Surviving the Sun in Accra
My Adventures Living & Working Abroad in Ghana
Supporting Women Has Literally Never Been So Sweet
Well, after months of searching, I FINALLY established a contact with a woman who works for Kuapa Kokoo. For those of you who don’t already know, I spent about four months in 2007 researching fair trade coffee and cocoa… and let’s just say I may have developed into a minor obsession with a particular cocoa farmers’ co-op (*Remember Divine Chocolate in xmas stockings?). Being said, that co-operative is Kuapa Kokoo, which coincidentally happens to be located in the very country I’m currently residing in, Ghana!
When I first found out I was accepted for an internship in Ghana, I made a pledge to myself to track down a Kuapa Kokoo cocoa farm at all cost and I am happy to say, two weekends ago, I accomplished it.
Mabel is a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend… well let’s say for simplicity sake that she is an acquaintance of someone and now a very good friend of mine. I was hesitant after calling her at first because I was not sure that either of us knew what to expect or what we were to do at the cocoa farm, but with a leap of faith and Collin and Theresa in tow, I caught a bus heading north to Kumasi.
In typical Ghanaian fashion, our 11am meeting turned out to be closer to 1pm, but Mabel and her driver picked us up at our hotel and we drove to the village of Bipoa. After a quick history of cocoa farming in Ghana and the formation of Kuapa Kokoo in 1993, we reached the town and met with the local women’s society. Driving up the main drag, the driver honked his horn in three quick blurts, representing the motto ‘Pa, Pa, Paa’ meaning the best of the best of the best. To me, this seemed legitimately as cool as the bat symbol and actually worked to call Kuapa Kokoo members from their homes.
The women’s society all came out to greet us (regardless of our very short notice) and Mabel translated their greetings and explanations about how Kuapa Kokoo has improved their lives. Before we headed to a local cocoa patch, the women all sang and clapped for us. Not only were we able to see the growing process of cocoa that afternoon, but we also fortunate enough to experience first hand the benefits of fair trade social initiatives. The women were so empowered and felt such success through Kuapa Kokoo that it would be hard to ever second guess the achievements of these fair trade farming communities.
Although we only had a short while to visit with the farmers in Bipoa, I was an experience I would never give up and was well worth the two day trip. Kuapa Kokoo has half ownership of the Day Chocolate Company, makers of Divine Chocolate, which is produced with Ghanaian cocoa from these very farmers. Supporting women has literally never been so sweet 
XOXO
Kelsey
*Side Note: In local dialect, Twi, Kuapa Kokoo means ‘Good Cocoa Farmer’
Weekend Hike in a Semi-Deciduous Tropical Rain Forest
This past weekend was a breath of fresh air (literally) for us here in Ghana. Saturday Collin and I met up with our friend Emma (who we went to Togo & Benin with last weekend) and we caught a tro-tro heading NE. By noon we met up with Theresa in Hohoe, where she had been stationed all week doing workshops with FIDA. After a very generous ride from the FIDA driver, we arrived at the hamlet of Wli (pronounced ‘vlee’). After checking into local accommodations (<$4/each!), we headed out on our first hike of the weekend.
The hike was unfortunately a lot less strenuous than we had all hoped for, but turned out to be beautiful none the less. The trail led through stunning foliage and a plethora of colourful butterflies set in a mountainous background. The main draw to this specific hike was the end destination, an absolutely gorgeous waterfall named Agamatsu Falls (or Wli Falls). We all enjoyed the scenery on the hike up, but the waterfalls absolutely took my breath away. Unfortunately I don’t know the specifics on the fall such as height, water source etc, but I did take some pictures (which really does not do it justice).
Our second day we travelled south to a lodge located near the hamlet of Fumé. Again, after checking into new accommodations, we headed out on another hike. This one was considerably more difficult than the last and actually had ropes in areas where you needed to scale the rock walls. It was well worth it though in the end when we arrived at a second waterfall that was very secluded. We all took the chance to go for a dip and the water was extremely refreshing in the heat of the day.
Unfortunately for us we didn’t have more time and had to head back to work the next morning, but our time in Volta was definitely revitalising. It was great to have a few days to get some exercise and get out of the ciaos that surrounds our lives living in Accra. Hopefully if all goes as planned, we will be heading north again this weekend to Kumasi to visit some cocoa farms. I’m keeping my fingers crossed!
