Sat 27th March 2010
I had a much needed lie in this morning, and I am now on my 4th coffee chatting to Rupert and his “lodger” Mickey. I am not expected in Dodowa at the bike project until this afternoon so Sammy comes to pick me up at midday. Mickey has led an interesting life, originally from London, he has lived in Ghana for years and in Thailand before then, he is quite a character, unfortunately he smokes like a chimney and at 60 pesewas (28p) a packet, I think he’s unlikely to ever stop. We’ve been out here for an hour and I am sure he’s had about 10 fags! Before I keel over from passive smoking, I polish off my coffee and Sammy and I head for Dodowa.
I am going to Dodowa in the East on my way to Ho, the main reason for this visit is that ex COCO intern Faye, has put me in touch with an organisation called Ezetela. It is a memorial foundation set up in memory of a man who was dedicated to improving education opportunities for children in Ghana. At the moment, 2 volunteers, Grace and Jason are setting up a bicycle workshop in conjunction with an organisation called ReCycle, which has just sent a second shipment of ex Royal Mail bikes over to Ghana. The bikes are perfect for the area as they are hard wearing, they can carry heavy loads and they come equipped with a plastic basket on the front which is great for carrying anything from yams to chickens to children. The bikes are sold to local people and the money raised pays for impoverished families to send their children to school. The reason for the workshop is to train up a mechanic who can fix the Royal Mail bikes as they have a specific mechanism inside them that local mechanics would not be able to fix. The profits from the workshop will also be used for charitable purposes linked to education. It sounds very innovative and better still, sustainable and I am hoping we can learn something from each other about income generation activities.
Getting out of Accra is a real mission but once we make it past the University, the roads are relatively hazard free. Sammy puts his foot down and sticks on one of Rupert’s CD’s we have a bit of a sing-a-long and in no time we reach the bridge over Lake Volta and it’s not far from there.
Sammy and I arrive in Dodowa and I call Grace to find out where I should meet her, she says to stay put and she will come to us. She says “I’ll be the abroni (white person) on a bike”. I like the sound of her already with her Durham accent! Sure enough a few minutes later a petite blonde on a bike appears, I get out of the car say hello and we follow her to the hotel. Sammy has to get back to Accra so I check in and he heads off. The hotel is very nice, the only place to stay in Dodowa apparently, 64 cedis, wow that’s almost £30! Good job Rupert’s place is free to even it out!
I throw my bag in my room and meet Jason and Grace for a fanta fruit punch (not recommended tastes a bit like fairy liquid) in the outdoor gardens. Jason is clearly very passionate about this project and he is itching to show me the workshop and tell me all about the project. He fills me in on the background of the project and suggests that we take a walk to the workshop to explain their current status. The workshop is a 5 minute walk from the hotel, up the main road. We pass numerous market stalls selling everything from pure water (filtered water sold in plastic bags) to boiled eggs and dried fish.
We leave the main road down a dirt track to a clearing where there are a couple of houses, lots of washing hanging on the line and several children playing outside a couple of whom are riding bicycles. This is George and Joyce’s house, they are relatives of the late Ezekiel Lartey (after whom the foundation is named) their home is the location for the bike workshop and the 1st container that arrived sometime ago. Unfortunately George had to go to a funeral this morning so he is not around but I have promised to stay for a couple of hours in the morning to catch up with him before church.
Jason shows me the clearing where the 2nd container will go, the cement foundations, and the bike workshop which is very organised and well kept. We chat about the project and then realise that we are all really hungry, not wanting to impose on Joyce, we venture back to the hotel to eat, non of us have had lunch and it is almost 4pm, Grace’s Mum is visiting so the 4 of us sit in the hotel garden and try to order a very late lunch although most of the popular Ghanaian dishes are not available. I fancy Red Red, (a dish made with ripened plantains and black eyed beans) but there is non, so Grace suggests palava sauce (made with greens mainly spinach and meat), none of that either, eventually I discover they do have Gari (some kind of corned beef and tomato creation made with fresh cassava) and I decide to give that a go! We all order and discuss the project while we wait.
