Fire, mice and new friends

Helped out with a grass fire today that was getting a bit to close to some buildings next to my office.. Figured i should snap a few photos of our process.. no water but only green branches were used... we werent that effective, but managed to not have the building catch fire. Once the fire was out.. a guy came over to show me some mice that he had found... the mother mouse was taken and probably will be eaten for dinner tonight.

HIPPOS!

Yes that is right!! I completed 1/2 of my expectations of seeing hippos! These lovely guys were seen last weekend at the Wachau hippo sancuary, which has been partly funded through the Calgary zoo. I spent the weekend staying in a nearby village and was woken up at 540am by my nice guide to bring me down to the black volta river. We were so lucky as 5 hippos (one male adult, one female and 3 youngins) were hanging out in front of us. During the wet season the river is often too high to see them at all. I got to take a lovely 1.5 hour boat ride to watch them a little closer and then watched them from the shore for while after. It was so nice and peaceful and felt great that is was only me and the local fishermen around. If anyone travels to Ghana they should definately check this place out! It is well worth it.

My african home

My bedroom, its big with a nice window and a fan! What more can a girl ask for?

Back yard: place for cooking, washing clothes, growing food, and hanging out

Front door and my bike, which sadly was stolen!

Front gate that i have to bang on each night to be let in.

My home in Wa. I live with a woman, her 6 year old daughter and her 15 year old niece. Their English is not that strong, and my Wallie is horrible, but we still manage to have a good time watching movies on my laptop at night.

Weekend at Cape Coast

Beautiful sun on the beach. I spent over an hour watching the sky change..

Almina castle. The first castle built on the west african coastline, used as a trading post for a variety of goods and then turned into a slave hold where up to men and woman stayed in small rooms waiting for the ships to arrive to take them away. Horrific place to visit, especially the smell in some of the rooms.

A beautiful lizard.. love his colours.. he was really camera shy and kept running away from me.. but i managed to get a good shot

Cape Coast was a great weekend trip, actually it could have been a great week long trip. Rachel (my partner in crime) and I manged to get ourselves into one of the best resorts along the palm lined beach.. we spent the weekend visiting the castle, chatting with travellers we met, ate great food, went riding on horses early one morning, and had a wonderful long bumpy to get there (which was worth every sore min).

Harvest Festival

Its time to party for the harvest festival, which occurs in many communities in northern Ghana around this time. The sleepy town of Lawra was busting with hundreds of people, as everyone comes home from all over Ghana to visit family, friends, watch a football match, dance competitions, see a hunting demonstration, and a enjoy a large market. Here are just 2 images from that weekend (internet is too slow to add more.. sorry!). I think what I will remember most is how loud the guns were.. I was filming a procession of the chiefs and a gun went off close by and it took me awhile to get my hearing back.. i moved away after that!

on a short break from the bus on the way to Tamale from Wa.. every time the bus stops, even for a moment, woman come out selling lots of goodies

Animals.. finally!

My new pet! Cute huh? Found him in Paga (Upper Eastern Ghana) and was told he is an old man of 98 years. His wife was close by, but he was much cuter!

Sharing a Meal

An article I wrote as my first impression on ghana...

Hungry and tired after a long day of meetings with local chiefs, my
colleagues and I all sat down to enjoy a meal together. It is
something that happens both here in Ghana as it does in Canada, we
discuss and talk about the days events, joke around together, and
enjoy good, home cooked food. There is, however, one small
differences: we all ate from one big bowl using our right hand.

Fufu is a traditional dish in Ghana, specifically the southern part of
Ghana, that is loved by many people, kinda like hamburgers for Canada
(ok, so maybe not hamburgers, but its hard to pick average food from
Canada, can you think of any?). It is made of cassava or yam that is
pounded over and over again with water and other goodies to become a
dough-like ball. This is served in a bowl with a peanut, palm nut or
tomato soup on top, mostly with chunks of meat or fish in it. For
dinner tonight it was whole fresh fish in a spicy tomato soup. The
four of us crowded together to enjoy a steaming bowl.

Sharing, including food, is a major part of life in Ghana. Not only is
food shared, but time, wealth, company, drinks, and hearts. Everyone
seems to help one another when there is need. You can ask your uncle
to stop everything and go downtown to pick up sugar and he will
because he is your family and you need his help. Family is a loose
term as friends and neighbours are all included. People often have
multiple mothers in different places, woman who take care of them when
they are away from home. Due to the helping nature, time takes on a
different meaning. If you have an appointment and are driving towards
it, you can easily get off track when someone asks you for something.
It is perfectly normal to have meetings hours and hours later than
when they were originally agreed upon.