XOXO
Kelsey
2 Visas, 9 Times through Customs, 11 Stamps & 3 Countries in 3 Days
This past weekend was hands down one of the best so far on my adventure to West Africa this summer. After packing in the dark on Thursday night (loosing power is no anomaly around here anymore), Collin and Theresa and I headed out first thing Friday morning. We met up with a new friend (Emma) and hitched a tro-tro to the eastern border town of Aflao. Once in Afloa, we went through our first of many rounds of customs and walked across the border into Lomé, Togo.
Lomé is far from Accra in every sense. There are sidewalks without people hawking wares, streetlights (although I’m not sure they are actually used), very few vehicles aside from motorcycles/taxi-motos and GARBAGE CANS — What a revolution! This capital city is located on the ocean, similarly to Accra… however Lomé hasn’t turned its back on the water the way that Accra has. In Accra, the downtown core faces away from the ocean and the beach is filthy with garbage and fecies. In Lomé however, the main street runs the length of the water and the beach is littered instead with incredibly fit people out for runs.
Most of our time in Lomé, aside from riding taxi-motos, I’m a bit ashamed to say, was spent eating! After living in an old English colony for the past two months, travelling into an old French colony was sooo amazing. Three words: ‘French-Bread-Everywhere!’ …enough said. Oh, and though I’m not much of a coffee drinker, the rest of my crew couldn’t get enough of real coffee instead of the instant Nescafe that plagues Ghana. After a supper of homemade pesto gnocchi and dessert crepes, followed by an evening at our hotel listening to live music, we hit the hay early. I was truly disappointed in the morning when we decided to move on to Benin but also interested to see how another old French colony would compare with Togo.
And oh how there was a lot of compare and contract! After only a couple of hours in a bush-taxi, we hit the Togo/Benin border and went through yet again more customs. Arriving in Cotonou, Benin near noon, it was quickly apparent that this city is by far the most chaotic, insane and crammed city I have ever been to. The streets are literally swarming with cars and motorcycles and you really expect to see an accident every 30 seconds. Unfortunately, we had no idea where we were going and were dropped off at a pier beside a fish market. Although it was interested, it was definitely not where we were supposed to be, but we had no idea how to get to an area with taxis. Luckily for us, we met a very nice local who led us, with all of our bags, through the winding alleys of an enormous market to the other side. The market was so organized and structured and can’t be described as anything else than absolute organized chaos. The aisles in this market were twice as wide as those in others, and were even paved. Shops were crammed together in an endless line of umbrellas, scrap wood and sheet metal, but each area of the market was designated for a specific item (example: fabric section, men’s dress shoes etc).
Cotonou is the capital of Benin in every sense but name, and it a relief to escape it as we headed to Ganvie. In Ganvie, we spent the afternoon touring a stilt village which houses more then 17,000 people floating in the middle of a lake. Ganvie is claimed to be “the Venice of West Africa”… and I’ve been to Venice… and other than the whole stilt idea, they couldn’t be more different. The romance and crumbling architecture wasn’t exactly there… instead it was replaced with shacks and fishermen and the most lively funeral procession I have ever seen. It was held as a celebration with loud music and women dancing in bright African fabrics on wooden boats paddled along the canals. There was a floating market area where we bough bread and even a floating mosque. *Oh, and did I mention that there were no pigeons? Venice should take note of this!
After a very arduous trip involving an argument in French with a taxi driver who was trying to take advantage of us because we are foreign, we finally arrived at our hotel in Ouidah (a town 45 minutes away) and thankfully, notably smaller than Cotonou. Sunday morning we went for a walk along “le marche des esclaves” which was one of the dominant slave routes which were used during colonial times. All along the walk towards the beach, the road was dotted with voodoo shrines. Voodoo, in its original sense (not the Hollywood version), is the primary religion in Benin and originates from ancient nationals of the country, later spreading to Columbia and Haiti through the slave trade. The voodoo statues mark different aspects of voodoo life and there are a number of snakes and animals included.
