be kind

As some of you know and others probably don’t, my motto for the past few years has been “be kind”.  I’ve adopted it as my mantra and it is what I try to practice each day.  Simple kindness, in my mind, could solve so many things...

Here in Ghana we’ve experienced nothing short of unconditional kindness.  Seriously, one day off the plane and even the coldest heart will be warmed.  People here go out of their way to make us feel at home, ask us how we are and help us in any way possible.  Just when you think someone is calling you over to their market stand to harass you into buying something, it turns out they just want to welcome you to Ghana, to ask about you and your family and to laugh with you as you stumble through the dance of greetings in Fanti. 

On our weekends off, it seems like we have more than a few Guardian Angels looking out for us.  Despite language/accent barriers, someone will always tell us when we should get off the bus and where to go when we do.  More than a few times, total strangers will come over to ensure that we are being charged the correct amount in a taxi or walk with us to a bus station blocks away just to make sure we made it there safe and sound.  On a particularly rough day here when I was visibly upset on the side of the road, many strangers stood near me for as long as it took to convince them I was okay.  If I had asked, I’m sure they would have sat with me for as long as needed.  I can honestly say I’ve never shaken so many hands, had so many conversations, received so many prayers or smiled at as many people in one day as I have here in Ghana. 

If people can show this amount of kindness to complete strangers – and foreigners at that! - I am sure we can show just a little more to the people in our lives we know and love the most.  I know that I leave inspired to do better, to be better and to share just a wee bit more kindness to everyone I meet. 

Be kind.  Yes, that is what I will aim to do.

last week of workshops

March 3

Here it is - our last week of workshops... can’t believe it!  This week our focus shifted to HIV/AIDS education – encompassing a variety topics, and for me it meant starting a much needed discussion on healthy relationships, consent and domestic violence.  What we ended up also doing was spending a lot of answering the most obscure questions about sexual health you can imagine.  BUT – extremely important questions and ones that these students never talk about with their elders or teachers.  So... it was an entertaining week filled with lots of giggles, but also a lot of important information.  I can honestly say these discussions were my favourite and the ones where I felt we were really creating a non-judgemental space that would not exist in our absence.

Here I am at the school giving a workshop to one of the classes.

And here are Jean and I doing a condom demonstration on a wooden penis.  Sorry mom.

a huge success!

March 2

The moment we were waiting for arrived!  We held our event... now titled “Building Responsible Leaders:  A Day of Youth Empowerment” on March 2.  What an incredible day! 

The day started with a formal registration with hopes of the students feeling like they were attending a professional conference.  Once the welcoming address and opening prayer wrapped up, we had three breakout sessions for the students to attend on a rotating basis:  microfinance, financial planning and entrepreneurship.   Students scribbled notes and asked so many questions – I know that being connected to these key figures in the community will help them once they graduate.

After lunch the focus switched from business to Women’s Day with some very awesome key note speakers.  Lyddia and Patricia from Women in Law and Development in Africa came to give the students an inspiring and empowering talk on domestic violence.  Though I couldn’t understand most of it (it was in Fanti), I was still moved to the brink of tears hearing the passion in their voices.  Following the ladies from WilDAF came a Legal Aid lawyer named Sweetie Sowa to address women’s legal rights.  She also touched on the need for women to come in solidarity and treat each other with respect if we are to demand it from others.  Powerfully thought-provoking and empowering all rolled into one.

The day wrapped up with some music and dancing – something these students are well versed in.  All in all, an amazing event.  I am so proud of our team for pulling it off with such style in such a short amount of time.  I know these students have never been to this type of event before and that they left feeling important, recognized and inspired... what else could we possibly ask for?!  Woo!!

unsolved mysteries

Alright... I need your help.  I have two mysteries that I need some input on....

1.     

 Who is this guy?  He is on bumpers all over the place, but can’t seem to get any concrete info on who the heck he is and why this photo from 1987 is still kickin’ around.

2    What is this dance move?  How on earth did I get into this position, why are my hands in “rocking out” mode and what am I looking at?  The only possibility I can think of is a faux-gymnast landing... but to high-life music on a Friday night, that just doesn’t seem to fit.

If anyone has the answers to these following questions there will be a reward.  In the form of me being able to sleep at night.  Thank you in advance.

moksha in Ghana

To prep for the trip here, I started up Moksha yoga in Montreal, sweating bullets through 40+ heat in a crowded room to try to “acclimatize” to the humidity I might experience here.  Coincidentally enough, Jean also does Moksha in Toronto so we were quick to try to get some yoga poses in now and again. Did I mention that Moksha’s going to be a breeze when I’m back in Montreal?  That heated room has NOTHING on this weather here!