As a Canadian, it took some time to understand and not to get
frustrated over this 'apparent' lack of time. I would be told it was
very important to be ready by 7 am for an appointment, and be sitting
waiting for the next 3 hours until the person finally arrived. Even as
I am writing this, I have been waiting for the past four hours for a
meeting to happen. Meetings, appointments and events do eventually
happen, and no one seems to mind being behind as are probably running
late as well. After a month in Ghana of my internship with the Center
for Indigenous Knowledge and Organizational Development, I am just
starting to get the hang of it.

Talking to my friend Fred, he explained that 'in Ghana we have time,
but we practice patience', which is what I am expected to learn during
my next 5 months here. To enjoy the time waiting and knowing that I
can always get help from someone just by asking.

Eating together, especially with our hands, brings people together, as
there is a shared sense of intimacy. By being invited to join, I was
honoured and felt accepted into this new culture and community.

Meeting Chiefs

When going into the any community in Ghana it is very important to meet with the local traditional authorities to be granted access. There is often a protocol to follow, sometimes including bringing along bottles of schnapps or money to give to them. The first few times meeting Chiefs at their palace I was very nervous, not knowing how to act, but I am learning I just follow whatever one else does. The only rule is you can not cross your legs in his presence.

Often there are interpreters that the Chief uses to talk to people and he does not allow you to talk directly to him, however other time it has been a very relaxed atmosphere where it is just you and the chief you joke around a lot. I think a lot of it depends on the relationship you have with him already and what your purpose it going to see him.

There is a whole hierarchy of chiefs. The top ones are called Paramount Chiefs, and they oversee huge areas of land and different chiefs below them. Then there is the district chiefs, then the sub-district chiefs, then the sub chiefs and then finally the local chiefs who oversee a small section in a community. All the land is owned by them in Ghana, you need to ask for permission and usually payment to use it. The position is handed down through the family. Some are very educated (the one I mentioned below has his PhD and worked for the World Bank at one time), while others can not read.

Funny story.. in the photo where I am sitting beside the chief (he is dressed in red) he seemed to take a liking to me as he started calling me his new girlfriend and even asked me to be his wife during this visit! I declined, but was honoured that he asked. He already has 3 wives, so I don’t think he will mind. :)

All of these photos are meetings with Paramount Chiefs at their palace.

Mining in Ghana - Part 2

Here are a few photos of the Mining company we went to visit. It was an American company and had a very good reputation within Ghana. It is one of the biggest in the world, and this mine site produced 1/5 of the gold in the country. All of the pits (there are 4 in total) were open pit, but they were starting to do some underground. The pond you see in the photo is a cyanide tailing pond, which is secured with a thick rubber and shouldn't leak into the ground water. Cyanide dissolves over time with sunlight, which is what they do to get rid of it. If it ever did leak and end up in the water, it would be a disaster, as its highly poisonous.

Mining in Ghana

The last few weeks here has been very interesting. Unfortunately, internet has been really slow, so I haven't had a chance to upload any photos or messages.. but its working this morning.. so I am going to try.

I was able to join CIKOD on a Learning Exchange Program with a few government officials in the north who wanted to learn about gold mining and how it affects the local communities. Gold was recently discovered outside of Wa, and a company who has been granted rights to it, will start its operation in 2012. I got to meet with Chiefs, government officials, and the company representatives and learn about the challenges they have had with the whole operation. It seems property rights were the biggest challenge, as they are often unknown. We also joined a mining tour to see the open pits and the cyanide ponds, which were all up to western safety standards. The most interesting aspect of it was an illegal mining area, which were were lucky to be invited into. The mining company owns the land, but lets locals mine it themselves, I guess to avoid some conflict. However, they take no responsibilities for the health and environmental safety of the people working there. Its hard to even describe what I saw, whole families were working there, using mercury to extract the gold from the crushed rocks (because most of the gold is in microscopic pieces), men worked underground for days at a time, and only came up to eat and use the washroom. They estimated that 4000 men were working underground when we were there, but there was no way to know for sure, as no one keeps records. We felt and heard explosions under our feet, so they could open up the mine more. I believe there were multiple mines, but again very hard to tell unless we went down them ourselves. We also met with the 'gold lords' who ran the show: the men with the money to supply the equipment, settled any disputes that came up, and told people were and when they could work. It felt surreal, more like a scene from Blood Diamond or something, except no guns, only the promise of making enough money to get out of it. Apparently a lot of gold has already been discovered there, but the way they are destroying their environment and might be getting sick and maybe even killed through exposure heavy metals or by preventable accidents in the mine made me feel sick to have a piece of gold around my neck.

Below are a few photos of the people we met there, the overall site, and one of the many mine entrance holes.

