Women and Children

Ghana recognises that gender equality is a key priority for the nation. The “millennium goals” for Ghana include:

• Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger
• Achieving universal primary education
• Promoting gender equality and empowering women
• Reducing child mortality
• Improving maternal health
• Combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases

The current measure of poverty places the upper poverty line at 403 dollars (£248 approximately) per year i.e. the equivalent amount that a person has available to spend on keeping her/himself alive. The lower poverty line is 314 dollars (£193 approximately) per year. Below this line, people are said to live in extreme poverty. The proportion of people living in poverty in Ghana, i.e. below the upper poverty line, is highest in our Upper West region at 88% of the population. Across Ghana, 18% of people live in extreme poverty.

Women and girls face discrimination in all aspects of their lives. In addition, they have to suffer a range of cultural/traditional practices, which are now illegal, but still continue, especially in the north of the country. (All the quotes below are taken from a very recent publication from UNICEF, called “Children in Ghana”.)

Women have very clearly defined roles within the family, especially in rural areas. They are essentially the “property” of their fathers and then their husbands. It is often believed that a well educated girl will not be able to get a husband and would therefore become a liability to the family. Hence, the enrolment and attendance levels for girls in school are well below those of boys:

“The gap dividing boys and girls in enrolment, completion and achievement has long highlighted a significant disparity in the education system. In many parts of the country, the barrier to girls’ education is closely linked to cultural beliefs and social expectations that do not apply to boys............. This is particularly significant in the three northern regions and in the rural areas in general, where girls face the greatest obstacles to attending school......... Parents continue to prefer investing in boys’ education, and this preference is due to the social and economic status of the boy in the family. The girl, by contrast, is often considered the man’s property...... Messages from the society and family around her are that her place is in the home and she should focus on becoming a good mother and wife.”

In the 3 northern regions, about three quarters of girls are taken out of school during the primary years.

“Studies show that the need for children’s labour is frequently cited as a key reason why poor parents fail to enrol their children in school. Girls are often kept at home to help mother raise younger siblings and carry out other domestic tasks.......Once they reach eight or ten years of age, parents often take them out of school to help at home, in the market, on the farm or elsewhere......Many parents, particularly those in subsistence agriculture make their children stay at home to work on the farm or earn money in some other way, and young girls are often taken out of school to help at home or work for others in domestic service......The poorest children are the most likely to drop out of primary school.......Across Ghana, a socio-economic divide in educational opportunity is emerging fast........This is a serious inequity issue.”

We have come across numerous examples of young girls working during the school day as hawkers, wandering the streets selling anything from chewing gum to yams. Many of those that do attend school have to get up early to collect water from the bore hole. Then they have to go hawking at the end of the school day, before returning home to carry out domestic chores.
These schoolgirls are carrying packets of water for sale. This forms part of a cottage industry, carried out by many families. Water from the bore hole is filtered and then packaged in plastic bags in the home and then sold on the streets.

Fasuma is a nine-year old girl living close to us. She seldom attends school. Each morning and evening, she has to walk to the bore hole several times, fill her bowl with water and return home.

There are many traditional practices that impact negatively on girls. Girls in many areas still have to endure female genital mutilation (FGM). Young boys and girls are also subjected to scarification, whereby various tribal cuts are made on their face and body. The majority of adults and some children in and around Wa have these scars, and this includes a number of our colleagues at the education offices. Both these practices are now illegal, but there are very few ways in which the law can be enforced, especially in the villages. Some teenage girls that spoke to us recently indicated that both these forms of abuse had been done to them. In addition, some of their scars are the results of cuts made to “release evil spirits” when they were sick.

“Some ethnic groups have a particular way of naming children who are born to a couple who have lost a number of babies in succession. It is believed in such circumstances that the same child keeps coming back into the world after dying, to torment its parents. In such cases in very traditional settings, parents may subject the child to severe scarification with ugly facial marks, and give her or him an uncomplimentary and insulting name such as “toilet” or “refuse”.”

The Government also recognises that it is important to improve water supplies and sanitation in schools, as evidence suggests that these are also factors that reduce the attendance of girls, in particular. (Across Ghana, only 58% of primary schools have toilets and only 42% provide safe drinking water.)