There are peacocks in this garden and they take an unwelcome interest to us when our food arrives. I was chased by a peacock on holiday in Devon when I was very young and as a result I am very frightened of them (in fact I’m not really a fan of any big bird that might bite you, so that includes swans, geese and anything else that has a beak and a ferocious streak). I manage to polish off my Gari without getting attacked by any of the peacocks.
Back to George and Joyce’s, good news George is back already, he seems keen to meet and talk to me about ideas for how Ezestela can progress. We all sit outside (it is very hot inside their house under that corrugated iron roof) we talk about the project, the problems in Dodowa with teenage pregnancies, a lack of understanding about the importance of education, the levels of poverty leading to hunger, the list goes on.
Once the mozzies become too much, we venture inside to the oven that is the living room, Joyce has made the most amazing Bissap (a really refreshing sweet drink made from red hibiscus) and cinnamon pancakes – must remember next time I am making pancakes to put cinnamon in the batter before I cook them! I am still full from the Gari but it’s rude to refuse so I have a little bit of the best pancake I ever ate!
The heat becomes unbearable and we are all tired, even the kids have fallen asleep on the floor, it’s 9pm so Grace and Jason walk me back to the hotel, I set my alarm for 6.30am and I am out for the count in seconds!
Showing posts with label Accra. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Accra. Show all posts
Thursday, 1 April 2010
Lonely Planet to the Rescue
Fri 26th March 2010
Last night I got back to the hotel to find that I was the only guest there! Not wishing to eat dinner with all the staff staring at me, I choose to go back to my room, take a shower and venture into town by taxi to try out one of the restaurants there. Unfortunately when I get to my room I find the shower is broken so they move me, to a room where the shower head fell off whilst I was using it. Not having much luck with the plumbing, I decide to give in, throw a bucket of water over my head and head out! I have to leave early in the morning and have not really experienced Tamale, cue The Lonely Planet which recommends a place for good goat curry it’s called “Swad’s Fast Food” but according to the travellers bible I should not let that put me off, so that’s where I head! I meet some locals and volunteers and we talk all things developmental over a rather spicy but very tasty goat accompanied by chapattis and naan bread! The evening is really pleasant and definitely worth the 8 cedis (£3.80) return taxi ride to stop me going crazy in the tee total ghost town hotel!
Back at the hotel, I am shown to my 3rd room of the evening, the shower in this one works apparently, but I am so tired I don’t really mind! The receptionist gives me a very uncomfortable and inappropriate hug complete with an attempt to nuzzle his nose into my neck which I obviously pretend didn’t happen whilst pushing him in the direction of the door. I am not letting anything ruin my otherwise lovely evening!
I am up at 6am for my flight back to Accra, still full of goat I skip breakfast and meet Karimu who drives me to the airport, we say our goodbyes and I join the very long queue for check in! I meet a really lovely lady from Johannesburg in the queue, ( I remember how much I love and miss the accent) we both work in development so have a good chat, swap contacts and she gives me some names of NGO’s and useful contacts in South Africa and Uganda. She calls her work “due diligence” which I think sounds a lot important than project assessment!
I land and Rupert sends a message to say Sammy is running late, of course I don’t mind, Rupert has been extremely generous and I am happy to wait. I have a long debate with a Ghanaian airport employee who is trying to get money out of me and I argue that he doesn’t need it because he has a job, is wearing ray bans and Levi jeans! We have a bit of a giggle and he tells me he’d like to marry me to and I inform him I am absolutely definitely not interested. Surprisingly enough this is not enough to get rid of him so I put up with it for another 20 minutes and then feel relieved that Sammy arrives! It’s 10.15 and I have lots to do so we pop to Rupert’s to drop my things off and we head out, I have been without internet for too long so I ask Sammy to drop me at an internet cafe and tell him he can leave me there for most of the day. He leaves me at a place called busy internet, I meet some volunteers who tell me there is a faster broadband connection in Osu so I finish what I am doing and head to the there. The volunteers were right; I get lots done with a much faster internet. Not much to report today, a bit of an admin day. I prep for departure to the East tomorrow and persuade Rupert to let me take him out for a drink, we meet with some of his work colleagues and have a really fun night. I could get used to this!