Community Meeting

This community meeting took place in Tromenso, only about an hour drive from Sunyani. This is one of the main villages that CIKOD has been working with traditional leaders on different projects, including a traditional healer association and information gathering. This day was the last visit from Nanvada, the former Coady Intern. She had to say goodbye and also introduce Rachel, who will be taking her place. We were honoured when we first arrived to have a private meeting with the community's Chief and the Queen Mother. After wondering around the community and visiting the weekly market, we were asked to sit for a community meeting, where the Queen Mother spoke about the value of education and the role CIKOD has been having in the area. I didn’t understand any of the words, but the passion in her voice was captivating. After the discussion, drums were played and we joined in the dancing. Of course, a visit wouldn't be complete without a meal, so we joined the Chief, Queen Mother and a few other to eat Fufo. I feel so grateful that I was able to join along and learn about what happens in the community.

A bride choosing event in Manji

Manji, a Muslim community about 2 hours (when driving 140km/hr) from Sunyani was having a wedding. Well that is what we were told, but when we arrived, we realized it was much more than that. Every year, an event is held for the men to choose their future wives. As we arrived, most of the young women were standing on top of a tall stilt-like structure and dancing to music that was blasting from a band below. After much colourful dancing (where even I got to be a part of), the woman who were single were told to dance in front of everyone else while their mothers collected money that was thrown at their feet from other community members. A man who was interested than came up to them and handed them a piece of cloth, which would be given every year until they were married. Some of the woman being chosen were very young. Mothers, whose daughters were already engaged showed off the cloth that they have already been given. There was lots of noise and dancing. Rachel, Portia (who works for CIKOD) as well as a few men from CARE were asked to sit and watch from the front row. In the middle of the celebration CARE gave a speech on HIV/AIDS prevention, which is part of a program that CIKOD is a part of. They help communities use events, such as the one we saw, as a forum to communicate important issues.

Well well.. here I am, sitting in an internet cafe in Sunyani, Ghana and trying to think of how to explain the last week.. its been fun, a bit overwhelming, tiring, beautiful, and exciting... Ghana so far has been full of colour and friendly people. I spent the first 2 days in Accra, the capital city. Meeting people from CIKOD, the organization I will be working with, as well as the current interns who are about to head home. We had a very short orientation of both the organization and the city (including eating Fufo from the guesthouse (which turns into a disco at night) where I stayed. Fufo is a dough-like ball that you eat with different types of soup. You eat it with your right hand and I was really messy. :) I am sure I will have lots of time to improve.

Rachel and I then traveled by bus to Sunyani, which is 4 hours or so from Accra (but of course it took 7 hours in the bus).

must finsh this later!!! Write more later

First Impressions at the Coady

Well I dont even know where to begin. The last 2 weeks has been a roller coaster, and a very fun one at that! It all first started in Montreal with a big family wedding, which was incredible. It was by far the best party I have ever been to, and the most beautiful wedding. I was lucky enough to help with the day's events and enjoyed so much to be involved. Montreal and Quebec city are wonderful cities.. make me feel so welcoming and yet felt like a different culture.

I said goodbye to my family and flew to Halifax. When I arrived at the airport and stood waiting to speak to the transportation officer who hopefully would know about my shuttle, I overheard the conversation ahead of me. The officer was very intrested in the hat of a girl ahead, and even tried it on. When it was my turn, I chatted some more about the hat, and both the officer and I agreed it would suit her perfectly for her upcoming trip to Italy. The officer then requested I find out where the girl bought the hat and for me to call her cell when I found out. Liegh (I found out later a fellow Coady associate) bought her hat at a 2ed hand store in Ontario, so unfortuanatly Cindy (the officer) wouldn't be getting the hat before her trip.. I thought this was a wonderful start to the friendlyness of the maritimes..

The following day, bright and early was the Coady Orientation.. every day I have been learning and meeting people. Having no background in International Development, its been a worldwin tour of terms and definitions and ideas. The Coady's approach seems to be inline of what I have always thought about 'development', the people in the community themselves decide for themselves what their assets are and how and what they want to focus on in order to engage and enpower themselves.

I have learned a few things about my placement.. I might (only a might, as everyday it seems to be changing), be living in an indigenous village of about 3000 people, and work on documenting their knowledge of their land and how it is important to them. Coming from a conservation background, I cant wait to learn how they approach protecting their land and the challenges that come with it.

There are 20 of us associates heading abroad.. and it has been a great experience getting to know them so far. After spending so much time together and sharing stories, we seemed to have formed a strong bound.. which I am sure will continue once we are all in-country.

One week til goodbye #1

Well, one week til I say goodbye to Calgary, the home I have had for the past year. Feeling excited at the changes coming my way..

So what am I doing? From Calgary I head to Montreal for a family event and get together. From there, I head to Antigonish, Nova Scotia, where I will have 3 weeks of training at St. Francis Xavier University. And... by the end of August I will be off to Ghana for a forestry internship.

I am super excited, but also sad to say goodbye to the friends I have made here. I know the time will fly by and I will see them again soon, but its always hard to leave a support system behind.

All is left to do this week is packing, cleaning, 4 day folk fest, and oh a few minor things like applying for a visa...