Another danger that female school students have to face is that of sexual harassment and abuse by male students and teachers. Ghana’s policy is that any teacher proven to have sexually abused a student will be reported to the police and the situation should not be handled internally by the education service.

“Much of the sexual abuse and exploitation of girls and women is due in part to their upbringing in a society in which male dominance and control are widely accepted, and women and girls are trained and perceived to be dependent, passive and accepting of their status..........Despite the existence of clear regulations forbidding teachers and other staff from engaging in immoral relations with pupils, some teachers pressure young girls for sex, threatening them with examination failure if they refuse, and also using corporal punishment as an opportunity to molest girls.”

Within GES, Wa, there is an excellent “Girl Child Co-ordinator”, who is working hard to raise the awareness of women and girls in schools about these issues, and to investigate any incidents of abuse. However, most girls do not report incidents for fear of shame and/or retribution.

In many areas there are traditional beliefs about “spirit children”. Children born with physical disabilities and twins, are often returned to the bush and left to die or they are ritually clubbed to death.

“Children born with physical abnormalities are often subjected to cruel treatment. For example, children born with congenital defects are seen as “spirits”, who must be returned to the bush, from where they are believed to have come. The parents of such children call upon a specialist who either administers a strong potion to kill the child or clubs the child to death with a ritual object. Among traditional homes in some regions, twins suffer a similar fate”

In the Upper East region, we visited an orphanage run by the Catholic Church and staffed by a priest and four nuns. This orphanage tries to rescue children who are being poisoned or left to die in the bush, either because they are twins or because their mothers died during or soon after childbirth. These children are believed to have caused the death of their mothers. They are said to be “cursed” and therefore the family wants to be rid of them. Orphanage staff take quick action when they hear of the death of a mother at childbirth, or of the birth of twins.

The orphanage keeps the children up until the age of 3 years. During these years, the staff try to build relationships with some members of the extended family, encouraging them to get to know the child. Then, they can usually persuade some relative to take the child, when s/he reaches 3 years of age. Below is a picture of 2 year old Jessica and her friend Benjamin at the orphanage. The possibilities of Jessica being returned to a relative are very slight. This is because an older sister took her home to the village for a visit and soon afterwards this sister also died. Therefore, no-one will have her near them. The orphanage will need to look for adoptive parents in the community.

Another illegal practice that continues in some regions is “trokosi”. This is a form of ritual slavery, where a young girl is given over to the priest of a local shrine. This is done as an offering of thanks to the gods or to ensure good fortune in some future undertaking. The girls remain in the shrine, sometimes for life.

Child betrothal and child marriage are also illegal, but continue in some areas. Poor families with daughters often do this, because the prospective husband (or husband’s family) then assume financial responsibility for food, clothing, education etc.

In this subsistence farming environment in north Ghana, women and children do most of the lifting and carrying. They walk long distance with heavy loads on their heads. Huge logs are carried, as these, together with charcoal, are the main sources of fuel for cooking.

The picture below is of Fatima outside our house. She grows paw-paw. She spends each day hawking these around the area

Each day at the GES offices, we have several women bringing food and other items for sale. We always have a supply of boiled eggs available to buy.

It is women who carry their goods to market and sell them in the market place. These pictures show the women with their market stalls, where we regularly buy our vegetables.

Ghana has made progress in recent years in passing legislation that aims to improve gender equality. However, the enforcement of the law is extremely difficult, especially in rural areas. In addition, HIV/AIDs is having a significant impact.

“The HIV/AIDs pandemic has the potential to undermine gains made in every area of national development and thus poses a unique threat to today’s children and youth.”

On World AIDs Day in December, events were held with young people throughout the country. In Wa, several hundred young people were informed by a nurse about the facts associated with contracting AIDs, and a number of the students performed plays to convey the message about safe sex. They were given the opportunity to have blood tests for HIV and several took up the opportunity.

The secondary school curriculum now includes reference to all the above issues. The government has encouraged the setting up of “girls groups” in schools, so that they can discuss these issues, support each other and educate their parents and members of the community. On a really positive note, in our work in schools, we have certainly met a number of very bright, assertive young women, who are extremely well-informed and determined to put an end to illegal practices, promote gender equality, and work towards developing their country.

Gold

For those interested, here is an entry, without pictures, about Ghana's economy. Many thanks to our volunteer friend, Anthony, for his research, thoughts and ideas.