Last night I got back to the hotel to find that I was the only guest there! Not wishing to eat dinner with all the staff staring at me, I choose to go back to my room, take a shower and venture into town by taxi to try out one of the restaurants there. Unfortunately when I get to my room I find the shower is broken so they move me, to a room where the shower head fell off whilst I was using it. Not having much luck with the plumbing, I decide to give in, throw a bucket of water over my head and head out! I have to leave early in the morning and have not really experienced Tamale, cue The Lonely Planet which recommends a place for good goat curry it’s called “Swad’s Fast Food” but according to the travellers bible I should not let that put me off, so that’s where I head! I meet some locals and volunteers and we talk all things developmental over a rather spicy but very tasty goat accompanied by chapattis and naan bread! The evening is really pleasant and definitely worth the 8 cedis (£3.80) return taxi ride to stop me going crazy in the tee total ghost town hotel!
Back at the hotel, I am shown to my 3rd room of the evening, the shower in this one works apparently, but I am so tired I don’t really mind! The receptionist gives me a very uncomfortable and inappropriate hug complete with an attempt to nuzzle his nose into my neck which I obviously pretend didn’t happen whilst pushing him in the direction of the door. I am not letting anything ruin my otherwise lovely evening!
I am up at 6am for my flight back to Accra, still full of goat I skip breakfast and meet Karimu who drives me to the airport, we say our goodbyes and I join the very long queue for check in! I meet a really lovely lady from Johannesburg in the queue, ( I remember how much I love and miss the accent) we both work in development so have a good chat, swap contacts and she gives me some names of NGO’s and useful contacts in South Africa and Uganda. She calls her work “due diligence” which I think sounds a lot important than project assessment!
I land and Rupert sends a message to say Sammy is running late, of course I don’t mind, Rupert has been extremely generous and I am happy to wait. I have a long debate with a Ghanaian airport employee who is trying to get money out of me and I argue that he doesn’t need it because he has a job, is wearing ray bans and Levi jeans! We have a bit of a giggle and he tells me he’d like to marry me to and I inform him I am absolutely definitely not interested. Surprisingly enough this is not enough to get rid of him so I put up with it for another 20 minutes and then feel relieved that Sammy arrives! It’s 10.15 and I have lots to do so we pop to Rupert’s to drop my things off and we head out, I have been without internet for too long so I ask Sammy to drop me at an internet cafe and tell him he can leave me there for most of the day. He leaves me at a place called busy internet, I meet some volunteers who tell me there is a faster broadband connection in Osu so I finish what I am doing and head to the there. The volunteers were right; I get lots done with a much faster internet. Not much to report today, a bit of an admin day. I prep for departure to the East tomorrow and persuade Rupert to let me take him out for a drink, we meet with some of his work colleagues and have a really fun night. I could get used to this!
Friday, 26 March 2010
TIA (This is Africa)!
22nd March 2010 - might want to make yourself a cuppa, it's a long one!!
Clearly the one thing Ghana does have in common with every other African country I have visited is the fact that nothing happens very quickly! On the plus side I have written a couple of reports this morning that have been somewhat overdue for some time. Despite all efforts to be on time, Sammy and I leave the house at 10am in search for RAM preparatory school in Darkuman. COCO have wanted to look into working with this school for some time since it was brought to our attention after a Durham University student volunteered there in the summer of 2006.
The traffic in Accra is, like most African capital, chaotic! There are no traffic lights, only police men and women waving their hands around with no real sense of order, which translates into traffic jams, congestion and road rage. I am quite pleased to be in the comfort of this posh car as opposed to one of the tro tro’s (Ghanaian busses) packed full of men, women, children, vegetables and livestock, it’s far too hot to be sharing a bus with a farm yard! After a stop at the bank to change some pounds to cedis, we stopped and asked no less than 2 garage attendants, 3 shop owners and 2 builders for directions. I had only an address, a cell phone number that wasn’t working today and a handful of old black and white photos of the school but we found it eventually in the most peculiar of places.