By early morning, we had to begin making our way back home, so we caught a bush-taxi to Lomé and stopped for lunch with a group of travellers we met in Ouidah. After one more delicious French style meal, two scoops of sorbet and a chocolate-filled croissant for the road we caught taxi-motos to the border and walked through customs for the second last time before arriving back in Accra.
All in all, the weekend was amazing but very rushed. It was a great opportunity to experience other countries in West Africa and see the contracts between the different results of English and French colonization. It was refreshing to speak French again, eat pasta and French bread, ride taxi-motos everywhere with the wind in my hair, and take a break from the constant yelling of people hawking goods on the streets of Accra. It was great to see, but I’m happy to be back at home in Accra. It’s hard to believe that in less then five weeks I’ll be boarding a plane to head home to Canada.
XOXO
Kelsey
Knee Deep in Research & Report Writing
Another two weeks since my last blog post has passed, and reflecting on that time, it’s nearly impossible to sum it up in just one small entry. Regardless, this is my attempt and I figured since most of you have been wondering what I have been working on here for my internship, I figured now was as good as ever to explain it.
As I mentioned earlier in another post, my internship is at the Ghana Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ). CHRAJ was set up independently from the government of Ghana as a resource to enforce the human rights of the population and fight corruption in government organizations. Their funding is provided by the Danish government and their mandate allows them to fight high profile cases against the state where human rights violations or corruption exist, while also defending the rights of the common community.
I spent the first two weeks in the Complaints Unit where all statements concerning violations of human rights or administrative corruption must first be brought. In this unit was able to experience a great deal of the legislature and grasp a preliminary understanding of some of the many social problems faced by the people everyday. I was able to hear first hand encounters of cases ranging from domestic violence to labour rights. The majority of the employees at CHRAJ are lawyers which leaves a geographer like me a bit of a misfit, but I’m really enjoying the opportunity to learn more about Ghanaian law from the people who know it best.
Since then I have established a more formal position at the Commission and during my stay here, I will be working in the Women and Children’s Unit concentrating primarily on children’s rights. Last night I finished my first major project for CHRAJ which was a report written with the intention to influence state policy concerning the incidence of child labour in the country. Although prior to this project I knew about the direct correlation of child labour with poverty and education, it was surprising to learn some of the Ghanaian statistics from the 2003 census.
Rural areas especially lack adequate schools and many village schools are severely under-funded. In areas, particularly in the Northern Region of Ghana, schools are overcrowded with insufficient staffing and supplies, bestowing poor quality education. Most notably, I learnt that the percentage of children aged 6 to 17 years old living in the Northern Region who had never attended school was 44.3 percent, while in the Greater Accra Region, it was only 5.1 percent.
For northern villages such as Larabanga (which I visited a few weekends ago – the village with the old Mosque), who did not have a formal school system until 1992, these situations offer little in terms of improved prospects and overcrowded classrooms leave the community with little expectation for enhanced development. Although there is hope for these rural populations, it is at times no wonder that impoverished parents see sending their kids to school as little more than a waste of time and money.
Aside from boring you with the details of a very long report, I guess I can move on and tell you the rest of the research that I’ll be working on. The report that I will be starting tomorrow focuses on child abuse utilizing case studies from CHRAJ and a collection of newspaper articles from the past two years. Following that report I will be moving on to a personal project outside of CHRAJ centering around the recently discovery of oil and gas deposits in Ghana.
Large deposits have been found along the coast and I’m interested in determining the environmental and human impacts which will be created from the upcoming extraction. In the 60s when developing countries found oil deposits, it spelt a recipe for disaster and has been seen as a curse instead of a blessing. Dictatorships developed as countries were still fighting for their independence from colonial powers and civilians were left in a constant struggle for human rights during civil unrest. While Ghana is one of the best African countries as far as democracy is concerned, it will be interesting to see how the capitalistic system and neo-liberal ideas formulate the outcome of how successful the revenue toward the common population.
The majority of the past two weeks I have been slaving away on my child labour paper, but I also spent a couple days running around getting lost in the ministries and knocking on dozens of doors looking for resources from the ILO, UN and a few different Ghanaian Ministries. After spending half the day yesterday at the Togo embassy desperately trying to obtain a visa for the weekend, I will hand in my report today, go to an ex-pat pub tonight for trivia night and head to Togo Friday morning. The plan is to hit up Togo and Benin this weekend, so I’m anticipating an adventurous trip full of French West-African language, food, culture, stilt villages and voodoo!