A recent article in the Times Newspaper predicted that in 2010, “...the gold bubble will burst. Gold is one of the most overpriced assets. The precious metal serves no purpose and pays no income. Despite this, its value keeps going up and up. ... Gold is considered to be safe and is thought to hold its value in inflationary times. But price rises remain unlikely over the short term. Investors may discover that holding gold could mean large losses.”

Ghana is Africa’s second biggest gold exporter (after South Africa). Ghana relies on gold as the country’s most important source of foreign exchange.Today, as in the past, Ghana barely manufactures anything. It has to import almost all manufactured goods and pay for them through the international markets based abroad. To pay for these goods, it is almost entirely dependent on gold and cocoa.

Government elections were held in Ghana in early 2009 and there was a change of government. The previous government, confidently riding on the booming price of gold, and eager to earn another term in office, increased public sector wages. (A fully qualified secondary school teacher at the top of the pay scale now earns just under £100 per month). It also gave increased funding to schools and hospitals. For example, to increase school enrolment, all primary and junior high school students receive free school meals. They lost the. election. The new government, as part of its manifesto, made a key election promise to increase fuel subsidies.

Climate change is manifesting itself in Ghana, as in other parts of the world. It was a bad year for rainfall in 2007. As most of Ghana’s electricity is produced as hydroelectricity, this led to electricity shortages. The previous government was forced to respond by buying expensive foreign oil to supplement the electricity supply. The new government has estimated that the previous government exceeded its forecast budget deficit for 2008 by nearly seven times.It is therefore unsurprising that the new government accepted an International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan of $600m in July 2009, the same month that Barak Obama visited Ghana. This is not unusual. Since 1984, there have only been nine years when Ghana has not received money from the IMF. In total since 1984, Ghana has received $13,424,373,622 from the IMF.

The IMF, to ensure that their loans will be repaid, attaches conditions to all of its loans. The idea is to adjust the structure of the Ghanaian economy, so that the country improves its income, repays its debt and makes the need for more loans unnecessary. As a new loan was necessary in 2009, the previous sixteen structural adjustment loans over the past twenty five years have, presumably, failed. Let us hope that 2009 is different.

The following is from the IMF website: “Ghana’s public sector wage bill has risen sharply over the past decade, in relation to GDP. Planned reforms to the wage structure will be complemented by steps to strengthen oversight and control of recruitment, and initiate a rightsizing of public agency staffing.”

A number of VSO volunteers are already experiencing some of the outcomes of this “rightsizing”. For example, planned training for teachers in the Upper East Region on science education has been “postponed”, even though a range of resources for the training have been delivered. A VSO colleague phoned the education department in Accra to find out what was happening and was told that, “...due to government cutbacks, the money is delayed and the project is on hold”.

It also has to be assumed that “planned reforms to the wage structure” is not going to mean a pay rise for the teachers. It also has to be assumed that the “rightsizing” of public agency staffing is not going to mean training and recruiting more teachers, despite the huge class sizes.

The road leading from Accra to Kumasi, Ghana’s two main cities, has to be seen to be believed. There are diggers and steamrollers littering the roadside alongside girders and concrete. Traffic, which belongs on the promised three lane highway, bumps its way along the dirt, next to the half finished construction project. There are no markings on the red mud and, seemingly, no rules. What should be a fifteen minute journey takes two hours. The new road has been under construction for over five years. It is like having a section of the M40 between London and Birmingham diverted along a farm track. The effect on the economy must be enormous.

Why, everyone asks, doesn’t the government sort the problem out? Also from the IMF report:“The fiscal deficit, which had already risen to 9 percent of GDP in 2007, rose to 14½ percent of GDP in 2008, boosted by strong pre-election government spending growth, notably including high public sector wage increases, petroleum product subsidies, and new infrastructure projects.”A condition of accepting the 2009 loan from the IMF, therefore, is that the government is not allowed to spend money on “infrastructure projects” such as the Accra to Kumasi road. It also means the new government cannot deliver on its promise to increase fuel subsidies. This is causing a great deal of anger, and people are talking about corruption and lack of trust in the new government’s promises.