The school is located in a busy residential and shopping area in between various informal shops and businesses. It is made up of several buildings all of which are rented from a private landlord and has a major walkway for the public running straight through it. I can see from first glance the this school is not up to scratch and I a little worried about the set up but I smile politely as I walk into what seems to be a staff room to introduce myself to the headmaster.
Mr Mante and his assistant head Moses greet me and ask why I failed to tell them I was coming (I did, they obviously got the dates mixed up and I have caught them off guard – which is no bad thing) not a great start! The children are beautiful and very friendly, I am met by a chorus of “good morning madam” and have my hand shaken by at least 2 dozen little grubby hands. I explain to the teachers that I am Lucy from COCO in England and I am a friend of Cat’s (the student who volunteered there in 2006). I remind them of the email I sent back in January to ask if I could visit and remind them of our numerous phone calls in 2009 when we were trying to establish a budget. It seems that has sparked off some memories at last! I ask if I can take a look at the school, photograph the buildings and children and speak to some of the teachers. I am given permission and the tour begins.
As in every African school visit, I have to see every class room and meet each teacher, be greeted by the students and speak to them in English, their protocol, not mine. The school is diabolical, it is completely run down, and under resourced. In fact without the children in uniform, it would look nothing like a school. There are no partitions between the classes so each class interrupts the next, the roof has holes in it, the walls are eroding, the blackboards are illegible and there are no books, papers or pencils and no learning resources at all. What’s worse is that this is a school that receives volunteers from all over the “developed world” and no one has thought to bring in posters or books.
The teachers look disinterested and to be honest I can’t really blame them, from what I understand, most of the pupils can’t afford to pay their school fees so the teachers often go without pay. Unfortunately no one is keeping an accurate record of any of the finances so there is no evidence to prove that this is the case. I am told the only support they receive is some money for fees from parents and some donations occasionally. The government give them books sometimes but not enough and not often.
I ask the teachers what it is they need the most and they tell me it is land. They want to buy their own land so that they can build a school that belongs to them so they will have no rent costs each month. The problems lie in the fact that they can’t afford to buy the land because the school has no money and they have no evidence to suggest that they could make the school sustainable if they did get the land. COCO only go into a project if we can genuinely see a way to incorporate community participation and capacity building. I don’t want to add our name to a long list of organisations that hand out money for the sake of it and I honestly feel that if we gave money to this school we would be doing the donors of that funding a disservice.
There are 2 kinds of schools in Ghana, government and private. It would seem that anyone can set up a private school and this is what has happened here, a group of teachers have got together and decided to set up a private school. Whilst that is incredibly noble of them it presents a few issues with accountability. The fact that the school buildings are rented from a private landlord means there is no way that COCO can refurbish them – I am fairly certain that our donors do not want to give to this project to improve the building s for some fat cat landlord on the outskirts of Accra. This is why buying their own land is probably the only feasible option for this school, but this is expensive, it’s a long term investment and we have to be sure it can be sustainable for the children and teachers and that’s before you go into the issue that it should be the government’s responsibility to build schools with their vast aid budgets.
I have learnt from past experience not to invest in these “private schools” unless you can hold someone accountable for the delivery of progress and without an attachment to an NGO or CBO this is an issue for RAM. I asked where they would go if they could buy the land, they say they can take me there, they have already found land. I ask how much it costs and after the three of them (by now the English teacher has joined us) have a conversation in Chi, Moses asks me if I want to know in old cedis or new cedis (which I think quite odd) I ask for the cost in new cedis seeing as that is the currency now. He tells me 80,000 Cedis, I look shocked and he changes his mind, no it is actually 8,000 cedis, then he scratches his head and says ah no maybe it is 800,000 cedis with costs ranging from £4,000 to £400,000 I decide to ask them to do some research, put a budget together and I will come back on Friday.