I’ll take lots of pictures and keep you posted,
Au revoir!
XOXO
Kelsey
Kumasi – The Ashanti Kingdom
Well it’s been two weeks since my last blog post, and a lot has happened in such a short time. Since my last post, we spent a weekend relaxing in Accra, which was a wonderful change of pace from our constant travelling. That weekend we met up with a Ghanaian friend for supper, had a poolside brunch at a local hotel, attended a football game and tried our hand at bartering in Makola Market.
After another four day workweek, we headed up to Kumasi on Friday afternoon for a weekend visiting friends and exploring the Ashanti Region. The Ashanti are the dominant tribe in Ghana, and have a very extensive and impressive history, particularly around the Kumasi area. We were fortunate enough to visit the city while our friends from Michigan (who we travelled to Mole with) were still living there.
We spent Saturday morning touring around two villages north of the city, Ntonso and Adanwomase. Ntonso is a very small village which specializes in Adinkra cloth (stamped pattern cloth). The ink mixture they use is created from tree bark and when stamped on cloth appears black. Every stamp has its own meaning and a series of stamps can represent different feelings and stories. I was able to purchase two stamps and watch the locals as they created different patterns.
The second village was Adanwomase which is known for its Kente cloth (woven pattern cloth). This village focuses on eco-tourism and runs daily tours of the kente weaving process. Although we had previously seen a few kente looms at various locations around the country, it was great to see how the whole process unfolds and speak with local weavers first hand. Theresa and I both tried our hands that day at weaving, and if I graduate with no immediate job prospects, I might just pick up a new profession
The rest of Saturday we spend touring around the city of Kumasi which is only slightly smaller than Accra with a population over 1.5 million. The feel of this city was dramatically different however, as there were many more colonial style homes, bright coloured buildings and hilly topography. We spent the afternoon walking around the National Cultural Centre and touring the Military Museum.
After a Sunday morning tour of the Ashanti King’s Palace, we headed out of town to Lake Bowsumtwi (a local crater lake). The lake was beautiful and we spent part of our afternoon being truly Canadian by practicing our canoeing skills and watching the local fishermen.
Monday morning we were a bit rushed because we were to leave by 2pm, but our friend’s offered to take us to the local teaching hospital where they were doing their internships. After hearing about their experiences working in the maternity ward, we decided to tag along with them that morning and see the hospital first hand. The conditions in the wards were horrendous with comparison to Canadian hospitals, with many pregnant women laying on the floor due to lake of bed space and many more in overcrowded conditions in visible pain. I really appreciated that the girls went out of their way to take us there and show us around the ward, describing the function of each section. The lack of resources, funding and staff, in addition to severe overcrowding, makes you realize how easily many of the deaths which occur there may have easily have been prevented in a hospital in the developed world. I have no doubt that the girls on internship there truly will be making a big impact with their research by the time they head home.
Before we headed home that day, we did a quick tour through the main market (one of the largest in West Africa) and spent more time at the National Cultural Centre watching local artisans make their creations. The past few days I have begun to really clamp down on my research and am anticipating a relaxing weekend in Accra before we head to Togo (country directly East of Ghana) next weekend. Thanks for following my trip and enjoy the pictures from the last few weekends.
XOXO
Kelsey
4 Dollar Safari
I can’t believe that this Sunday will mark the end of four weeks here in Ghana (almost 1/3 of the way done). While my overall experience in Ghana has been amazing, this week marked the greatest highs and lows for me thus far. I always think that it’s better to begin with the good stuff, so here are my highlights of the week:
Last Saturday morning we woke up early and headed to the STC bus station to catch a bus to Temale (located in the far North-West of Ghana). It truly was a weird drive for me because it took exactly 12 hours… which is the exact same amount of time I should have been spending back in Canada as I would have driven to Portage that very day. On this trip however, the scenery was… different from Saskatchewan… which was a nice change (sorry Carly!).
