Red Earth, Blue Skies, Green Trees

Red earth, green trees, blue sky. Damongo is a very beautiful place. And it seems that, like my mom, I brought the rains. Which here is a good thing because now everything is green. Thankfully my office is a little ways outside of town so every day I have a beautiful bike ride through a bit of country. The roads to Damongo are treacherous, and everyday I take my life in my hands by hurtling down this dirt road on a sketchy, but sturdy second-hand bike, pick up trucks and motorcycles occasionally whizzing by kicking up clouds of dust…but I still think its one of my favourite parts of the day. Along the way there are scattered herds of cattle that roam through the trees and green pastures, and women carrying shea nuts, firewood, and milk on their heads into town, children walking to school, and farmers heading out to their fields. There are two horses that I have seen in these fields, sometimes they cross the road just ahead of me…it makes me so happy to see them! Even though they would probably run away if I try to pet them, I am still going to try the next time I see them.

One thing that has struck me is the lack of appreciation for the beauty of nature. People think I am strange when I ask the name of a certain tree, or where a beautiful place to go is, and so on. Perhaps in Canada we are more aware of the dangers of climate change facing our environment (or maybe just because I got the University of Guelph I am used to more appreciation). Perhaps its because people live substantially more simply here then we do in Canada. So if a truck has awful exhaust fumes spewing out the end of the tailpipe, there are so few trucks that it isn’t that noticeable. Garbage is thrown on the ground and incinerated, but again, the environment here appears to be vast and endless, so ‘dilution is the solution to pollution’ subconsciously rules here it seems. Furthermore, there is far much less stuff here, with far less packaging.

I had the opportunity to visit the family farm recently, and it was amazing! We were driving down the road, the sides of the road are covered in trees and tall grass, with ‘bush’, and all of the sudden we pulled over and arrived…it took me a moment to recognize that the area had been manipulated at all. We hiked in a bit, and mounds of dirt in rows became visible. Some trees had been cleared, and the grasses had been somewhat cleared, but for the most part it could have easily been mistaken for the wild. The family is growing yams, which are planted in a mound of dirt, and a stick or tree is nearby which a vine, much like that of a rose, grows up. They also have cashew trees, and are growing groundnuts (peanuts). There were a few sheanut trees and mango trees naturally growing in the area. It was beautiful and wonderful to be out in nature. It smelled so clean and natural. The earth everywhere has the same scent, though it may be accented with pine needles or mangos, it is still the same. (next time I go to the farm I will be sure to take lots of pictures!)

I am learning as much about myself as I am about a Ghanaian culture and development work. One thing that I have now confirmed to be fundamental to who I am is to have time to appreciate nature and its quiet wonders. This has been a hard battle: learning how to adapt to a new place, how to be effective within it, to be different and stick out, all the while missing all that is familiar and dear to me…however, its comforting and so important to realize, as I have mentioned in a previous post, that there are so many similarities, things that are fundamental to us all. Though values, language, context and history may be different, a smile, a laugh, spending time with your family, competition in a card game, worries about money, and enjoying a good meal are the same. Sometimes I panic and feel like I am on a different planet, but others I could just as easily be walking down the Danforth in Toronto, running down the dirt road at camp, or sitting in the lab in Thornborough helping a friend with excel. So even though it’s so hard at times, I think understanding another culture is so important, and identifying the similarities between this one and our own will help those in Canada identify with people and care about those who may seem completely different and foreign.

The Glory of a Fart

While having severe diarrhea, you are tuned into every gurgle of your stomach…because every rumble, every pain, every pop could mean an emergency. When you have diarrhea in Africa, it’s not something to blush over, so get over that quick. Soon everyone will know you are running diarrhea and ask every time you emerge from the toilet (or just walking by) how it is doing. When you have diarrhea, making a loud or smelly fart is not embarrassing, its longed for! Because when you have diarrhea in Africa, there is no such thing as a fart. Let this act as a warning to those who have not yet experienced the wonders of diarrhea, and a laugh to those lucky enough to have a proper toilet nearby. When you are lying in bed, its still early and you want to sleep some more…but there is that pang in your lower gut, saying you gotta go to the bathroom…in the back of your mind, you are aware of the danger of waiting…is this a fart I can control with ease, or something worse? That’s when you either accept the inevitable and make a run for it, and try to deal with the repercussions of your momentary laziness, or thank god for the glorious, glorious thing that is a fart. Have you appreciated a fart today?