The transfer of power from one democratically elected leader to another took place for the first time in Ghana in December 2000. Ghana therefore has a short history of political stability and, during the very close and very tense election last year, some VSO volunteers were temporarily evacuated for their safety from one of the larger towns, Tamale, during the run up to the elections. Clearly, anger at politicians for breaking their promises is not good for the future of political stability, in a relatively new democracy.

The big hope on the horizon is oil. In 2007, Tullow Oil announced that it had discovered 600 million barrels of oil offshore. The IMF report states that “.... the start of oil production in 2011 is projected to generate new budget resources of up to 7 percent of GDP, on an annual basis. The government intends to dedicate revenues partly to reduce Ghana’s fiscal deficit and strengthen debt sustainability, and partly to finance growth-promoting infrastructure investments.” So the oil money in 2011 is going to be used to pay off the loan in 2009 that was needed to buy oil for electricity in 2008. Whatever is left can be spent on that Accra to Kumasi road.

Unfortunately, the IMF admits that “proven oil reserves are modest, and peak production could be relatively short lived [so] there will be a premium on using oil wealth wisely.” This presumably means that there’s going to be none left for increasing teachers’ wages, reducing class sizes, enabling the training of teachers to take place, and generally improving education, so that the country can make progress on the 30% illiteracy rate, 30% unemployment rate etc.

So, despite all the oil hopes, the country is still reliant on gold for foreign exchange. Over 90% of the countries gold output comes from the Ashanti region of the country. In 1993, the IMF, as a loan condition, insisted that the nationally owned industry, Ashanti Goldfields Corporation (AGC), be privatized. A British company, Lonrho, bought the operations and now extracts gold using bacterial oxidation – a relatively environmentally friendly method. The remaining 10% of gold output is from small scale miners. One of the conditions of the 1989 IMF loan was that government regulation of unregistered gold mining should be lifted. Government regulation was to prevent people doing it illegally and to collect the tax revenue.

With the current price of gold being high, there has been a large increase in the number of (now) unregulated gold mining operations. A VSO colleague lives in Bolgatanga and nearby, there is one of these unregulated gold mines. Young boys mine here to earn money for the family. Some do it to pay for their senior high school fees. Now this mine is unregulated, mercury is being used in the extraction process. Young boys tip several drops of it into their hands and smear it into the mud. The mercury forms a partial amalgam with the gold. This, being larger and heavier than the small grains of gold, makes it easier to separate the gold from the silt. It is then heated to evaporate the mercury, leaving the gold behind. Needless to say, this can cause significant health issues – mercury is absorbed through the skin and mercury vapour is absorbed through the lungs. It also causes environmental damage when released into the water supply.

There are other dangers. On Tuesday 10th November 2009, fifteen people were killed when an unregulated mine collapsed in western Ghana. Despite the dangers, people continue to scrape a living from these unregulated mines. So if, as the Times predicted, the “gold bubble will burst in 2010” and investors make big losses, it will have to be the unregulated mine workers and the Ghanaian economy that will get our sympathy!

Two Schools

The dry season continues with a vengeance. There are more frequent grass and forest fires, which means lots of ash in the air, to add to the dust from the Sahara.






The positive side of the dry season is that temperatures are much cooler. We still find it hot during the day, but some Ghanaians are wearing woolly hats and keep commenting on the cold! At night it really is cool and we occasionally need a blanket on the bed. On some mornings, one of us boils a kettle of water to add to our bucket showers. It is noticeable that there are clearly more hungry people about. We sometimes get asked for food or water, and this didn’t happen at all last term.

Another feature of our lives is that we are increasingly becoming medical experts in the eyes of local people. They are coming to us for various forms of advice about medical conditions that are bothering them. For example, last weekend we were approached in the market by a group of women who were concerned about their friend with toothache. We cycled home and got some treatment from our medical kit to give to her. On our next visit to the market, we were treated like members of the family - and given extra vegetables.

Two people have stopped us in the street as they were concerned that their doctor had told them that they had "brain trouble", and their "neurones were not working properly". They both asked, “what does this mean?” A short conversation about balanced diet and healthy eating seemed to calm them down. We think they may both have been students, very anxious about passing their next set of examinations.