Overall, we spent most of the short time we had in the north driving (roughly 33 hours), but it was definitely worth the voyage. The landscape up North is beautiful and lush with a fair amount of foliage considering the proximity to the Sahara Desert. Many of the villages still use traditional architectural styles building round family huts with mud walls and thatched roofs.
Our major reason for heading so far north was to experience a safari at Mole National Park (pronounced Mo-lay). We arrived at the park on Sunday evening and spent the night eating and visiting with a group of University of Michigan students who were kind enough to let us tag along on their trip. We woke early the next day and spent the morning checking out the wildlife that Ghana had to offer. Mole is quite a bit smaller than many of the typical ‘safari’ parks such as the ones found in Kenya, Tanzania & South Africa, so the diversity of wildlife wasn’t as extensive (but we also only paid $4 for our safari opposed to the hundreds it would cost in Kenya etc).
Unfortunately we didn’t see any of the big cats, but we did see a herd of Savannah elephants really close up which was AMAZING. They are sooo much larger than forest elephants (the ones you can see in the zoo). We also saw baboons, monkeys, kobe, antelope and warthogs. It rained for most of the safari, but I didn’t burn so I thought it was a perfect day haha.
On our way home from Mole, our group stopped in Larabanga, a small village just a few miles from the park entrance. After asking the village chief for permission, we were able to go see the oldest mosque in Ghana (dating back ~1421AD) and questionably one of the oldest in West Africa. It was absolutely beautiful, and the local entourage of children walked us to the ‘Mystic Stone’ and showed us around the village. There must have been at least 3 dozen children showing our group around and I was wishing I had brought gum or a few soccer balls (which I stupidly left in Accra). Visiting Larabanga was the perfect way to end the trip and I’m really glad we were able to experience the northern culture.
The low point of my time here happened after we arrived home and I went back to work on Wednesday. I have spent the last few days reviewing every newspaper article corresponding to child abuse in the past two years in Ghana… and it’s excruciatingly depressing to stare at all day. I spent the last two nights staring at the wall being dismal and wondering how many cases occur that don’t make the news. The hardest part of my research right now is the style of writing that goes into the cases… most of it would be considered vulgar by Canadian standards and defilement is one of the largest forms of abuse. In Vancouver, people are wondering about feet washing up from the ocean, while in Ghana children are being beheaded with machetes and 9 year old girls are impregnated by 60 year old men. The world has never felt so upside down to me before and experiencing some real-life cases in the complaints unit makes it all the more real. There is so much corruption, blackmail and violence here, its hard to imagine a cure to minimize these occurrences which young children are forced to face everyday.
Thankfully, this was a short work week (wed-fri) and I am readily anticipating the relief of a relaxing weekend before another long week of research starting again on Monday. Thanks again for reading and following my experiences here in Ghana.
XOXO
Kelsey
The Price of Power…
…a price arguably worth paying at almost any cost – There is nothing quite like experiencing your first ‘real’ blackout. Mine happened last Saturday morning… at 4:30am, when we were frantically trying to pack and shower to catch a bus out of town.
Naively, we assumed that we were prepared for a blackout and were generally surprised we hadn’t experienced one yet, but knew that if it came we would be ready. Of course the moment that it happens however, you find yourself somehow surprised that you don’t have batteries in your LED headlamp, and you don’t know where they are so you spend the next 30 minutes cursing under your breath in the dark stumbling through luggage in hopes of finding those two measly AAA batteries.
In the end it was fine; we survived our first blackout and left the house half presentable after dressing in the dark. An hour behind schedule, we eventually made it to the STC bus station (state transit bus system) and purchased tickets to Cape Coast. After futile attempts in the last two weeks to visit the Gold Coast, we were finally going to make it and couldn’t be happier.
The drive was only three hours (to the West), and went by quite quickly. After checking in at an amazing little resort on the Atlantic Ocean, we headed to Kakuum National Park where we went on a canopy walk (an eco-tourism destination created by Canadians). The walk was amazing and none of us were bothered by the 50+ metre heights along the canopy of the semi-deciduous tropical rain forest. We weren’t fortunate enough to see a great amount of wildlife, but we did see a few truly beautiful butterflies along with a few tropical birds.
