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