The lives of our neighbours and colleagues (and hence our activities) are currently revolving around football and the Africa Cup. Everyone was really shocked about the assassination of members of the Togo squad. They were devastated when Cote D’Ivoire beat Ghana last week. There was elation in the air when Ghana beat Burkina Faso on Tuesday night - so Wednesday was a good day for us to get loads of co-operation and support for what we wanted to do! Next week’s activities will depend on the outcome of today’s (Sunday) match against Angola. Even Linda is learning to have football conversations.

We continue to work closely with a number of schools. The following is about 2 of them.

Wa Methodist School for the Blind.

This school was originally established by Methodist missionaries and it is one of only 2 schools for the blind in Ghana; the other school is in the South of the country. All students are resident at the school and their ages range from 3 to 19 years. Some of the teachers are also blind. The terrible thing is that in many cases, blindness has been caused by a range of preventable diseases such as measles.

The teachers also live on the school site and many of them keep goats, which wander around the school throughout the day

Each school day begins with “inspection”. The students line up outside and they are checked to ensure that they have washed and dressed properly. Then there is the whole school assembly, which is always conducted by the students themselves.

Students follow a similar curriculum to other primary and secondary schools, with a greater emphasis on the development of practical and vocational skills. As a special school, it is well supported by a range of international charities. For example, a Dutch charity organisation has built a fantastic computer lab, which enables students to use talking books and carry out a range of other activities. All resources and exam papers have to be translated into Braille. The students below are going over their marked exam papers, reading the teachers comments.




These students are producing essays in braille. During our work with the school, we have managed to learn a few letters and a few numbers in Braille.






Students are incredibly supportive of each other, always helping others to move around the school site.



At mid-morning there is a break, when all students are given “porridge” to eat. Again, students take responsibility by organising the hall, serving the food etc.





Lunch is cooked on the school premises by the women below. They are making a traditional Ghanaian food called kenkey. This is a dough made from ground corn, which is wrapped in banana leaves and cooked. It is served with an okra stew.





We have been working closely with 4 teachers. One of these is Priscilla, a newly qualified teacher, with considerable potential. She is really keen to learn and improve, and to take risks by trying out new strategies. The students really love her. Unfortunately for the education service, she wants to eventually be a TV presenter – on the BBC if possible!







Amadyiia Junior Secondary School


This is an Islamic School, taking students from a range of different religions and backgrounds. Like most schools in Ghana, the day starts with an assembly - prayers, followed by singing the national anthem and reciting the Ghanaian pledge.




Then, to the beating of drums, students march to their classrooms, singing one of their school songs.




Like all secondary schools, the students study: English, maths, science, IT, social studies, technical studies, Dagaare (a local language) and PE. There is no electricity in the school and IT has to be taught and examined. When we had our first meeting with all the teachers, they asked if we could show them a computer, so that they could see and feel one at first hand, in order to explain IT better to the students. Students learn IT from the blackboard and textbooks. We took our 2 laptops into the school, each with an hour’s supply of battery, so that the teachers could take it in turns to try out the keyboard and open a couple of programmes.




Linda has been working closely with Faustina, an excellent social studies teacher. Teachers who have very young children take them along to school and the staff take turns in looking after them during the day. Faustina has 3 children, and the picture shows her with her youngest child, Bonga.



We have established very good relationships with a number of the students at this school. These students are always keen to talk with us about a wide range of issues. They are knowledgeable, ambitious and committed to studying hard. Each student in the picture below aims to be a doctor, teacher or lawyer. However, only a small proportion of students at junior secondary schools gain entry to senior high schools. In addition to achieving sufficient marks in the entry examinations, school fees have to be paid. (Education is only free until the end of junior high school)

Housing

This week has been a very busy one, preparing for training sessions with headteachers. We have amended the UK’s National Standards for headteachers into Ghana Speak, so that heads can carry out a self-evaluation to identify areas they in which they want further development. The Open University has produced some really good resources to support learning and teaching in Sub-Saharan Africa. Thanks to money raised by our families in the UK, we will be able to provide all headteachers at our workshops with a copy of these materials.

During our 6 month stint, our main task at the Education Offices is to conduct an organisational assessment, so that the Director and her colleagues can identify the priorities for improvement. During this week, we have been working closely with the Deputy Director of education, in advance of a meeting to be held next week with a group of education officers. The outcomes of the assessment should help the organisation to seek and obtain support and finance to be used on relevant priorities.