On the way out, I pop my head into the one class in which there is a volunteer and I introduce myself, her name is Lorraine and she is here for 4 weeks with a volunteer organisation called Travellers Worldwide. I briefly explain why I am here, the situation and ask her if she would answer some questions for me about the school when I return on Friday, she agrees, we swap contact details and I leave.
It’s 13.30, I still need a phone, sim card and airtime, have to pay for my air fare at the Antrak ticket office and get to the internet, lunch would be nice at some point too! Sammy and I talk in the car about his perceptions of the school and he has similar concerns to me, for which I am both disappointed (that helping these children is not going to be as easy as I had hoped) and relived (that my instinct has been seconded by a very bright Ghanaian). The rest of the day is dedicated to the usual day one logistics and planning for my trip North which starts tomorrow at 3am!
Clearly the one thing Ghana does have in common with every other African country I have visited is the fact that nothing happens very quickly! On the plus side I have written a couple of reports this morning that have been somewhat overdue for some time. Despite all efforts to be on time, Sammy and I leave the house at 10am in search for RAM preparatory school in Darkuman. COCO have wanted to look into working with this school for some time since it was brought to our attention after a Durham University student volunteered there in the summer of 2006.
The traffic in Accra is, like most African capital, chaotic! There are no traffic lights, only police men and women waving their hands around with no real sense of order, which translates into traffic jams, congestion and road rage. I am quite pleased to be in the comfort of this posh car as opposed to one of the tro tro’s (Ghanaian busses) packed full of men, women, children, vegetables and livestock, it’s far too hot to be sharing a bus with a farm yard! After a stop at the bank to change some pounds to cedis, we stopped and asked no less than 2 garage attendants, 3 shop owners and 2 builders for directions. I had only an address, a cell phone number that wasn’t working today and a handful of old black and white photos of the school but we found it eventually in the most peculiar of places.
The school is located in a busy residential and shopping area in between various informal shops and businesses. It is made up of several buildings all of which are rented from a private landlord and has a major walkway for the public running straight through it. I can see from first glance the this school is not up to scratch and I a little worried about the set up but I smile politely as I walk into what seems to be a staff room to introduce myself to the headmaster.
Mr Mante and his assistant head Moses greet me and ask why I failed to tell them I was coming (I did, they obviously got the dates mixed up and I have caught them off guard – which is no bad thing) not a great start! The children are beautiful and very friendly, I am met by a chorus of “good morning madam” and have my hand shaken by at least 2 dozen little grubby hands. I explain to the teachers that I am Lucy from COCO in England and I am a friend of Cat’s (the student who volunteered there in 2006). I remind them of the email I sent back in January to ask if I could visit and remind them of our numerous phone calls in 2009 when we were trying to establish a budget. It seems that has sparked off some memories at last! I ask if I can take a look at the school, photograph the buildings and children and speak to some of the teachers. I am given permission and the tour begins.
As in every African school visit, I have to see every class room and meet each teacher, be greeted by the students and speak to them in English, their protocol, not mine. The school is diabolical, it is completely run down, and under resourced. In fact without the children in uniform, it would look nothing like a school. There are no partitions between the classes so each class interrupts the next, the roof has holes in it, the walls are eroding, the blackboards are illegible and there are no books, papers or pencils and no learning resources at all. What’s worse is that this is a school that receives volunteers from all over the “developed world” and no one has thought to bring in posters or books.
The teachers look disinterested and to be honest I can’t really blame them, from what I understand, most of the pupils can’t afford to pay their school fees so the teachers often go without pay. Unfortunately no one is keeping an accurate record of any of the finances so there is no evidence to prove that this is the case. I am told the only support they receive is some money for fees from parents and some donations occasionally. The government give them books sometimes but not enough and not often.
I ask the teachers what it is they need the most and they tell me it is land. They want to buy their own land so that they can build a school that belongs to them so they will have no rent costs each month. The problems lie in the fact that they can’t afford to buy the land because the school has no money and they have no evidence to suggest that they could make the school sustainable if they did get the land. COCO only go into a project if we can genuinely see a way to incorporate community participation and capacity building. I don’t want to add our name to a long list of organisations that hand out money for the sake of it and I honestly feel that if we gave money to this school we would be doing the donors of that funding a disservice.