As can be gathered, I have, along with several other volunteers, been fortunate enough to have already contracted malaria (thankfully having only the mild symptom of diarrhea)! Going to the hospital to try and see if I was afflicted with worms or some horrible parasite as the cause of my runny stomach, I left surprised to learn that I had malaria. Who knew? I guess I should have expected it, after all, I get just about every sickness imaginable, so why not malaria from a mosquito as soon as I stepped onto the tarmac in Accra? Thankfully I am feeling better now, but resigned to the fact that I will most definitely get it again before I leave!

The Anyoka Family

I have been very fortunate to be able to live with a family that is very involved in the community and who is a client of the Business Advisory Centre. Therefore, not only are they a large and diverse family who is committed to education and development, but I will learn first hand some of the pros and cons of the services that the BAC provides. There are about…15 or so people that are here all the time, and I won’t introduce them all now, but eventually you will get to know them as well as I do!

Another thing that is wonderful about this family, that despite the initial glaring differences, they are so similar to my family at home. Granted this household is a little more bustling than my own, the feeling is about the same. Kids running around (with or without clothes) eating all the food, people yelling at one another, watching TV, listening to music, sitting around talking, there is an obvious mess to an outsider that the people in the house have grown to ignore, people doing and wearing weird things laughing with one another…they are just regular people, which I really appreciate.

At first I was worried that this family was too wealthy for me to be living with….then I realized, though they may have many things compared to others, they still don’t have running water, they still have animals running around their compound, and they still sleep under the open sky when it’s too hot. And most importantly, they have worked very hard to get where they are, and are still working hard to better themselves and their community. They have a very diverse household of income generating activities. Even though many of the luxuries I thought I was leaving behind in Canada are still with me here in Ghana (electricity, toilet, privacy, etc), I think it’s important for me to understand that this isn’t that uncommon…though Dorothy may live with much less, I think it was humbling to realize that not everyone in Africa lives like she does. And although I desperately want to understand her struggles, I think its important to break the stereotypes of what we have in our heads is the norm in Africa. As one of the boys in the house said when I asked if many people had electricity (to which the answer was yes) he said, its not like it is on TV. I am looking forward to learning so much from this family that was able to work their way out of the stereotype to better understand how it is possible in this context how to get out of extreme poverty.

I have attached some pictures of my house, my room and a quick picture of 2 of the boys who have been very friendly and kind in showing me around and teaching me Gonja, the local language.

the family compound
the little house/room i am staying in
inside my room
antie, shariff and junior having some tea for breakfast

Soap Making!

The past two days I have spent learning how to make soap! Soap making is an activity that the Rural Enterprises Project (REP) supports through running training sessions on how it’s made and business training for startup businesses run out of the Business Advisory Centre (BAC). Rabi Anyoka, the head lady of the household I am living in, runs an empowerment centre for girls from a village in West Gonja, training them in seamstress skills, soap making, and tie and dye, along with leadership skills and basic numeracy and literacy. She learned how to make bar soap about a year ago through a training session facilitated by the BAC. After receiving a grant and some credit, she has created a soap making and training workshop and invested in some of the start up materials. Even though she is a true entrepreneur, she is still struggling. A one year payback period on a loan is very difficult, especially when the monthly payment is substantially greater than the monthly profit. Depicted below are some pictures taken as I learned about how to make soap. Lessons learned…its long, hard work and African women are strong!