Our recent travels around Ghana have enabled us to see how parts of the country differ. It is really interesting to see the wide range of house styles and living conditions throughout the country. In the major towns and cities there are some very large, expensive dwellings made of brick and concrete, with beautiful gardens. However, this is not typical. In the villages and small towns, it is much more usual to see houses constructed of locally available materials. For example, in the south and central areas of the country, houses are typically constructed of a wooden frame that is then covered in mud or filled with mud bricks. The stems of local cereal crops and grasses are then used to construct a thatched roof. Many of these houses are oblong in shape.



Heading further north, the houses have a similar structure, but they are typically round in shape, and groups of 5 or 6 houses are grouped together within the village. Most of these villages have no electricity supply, and the women and children often have to walk long distances each day to fetch water.




Some villages have their own specific traditions in house building. For example, in the village of Paga, the walls of the houses are made of a mixture of mud and cow dung. For centuries, the women have then painted pictures on the outside of the houses. The house below is over 2 hundred years old and is not currently inhabited.




The Paga house in the picture below is the same age and is still used for women to give birth. The woman will remain in the house for about a week after the birth, during which time she is fed and entertained with drumming and dancing by members of the village.




In Paga, the walls of houses are still made with mud and cow dung, but they now tend to have roofs made of corrugated iron. The villagers told us that they prefer the older style thatched houses, because they are much cooler.

In the most northern, hotter regions, the people generally live in compounds that are made totally of mud, with flat mud roofs. The roofs are used for drying grain and fruit, and for erecting shrines to the ancestors and lesser gods. They are also used as somewhere to sleep, when the weather is particularly hot. These compounds vary in size and they house between 12 and 70 people from the same extended family. All are made of mud in one of 2 types of construction. Sometimes, round balls of mud are kneaded together to make the walls. This takes rather a long time, because only a few layers can be built at a time. These layers have to be left to dry out, before the next few layers can be added. Alternatively, mud bricks, made in moulds, are used. These are more expensive to produce, but compounds can be constructed more quickly, as there is no need to leave the bricks to dry out. Therefore labour costs are lower. The compounds are constructed by “master builders”, working with volunteers from the village. It is expected that master builders will be paid, usually with tobacco, alcohol, kola nuts etc. It is expected that the volunteers will be fed. Once constructed, the walls are covered with a plaster that is made of about 3 layers of fine silt/gravel and cow dung.



In the northern village of Sirigu, the people also live in compounds, and there is a centuries old tradition of painting the compounds. Many of the designs have cultural and historical significance. Once the walls are constructed, women carry out the painting, using the colours of red, black and white, made from local rocks. Specialist painters are employed, supported by volunteers from the village community. In more recent times, modern designs have become incorporated into the painting, including Christian symbolism e.g. angels and crosses. When the painting is complete, it is covered with a protective gloss, which also makes the colour brighter and shiny. This layer is made of various leaves and tree bark that is boiled in water. All painting is done with feathers. Villagers report that the painting is done in order to protect the walls, and as a way of enabling the women of the village to express themselves.




In Sirigu, each compound has a fairly consistent structure. There is a reception area outside the compound, usually a shelter made of wood and straw. Logs are also placed in this area to act as seating. On entry to the compound, the first place to encounter is the animal courtyard. Goats and cows are kept here at night, and they act as a warning if anyone tries to enter the compound. Houses for chickens are built into the mud of the walls. Grain is also stored in this area in silos of a mud construction. Each silo has a removable thatched roof. Grain storage is vital to families, because virtually no crops can be grown and harvested in the dry season. It is necessary to step over a low mud wall into the next courtyard. Some compounds will have 1 courtyard; others will have 6 or 7. All the living accommodation is off the courtyard(s). The best room goes to the oldest man in the compound, followed by the oldest woman. Polygamy is common, and each wife is entitled to her own room for herself and her children. When a woman marries, she moves to her husband’s compound. Most living/cooking etc. is done outdoors in the courtyards. We visited the compound of the Sirigu Chief, who has 6 wives. Custom therefore dictates that no man in the village can have more than 5 wives.



In Wa, as in other towns, the majority of houses are made of mud bricks, with metal roofs. The development of the infrastructure has not kept pace with the growth of the town, and open sewers run amongst the houses. This means that people live amongst goats, chickens, rubbish and raw sewage. It is amazing to us how the local people keep themselves, their clothing and their cooking utensils so clean. The morning routine in every household involves sweeping the rooms and the courtyard, a chore that continues at school for young people.