There are 2 kinds of schools in Ghana, government and private. It would seem that anyone can set up a private school and this is what has happened here, a group of teachers have got together and decided to set up a private school. Whilst that is incredibly noble of them it presents a few issues with accountability. The fact that the school buildings are rented from a private landlord means there is no way that COCO can refurbish them – I am fairly certain that our donors do not want to give to this project to improve the building s for some fat cat landlord on the outskirts of Accra. This is why buying their own land is probably the only feasible option for this school, but this is expensive, it’s a long term investment and we have to be sure it can be sustainable for the children and teachers and that’s before you go into the issue that it should be the government’s responsibility to build schools with their vast aid budgets.
I have learnt from past experience not to invest in these “private schools” unless you can hold someone accountable for the delivery of progress and without an attachment to an NGO or CBO this is an issue for RAM. I asked where they would go if they could buy the land, they say they can take me there, they have already found land. I ask how much it costs and after the three of them (by now the English teacher has joined us) have a conversation in Chi, Moses asks me if I want to know in old cedis or new cedis (which I think quite odd) I ask for the cost in new cedis seeing as that is the currency now. He tells me 80,000 Cedis, I look shocked and he changes his mind, no it is actually 8,000 cedis, then he scratches his head and says ah no maybe it is 800,000 cedis with costs ranging from £4,000 to £400,000 I decide to ask them to do some research, put a budget together and I will come back on Friday.
On the way out, I pop my head into the one class in which there is a volunteer and I introduce myself, her name is Lorraine and she is here for 4 weeks with a volunteer organisation called Travellers Worldwide. I briefly explain why I am here, the situation and ask her if she would answer some questions for me about the school when I return on Friday, she agrees, we swap contact details and I leave.
It’s 13.30, I still need a phone, sim card and airtime, have to pay for my air fare at the Antrak ticket office and get to the internet, lunch would be nice at some point too! Sammy and I talk in the car about his perceptions of the school and he has similar concerns to me, for which I am both disappointed (that helping these children is not going to be as easy as I had hoped) and relived (that my instinct has been seconded by a very bright Ghanaian). The rest of the day is dedicated to the usual day one logistics and planning for my trip North which starts tomorrow at 3am!
It’s going to be a hot one!
21st March 2010
I stepped off the plane last night and was hit by a wall of solid humid heat. It was 8.30pm. I was picked up by Sammy an employee of a friend of a friend (Rupert) who has agreed to give me a base in Accra whilst I’m in Ghana. We like to beg and borrow accommodation and transport where possible! Rupert is Managing Director of a transport logistics business so I am picked up in a 4x4 Honda with blacked out windows, quite a step up from the usual battered old taxi with a hole in the floor. I feel a little underdressed for the occasion. The temperature gauge in the car says 28 degrees. Sammy takes me to Rupert’s house where I am given the warmest of welcomes accompanied by a local beer called “Club”, a slice of very cheesy pizza and Michael McIntyre on DVD (not very African so far). I have an early start tomorrow so turn in, very tired but looking forward to unfolding the mysteries of several new destinations over the next 10 days.
I stepped off the plane last night and was hit by a wall of solid humid heat. It was 8.30pm. I was picked up by Sammy an employee of a friend of a friend (Rupert) who has agreed to give me a base in Accra whilst I’m in Ghana. We like to beg and borrow accommodation and transport where possible! Rupert is Managing Director of a transport logistics business so I am picked up in a 4x4 Honda with blacked out windows, quite a step up from the usual battered old taxi with a hole in the floor. I feel a little underdressed for the occasion. The temperature gauge in the car says 28 degrees. Sammy takes me to Rupert’s house where I am given the warmest of welcomes accompanied by a local beer called “Club”, a slice of very cheesy pizza and Michael McIntyre on DVD (not very African so far). I have an early start tomorrow so turn in, very tired but looking forward to unfolding the mysteries of several new destinations over the next 10 days.
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