Process of Making Bar Soap:
1. collect materials (coconut oil, buckets, scoops, caustic soda, water, soda ash, perfume, mixing spoons, hydrometer, rubber gloves, moulds, plastic bags, tables, and cutting equipment)
2. the moulds are set on the table and lined with plastic
3. mix caustic soda (NaOH) and water measure out the volume and ensure correct level of acidity (pH) with the hydrometer (Note, the solution is corrosive! Gloves should be used when handling this liquid)
4. mix 10 L of coconut oil, 1 scoop of perfume, 1 scoop of soda ash, and the measured volume of caustic soda and water into a large mixing bowl
5. the contents are mixed for about 10 minutes or less, in the same direction at an average speed (don’t mess around here, or you will spoil the batch!)
6. the contents are poured into the moulds (caution, heavy lifting!)
7. These are left to dry for approximately 2.5-3 hours until they are white in colour. The tops are leveled out with a scrapper as the cooling occurs.
8. the moulds are removed, and the scrapper is used to clean up all sides of the block of soap
the block of soap is brought to cutting board, and pushed through to slice it into 10 long rectangles (caution, very difficult!)
9. these are pushed through another cutter to create square blocks
these blocks are carried back to the table, and all 6 sides are stamped with the logo (time intensive)
10. the blocks are placed outside to dry in the sun
11. the bars of soap are collected and stored inside
12. bars of soap are distributed to various sellers to sell at the market and in villages




In working with REP this summer, I will be trying to evaluate the services the BAC provides, and see in what ways I can increase the capacity of this office to improve their services. Since I have been out with malaria for the past week (I know, leave it to me to get it as soon as I get off the plane), I have made little headway at the office, but have spent valuable time learning about the struggles and activities of the clients we are working to help. One area I am interested in learning more about is to what extent creativity and innovation is encouraged and fostered in training sessions. Training 30 women in how to make soap doesn’t seem that sustainable unless the women are able to diversify and improve upon the initial training. However, easier said than done, as I observed that to experiment and try to be different is risky, and when you have a family to feed and limited supplies, to spoil a batch of soap is perhaps more significant here than it would be at home in Canada. It was dually noted that machinery would have helped the process along. However, I am going to tread lightly here, because I think a machine would be a band-aid solution, not a real solution to the problem. If I could identify someone in town who could design a machine, and make it themselves, then more business is being created from training one woman how to make soap. Training one woman how to make soap does not just improve her own livelihood, but trickles down to many others. For instance, it created work for the carpenter who built the moulds and cutter, it provided a product to be sold for women struggling to earn income, it creates more business for the oil producers, it promotes sanitation, and so on.

Fufu, Bawnku, TZ, and Kenke…

There are many different foods in Ghana, but there are some essential staples that I will share with you now. For the most part, you have a starchy and gelatinous paste and a delicious soup, there are a variety of forms of starches that are from millet or maize flour and pounded yams. Preparing them is hard work, as you will see in the quick video clips below.

Also, I witnessed the slaughtering and preparing of 3 guinea fowls. It was quite alarming, but very natural. It seems Ghanaian are much more intimate with their food as much toil and trouble goes into preparing them.

So far the food is sitting ok, although I can't seem to eat as big of portions as everybody yet. In response to kyla's question...I am a bit of both the excitement phase and freaked out-what-am-i-doing-in-damongo phase. I go back and forth several times in a day. I look forward to becoming more comfortable in Damongo, learning more Gonja (local language) and understanding the pace of life better.

Environmentalism and Development

Water Distribution and Waste Disposal!

I have been in Damongo for just about a week now, and am slowly getting settled. Everything is both exciting and challenging, and I have so many things to share. I will make posts about my family and my work soon, but first, I would like to make some observations on two things that I have learned a great deal of in Canada (and may be near and dear to some of you Environmental and Water Resource Engineers) which is water and waste management in a developing city.