The house below is most untypical of Wa, but a few of this type do exist in the major towns.



On the lighter side, living in Ghana requires us to be adaptable and inventive. When the only internet signal available is obtained by sitting at a specific angle in the garden, facing the wall, then that’s what you do:


When the gas cylinder runs out and there is no electricity and you are in the middle of cooking, then you get out the charcoal and a neighbour’s “coal pot” and cook outside, sitting on the floor like a true Ghanaian.




Hope all UK readers are coming safely and comfortably out of that cold spell that we missed!!

Back to Wa

We are now back in Wa and revived, ready for a fairly hectic term. If we do achieve all we have set out to do, we shall be very pleased indeed. Over the last week we have continued our travels around Ghana and some of the highlights are outlined below:

Owabe Nature Reserve
This small reserve is situated just outside Kumasi and it is a beautiful, peaceful place with a huge variety of bird life. The Jacana was one of the many species that we observed..

Kintampo Falls

The road north took us to the Kintampo falls. Water flows here all year round and the whole setting is spectacular. It is within very easy reach of the main road, requiring only a short walk through tropical rain forest

Mole National Park

This is Ghana’s main nature reserve. It covers a large area of the country and is home to a wide variety of animals. It is not fenced in any way and various animals, including carnivores like lions and leopards are present, but in very small numbers. In contrast to the reserves of East and South Africa, where visitors are transported in vehicles, at Mole, visitors are taken on guided walks with an armed guide. This guide makes it clear that we have to follow instructions precisely, including to run, if we are told to run!

It was a magical experience getting so close to wild animals, whilst on foot. We increased our bird list to 64 different species since arriving in Ghana. We also saw elephants, bushbuck, waterbuck, kob antelopes, Nile crocodiles, baboons, green monkeys, warthogs, and a huge variety of agama lizards.

Larabanga

At the entrance to Mole National Park is the village of Larabanga, which has the oldest building in Ghana, dating from 1421. This historic mosque is of Sudanese architectural style, constructed of mud and sticks. Before viewing the mosque, all visitors are expected to pay their respects to the Chief Imam, pictured below

Bolgatanga

After a stop off in Tamale, the largest town of the north, we headed up the main road to Bolgatanga, the capital of the Upper East region. Here we met up with Anthony and Laura, volunteer friends. Anthony came out to Ghana with us. We also undertook our VSO training in Birmingham with him. It was good to catch up with the work he is doing in developing science teaching in the region. Laura is working as a vet, and she is the first non-Ghanaian to be officially registered as a vet in Ghana. Anthony and Laura already keep chickens, and they now have another unexpected addition to the family!

Paga

From Bolgatanga, we headed to the village of Paga, which is very close to Ghana’s northern border with Burkina Faso. Paga has a population of crocodiles, which are deemed to be sacred, because in previous times they helped to protect the people from their enemies. They are believed to hold the souls of the ancestors, and when a crocodile dies, someone in the village also dies. The crocodiles are well looked after in 2 designated crocodile ponds, and they are free to wander around the village. We were told that they lay their eggs around the village houses. These crocodiles are used to close contact with humans.

We were given a sample of crocodile dung to take away with us. Apparently, if you mix it with water, it will cure boils in less than 3 days. It’s always good to have a new addition to our medical kit!

Sirigu

Anthony and Laura joined us for a tour around the village of Sirigu. This whole area is very poor. One interesting development is the formation of SWOPA: Sirigu Women’s Organisation for Pottery and Art. Local women have been taught the skills of pottery making and painting, and they produce some beautiful work. The woman below is an expert pottery-maker.

Wa

The “main” road from Sirigu/Bolgatanga to Wa was one of the most challenging we have yet travelled. The pot holes and sand pits made us hugely relieved that we were travelling in a 4-wheel drive vehicle. We loved the whole 7-hour journey. However, the state of the main road between the 2 northern capitals serves as one illustration of the massive amount of work that is needed to develop the infrastructure in this area, before any significant improvement can take place in the lives of local people. The picture shows one of the few "good" sections of the road.

Travels over - back to work until the end of March. We’re really looking forward to the work.