example, my biggest concern was being completely on my own. When I applied to volunteer through Students Without Borders, I was under the impression that I would be with a few other Canadian volunteers. However, this did not turn out to be the case. But, I strongly feel that this has turned out to be a huge advantage for me. I am forced to interact with the locals in the village; and thus, am completely immersed in the culture.

The other major change is I am living in a Guest House and not with a Host Family, which was not possible. This also, has turned out for the better, because at times I find it essential to have my own space. This has helped me tremendously while going through various phases of culture shock. Overall though, it has been fairly easy to adjust, because Ghana, as a country, really does live up to its reputation of being filled with the most friendly and helpful people. Although sometimes it is tiring to have to respond to “Obruni” wherever I go, I know they are just excited to see me and because they are not used to a multicultural society, for them, this is a very appropriate welcome.

The third and last major surprise to me was my school time-table that I would be following to teach French. According to my mandate, I originally applied to be an Assistant-Teacher. This later got changed to “Teacher”. Because I am already a qualified teacher, I was happy to have the extra responsibility, although was slightly concerned it may be overwhelming with the adjustments to be made in a new country. However, once again, there was no need to worry! My first week, on the job, I felt like I would have nothing to do, because the Principal did not want to “sacrifice” any of the other subjects for more than an hour a week, for French. So my original time-table consisted of me rotating through the primary classes, teaching an hour a day!

Over the week, I was able to add more to my responsibility list, and I now feel much more useful to the school. Many teachers struggle with teaching Computer classes, so I took over those classes for a few of the teachers (in order to help them learn as well) and assist others. I also teach “typing” classes to the grade 6s everyday after school, who are very motivated to learn! In addition, I am volunteering with the Boys and Girls Club events which consist of Debates, Spelling Bees, Sports, and an Excursion to the Big City. Finally, I got to present a Creative Art Teacher Workshop and will also be holding a Teacher Workshop for Alternative Discipline Strategies (to provide them with possible consequences instead of using the Cane).

The teachers were very excited for the opportunity to try out different arts and crafts, as materials have always been very limited or non-existent; and they now have the enthusiasm, confidence, and resources to go along with the ability to develop creative art lessons. Secondly, because the Kanaso School is funded to be a model school, they are strongly encouraged to abolish their use of Corporal Punishment. However, after having the chance to observe many of the teachers, I understood that most of them have never experienced a school setting without the use of a cane; thus, the “cane” was the only discipline method they were familiar with. For this reason, I asked if I could do a presentation based on Classroom Management, Prevention, and Alternative Consequences as part of a teacher workshop. My supervisor agreed, and although the changes cannot take place over night, I hope that I will at least inspire them to evaluate and reflect upon their practices and hopefully try using some of the alternative options instead.

It’s hard to believe I only have a month left! This experience has taught me so much! The people are all very positive and wonderful to work with and the children’s eagerness and willingness to learn is especially inspiring. I truly love it here and I already know I am going to be sad to leave and have a hard time saying goodbye to people I may never see again. If you are at all thinking this is something you may want to do, personally I think it’s worth it and you should do it! That is, as long as you are willing to go in with an open-mind…

Upon my arrival, I received a warm welcome from the staff at WUSC, as well as my supervisors and coworkers here at FAWE.  Getting into work was a little slow to start, although I didn’t mind as I had been warned about the relaxed approach to time: ‘Ghana Man Time’.   The calm atmosphere and relative insignificance of time has benefited me greatly, as I had previously been in the habit of continually planning, being busy, and anxious back in Canada.  You can be sure however, that when things need to be done that they will be, it just might mean working outside a normal working day or week.

Over the course of my time here I have been involved in several tasks, namely the analysis of education policies and assessing their degree of gender neutrality.  A report was drafted by a working group, to which I was a part of, and will be presented to the Ministry of Education as they finalize their Education Strategic Plan for 2010-2020.  Moreover, I have been involved with developing a staff policy for FAWE, that prior to now had not existed.  Also, with the help of a colleague, I have been involved in implementing weekly counselling sessions at the all girls Senior High School, with the aim to develop self-esteem and confidence in the young women.

Living in Ghana has been a wonderful experience, and one that I am sure will stay with me forever.  Ghanaian’s truly are some of the nicest people I have ever met – they are so eager to help you, especially as a visitor to their country.  I have managed to travel just about every weekend, and if ever I have been lost, or unsure of where to go, I am sure to find someone to help.  There is also no shortage of people who want to befriend you, and so I have yet to feel lonely – quite the opposite! My neighbours here in Fotobi are also very concerned about my wellbeing, as I am for theirs.  There truly is a sense of community here, which lacks in comparison to life in Canada.

I know that the last half of my time here will go by even faster than the first, and I feel bitter sweet about it.  I have come to appreciate many aspects of my life in Canada that I had previously taken for granted such as warm water, a cool night’s sleep, and my space being free of insects.  Life in Canada is full of conveniences and luxuries; I hope that I don’t lose sight of this once I am home.  On the other hand I have truly come to love this country, and its people.  Here I have come to appreciate living simply, and have realized that it truly is the small things for which we should be grateful.

Hi, my name is Atkilt Geleta. I completed my Honours degree in Political Science and International Development Studies at the University of Toronto. I have been fortunate enough to live and study in different cultural environments – Addis Ababa Ethiopia, Tokyo Japan, Ottawa Canada, Geneva Switzerland, and Toronto Canada. My professional experience includes working as a Team Assistant for the Community Care Access Centre (CCAC) in Toronto, as well as fulfilling a research assistant position with the IFRC in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. I hope to cultivate a career as an international civil servant, with a specific focus on human rights and humanitarian assistance.
My motivation for undertaking a placement in Asesewa, Ghana is driven by my personal and professional objective to expose myself to new experiences and environments. I hope to learn and grow by engaging with a new culture, language, and socio-economic setting. In seeking to challenge myself, I anticipate that this experience will provide me with an opportunity to live without the usual comforts and securities. This I expect will allow me to relate in some small capacity to the underprivileged people that I aspire to help through my work. In turn, I trust this insight and understanding of their livelihood and circumstance will improve my field work.
I am beginning my placement as a research assistant with Child Rights International, a local NGO that protects and promotes the fundamental rights of children. CRI develops advocacy, school club, and service programs that function to provide children the right to survival, protection, development, and participation. The purpose of the project is to monitor the access and availability of essential social services (School Feeding Program, National Health Insurance Scheme, Capitations Grant) for children in 10 remote communities that surround Asesewa. The research aims to engage children in participatory advocacy and data collection activities that will produce a long-term framework to monitor the availability and procurement of essential services.

I expect to successfully contribute to this program, and immerse myself in as much of the Ghanaian culture as 3 months permits. Ghana is a diverse society with rich history and traditions, and I’m certain that this experience will greatly contribute to my personal and professional growth.