In Canada, we are aware that drinking from bottled water is not sustainable, as it creates waste and stresses groundwater aquifers. However, here in Ghana, bottled water, or sachet water, is the way to go. That is where we see human health and safety and the environment clash. People drink sachet water because there is not safe and reliable tap water (if there is even a water distribution system at all) that is easily accessible. I have yet to see a refillable water bottle used, because where would you fill it? Depicted here are some volunteers drinking what is called pure water sachets in Tamale.

In the majority of people’s homes in Damongo people rely on Borehole water for their drinking and cooking purposes (from what I have learned there are 2 boreholes in Damongo, a city of about 8000 people). Borehole water taps into a groundwater source, and is safe to drink. One of the boys in my household, Kofi, has a truck and he pumps it full of borehole water and distributes it to households, the hospital and schools, etc. The water is stored in tanks like the one seen below.

My family also has another water tank that is filled with river water. This is used for bathing, flushing the toilet, and cleaning clothes. It is also filled the same way by means of a truck. It is an interesting substitution to having piped connections, which have proven to be unsuccessful in many developing cities anyway. Many women still go to the borehole and carry the water back on their heads, but in my family, the women are relieved of that job because of the service they provide with the truck.

Now, what happens at the other end? There are trenches or open sewers that line the streets (so you have to watch your step) that are about 2-3 ft deep and about 2 ft wide in most places. There is a picture of the back of my house where we have our bath and where the water from the toilet goes.

So what happens to the water sachets when you are finished with them? They generally get tossed on to the ground. Walking down the street and you are done with your food, just toss it on the ground. Something that was hard to get used to at first, but there are plenty of animals to scoop up what you have thrown down. Goats and sheep and pigs and fowls and dogs are all walking around eating up food from the ground. I question how healthy it is, but overall it works. Animals drink and eat the waste that people make. The main thing that doesn’t work is the plastic sachets and plastic bags. The animals do not eat those, and they do not decompose quickly. When waste is collected in the house, I believe that it is burned, but I have yet to witness it. Currently, I am collecting my garbage in my room until I figure out where it will end up.
Well, that is that! An interesting observation about some fundamentals of the infrastructure of human societies and challenges we face socially and environmentally as one world! (i have a picture of a goat eating some trash, but this computer is slow, so i will post it later).

For the Guelph Chapter

Hey everyone!

Soooo, I am sitting here, at 1:15 am in the living room of the EWB house in Toronto, my first Ghanain dinner (not in Ghana) sitting in my belly, sort of sprawled on someone elses clothes, squished in a room with about 25 outgoing JFs and some of the masterminds of EWB debating about CIDA (Canadian International Development Agency) and tied aid, gender roles in development, and how to create stronger linkages between the overseas and Canadian programs.

I can't help but think about how I can best make myself useful to the Guelph EWB Chapter and in turn the Canadian public at large. One of the questions that I posed to George Roter (one of the founding CEOs of EWB) was about how we (the JFs) can develop the Canadian society. After some discussion, George described EWB volunteers as a virus. Basically, EWB as an organization hasn't thought too much, or planned too much in which way we are developing Canadian society...soooo, every EWB volunteer is essentially responsible for going out and asking the tough questions and getting people thinking and starting to generate change. In my opinion, it is up to us define how we have impact in Canada, and it is very important for us to reflect and analyze how we are "developing" Canadian society, in order to ensure a positive impact.

The predeparture training has been very intense, in classic EWB fashion (as can be illustrated by the fact that it is quite late). I have learned so much that I can't hope to summarize, but can't wait to share with you all.

I have received a few placement details changes that I will update you on. I will be working in Damongo, in West Gonja of the Northern Region. Seeing as I have only 1.5 days before I leave, I haven't had the opportunity to find out too much, aside from the fact that this district includes the largest national park in Ghana that has elephants! I can't wait to get there and find out so much more! If any of you want to have a look at a government website of the region, take a gander at this website and let me know if you learn anything interesting or important.

http://westgonja.ghanadistricts.gov.gh/

Alright, I am tired, but I love you all (sorry if that's too strong, but embrace it, thats Guelph!) and thank you all for all your hard work and support!!

Kim