Here are some of the pictures of us busting out our moves.  On Fridays we lead a PE session for the YMCA students, so we did a standing sequence as a warm-up. 

Out in a small town called Beyin, we found this completely empty beach.  If you think it’s well-groomed... think again... it’s not groomed, it’s just untouched.  Beautiful.

the wisdom club

February 25

One of our projects here has been to support some students from one of the schools to start an Environmental Club and the big day for our environmental clean-up with “The Wisdom Club” arrived today!  The last group of YCI volunteers presented on the UN Millennium Development Goals and from that presentation the students were inspired to create an Environmental Club to look at environmental issues in Takoradi.  This week we purchased tools and jerseys for them to have to do clean-ups around town – they were SO excited and I know those items will be well taken care of and put to good use.

Arriving in Ghana I was immediately struck by the amount of plastic waste that you see pretty much everywhere.  But in a country where you have no choice but bottled/sachet water and with limited waste management services let alone recycling facilities, there aren’t too many options.  Even though garbage is often more visible in Ghana than most Canadian cities, I know the amount of waste produced by Ghanaians is only a drop in the bucket compared to their North American counterparts.  Upon arrival it is easy to be angered by all the litter-bugs and a whole lot harder to turn the microscope onto your own country to really measure your carbon footprint in an effort to understand the impact of your daily decisions on communities worldwide.  It’s a tough pill to swallow, but unloading all our trash in one spot and out of sight certainly doesn’t make us saints and certainly doesn’t give us ground to criticize waste in areas where burning piles of plastic bottles is the only viable option.  We’ve still got a long way to go in every corner of the globe. 

But back to the students.  We decided to work first to clean their own environment, the school, before venturing out into the community.  The dozens of members of “The Wisdom Club” (the not-so-obvious name the students chose for their environmental club) worked tirelessly to get the gutters unclogged and the school grounds neat and tidy.  It was great to be out there working with them and getting green!  We hope that these students will set an example to the rest of the community to think twice about using plastic and to make efforts to dispose of it appropriately when they do.  

Here are all the members of the club.  In the centre is Anastasia, the lovely school counsellor who is supporting the students (and us!) on this venture.  I am so thankful for the enthusiasm and compassion she has shown not only the students but to us volunteers.  These kids were so dedicated, so excited and so happy to get out there and get dirty that we all left confident we set them up with the tools, resources and community support needed to be self-sufficient and successful.  I can’t wait to hear about what they plan next!

lies, all lies

February 17 

Don’t listen to the Weather Network.  Dustin informed me that they say it is 30 degrees here today.  That, my friends, is a blatant lie.  Yesterday we rushed into the school’s computer lab to experience its refreshing and cool 29 degree air conditioning.  If I had to guess-timate the temperature I would say it’s roughly... one million.  Give or take a few. 

tidbits of Takoradi

So I realize that I haven’t written much about the actual city I am living in.  It’s pretty hard to describe I guess… to really capture the sights, sounds, tastes, colours and smells in words.  It is a busy city, starting to boom from newfound offshore oil.  We live near the sea, though it is easy to forget when you are in the centre of town.  The Atlantic Ocean here sure is a lot warmer than the coast of Newfoundland, that’s for sure!

We are staying in a hostel-esque place called the Worker’s College where people stay when they are passing through for schooling or work placements etc.  We are extremely well taken care of, especially by a man named Kujo who works here.  I think it’s safe to say he is one of the most kind-hearted, joyful, hard-working men I’ve ever met.  He loves to visit and laugh with us and we are hoping to meet his family who live about an hour and a half from here in March.  Kujo is the kind of person who makes you realize that there is really nothing so tough that you can’t find something to smile about at the end of the day.  For the spirit that he shares with us, I am incredibly grateful.

Despite its size, no one in Takoradi uses addresses to find places.  Street signs are merely for looks and the best way to find something is to know a few key landmarks around where it might be.  For example, we work at the YMCA Vocational School which is at the first roundabout across from Good News Radio station.  The restaurant Silver Pot where we frequent is on the other side of the market circle on the corner across from A&D motors.  This vagueness also corresponds nicely to the Ghanaian sense of time.  The response “I’m coming” can mean a person will either be there in 5 minutes or perhaps 3 days.  Despite the lack of specificity when it comes to places/meeting times, everyone seems to find their way just fine.  

Although it may seem to be a sweeping generalization, I think it’s safe to say that Ghanaians are incredibly warm, friendly and generally all-around nice people.  It’s funny because one of my favourite qualities in a person is warmth, and it’s not every day I describe people as ‘warm’ back home.  Today I noticed that I use ‘warm’ to describe just about every single person I’ve encountered here.  So it seems as though I will need a better distinguishing trait… 

The market is a busy, chaotic, noisy, yet carefully orchestrated focal point in the city.  Through the chaos, people have their stands and their goods and it all just seems to work.  It’s a feast for your nose in that market - some great and some not so great scents that take me by surprise every time I go. 

Women, men and children use their heads to carry just about everything here.  I am quite doubtful that my arms could ever carry most of the bowls or plates of food or goods that they have carefully balanced on their noggins’ as they effortlessly float around town.  We have noticed that Ghanaians also have impeccable and gorgeous posture, perhaps due to these balancing acts.  This slouchy Canadian over here needs to straighten up.

As we don’t have our own kitchen, we eat out every day.  A bit ago we discovered a restaurant called “Harlem Home Cooking” beside our workplace and have been there every day since.  Currently obsessed with Red Red, a local dish of beans and fried plantains, it seems as though I’m either getting used to the spice or we’ve found the only non-spicy food in the city.  An educated guess would suggest it’s probably the former.  I’ve lost all craving for Western foods and could probably survive the rest of my days on Red Red from Harlem.  With an Alvaro to wash it down, of course.

The best part (ok, not the best part, but a really great part) about Takoradi is that in lieu of stray dogs and cats cruising around, there are SHEEP and GOATS everywhere!  This is very exciting as an avid sheep/goat lover, though my giggling/oo’ing/aw’ing/animal-talk is wearing thin on my housemates.  I’m trying to keep it contained but they are just so darned cute!  Oh!  And this random hot pink chicken?  The best!

We are very busy and don’t get to the internet cafe often (as you can tell from my sporadic blog posting) but will hopefully be able to keep posting as the project wraps up.  It’s going by so fast!

finally some photos!

Here we are off to church in our new get-ups... the locals LOVED it! 

oh this humidity

This weather does nothing for my appearance.  I am sweaty, blotchy, always slightly red from the heat and my hair is in a perpetual high bun with a halo of frizz around my face.  Seriously, the photo evidence has not been kind.  This wouldn’t be so bad if Ghanaians weren’t so darned well-dressed and put together.  Everyone here is always dressed in freshly pressed, beautiful clothing.  Locals iron everything down to their t-shirts and usually wear dress pants, leather dress shoes (or pumps) and collared shirts or blouses day-to-day - regardless of the temperature.

My frizzy/blotchy state wouldn’t be such a big deal if it was paired with smart looking business clothes.  However, last summer when we went to Asia we got a wee bit swept up in that whole “backpacking” thing and purchased a lot of “quick-dry” items that we would surely NEED for our trip.  When we got to Cambodia, we just ended up looking like total nerds in weird outdoors-gear while everyone else was in cute summer clothes and sundresses.  Packing for this trip, I wanted to get more use of my awkward quick-dry pants so into the backpack they went.  I have regretted that decision since the moment I stepped off the plane.  

Maybe if they fit properly, this wouldn’t be such a big issue.  However, it has now become quite apparent that I was a bit (ahem) “rounder” last summer and these pants are literally hanging off me.  That, and the fact that I somehow thought I could pass them off as dress pants when everyone we meet are practically wearing suits was totally ridiculous. Frizzy/blotchy... fine.  Awkward pants on their own... manageable.  Together... yikes.

But just for the record, I will say that my quick-dry towel is a total dream come true.

event planning

We are gearing up for our Networking/Women’s Day event on March 2 (yes, yes I know, but the school is closed on the actual Women’s Day).  Now in the thick of planning, it’s shaping up pretty well!  

Angela and I initially met with a lot of people from various institutions and organizations.  We randomly encountered an organization called Daas Gift Foundation, and met the founder, Gifty, who works with women – providing microloans and doing work around renewable energy.  Amazing!

We also met with the manager of Women’s World Bank who will be speaking around the issue of saving and the importance of having financial independence as a woman.  

We’ve invited some women in various employment roles, either entrepreneurs or teachers or the like, to give breakout discussions on their career paths and answer students’ questions about their jobs and what it is like in their workplace. 

To top it off, we met with a young woman named Lydia who works with WilDAF (Women in Law and Development in Africa).  She will be a keynote speaker at the event addressing domestic violence, loca women’s issues and women’s rights in Takoradi.  She’s so lovely and I can’t wait for the students to meet such an inspiring young woman.  

All in all, we are pretty excited.  Hard to believe it is in less than 2 weeks – lots still to do on top of our regular work schedule.  Oh... and did I mention that the YCI Executive Director is flying in to be with us during our last week on project (and therefore this event)?!  Um... no pressure?!

More to come as plans unfold... yay for Women’s Day!