Next on the list of to-dos was touching a crocodile at a local crocodile lagoon… so we did (and I was definitely the most petrified). Nothing says safety quite like a woman holding a bowl full of raw meat and a thin poking stick!
The majority of the rest of the trip was spent visiting the two largest slave castles in West Africa (Elimer Castle and Cape Coast Castle). Both were created by colonial powers centuries ago and the European architecture was stunning. Walking through the slave chambers and condemned cells was horrific. We found it hard to spend two minutes in them with the high humidity, temperatures and lack of ventilation. It is incredible anyone survived up to six weeks in such awful conditions before being put onto ships which were typically just as bad if not worse. The tour guides that we had for both castles were excellent and I felt as though I learnt a great deal about the history of colonialism and the slave trade across West Africa. It was definitely worth the trip and although it was disturbing to stand there casually as a tourist, I’m glad I was able to experience it as it has played a huge part in the history of Africa. Recently I have been researching more into child slavery, which today still remains an unrelenting problem in Ghana especially in farming and fishing practices (ex: cocoa production).
On our last day at Cape Coast, we woke up to the waves and ate breakfast beside the ocean. It couldn’t have been a better finish to a great weekend away from Accra. The rest of my week is dedicated to laundry and hopefully Saturday morning we’ll be leaving for Mole National Park (located in the far north). I can’t wait to see some animals on a safari, but I can’t say that I’m looking forward to the 12 hour drive on washed-out dirt roads. I guess it’s true what they say – everything in Africa is an adventure – especially driving on the roads!
XOXO
Kelsey
Part B: All in a Days Work…
Well its Friday evening now, I just got home from work and it’s nearing sun down. As I sit on the couch and sip from my glass bottle of pop, waiting to walk to the internet café with Theresa, I’m pretty relieved that this week went by without much trouble. I made my way around the stations to ride the tro-tro home yet again for the second day in a row, and it feels like a pretty big achievement.
With a clear depiction of the informal transit system from my previous blog post, I thought maybe I should move on to discuss the rest of the week’s happenings: our new job placements, a tour through the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Museum, a political riot and arrest, and finally, the topper of all great weeks… laundry, or lack there of.
This week was dedicated not only to getting a grasp for tro-tro routes, but also to become acquainted with our new job placements and settle into our research. Theresa is placed at ‘FIDA’ which concentrates on women and children issues, while Collin is at ‘Media Foundation’ which clearly, concentrates on matters concerning the media.
My placement however is with the Ghana Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), located in the Old Parliament Building. The goal of the organization is to mediate between feuding parties with regards to human rights injustices to ensure both parties come to an amicable settlement. The majority of the employees are lawyers by profession, but there are a few of us, like myself, who aren’t lawyers, but must still play the part in understanding the rules of the law and what does and doesn’t fall within CHRAJ’s mandate for mediation. At the moment, I have been placed in the Complaints Unit, which is where individuals must first come to create a formal complaint, before we can determine which department of the organization can benefit them, or if we have the jurisdiction to help them at all. Monday I will find out if this is my permanent position, and there is talks of placing me into the Women & Children’s Issues Unit which may enable me to work on a join project with Theresa and Collin (I’ll keep you updated).
Although I have only worked for two days, I have learned a great deal about their legislation and how the country is organized. One thing I thought was very interesting is that being engaged in Ghana is actually considered a ‘traditional marriage’, where the parents of the groom must provide a dowry to the family of the bride. An additional option is to create an ‘official court marriage’ where papers are signed similarly to in Canada. A couple can have both marriages, and can divorce from both. To divorce from an official marriage, its similar to divorce in Canada, but to divorce a traditional marriage, the brides family must give back the dowry (which is very hard for many families to afford).
This week was also very exciting because on Wednesday afternoon, the former chief executive of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, Tsatsu Tsikata, was sentenced to jail for creating ‘economic loss to the state’. The State Court House is directly beside my building, so we watched as he was driven away to jail with a police entourage, and a massive crowd began rioting in disapproval à This year is an election year, and Tsikata happen to once be a member of the opposition party, who many respected greatly when he was in politics. Many are questioning if this is an effort of the current party to smother support for the opposition, but as far as I know, its all only speculation.
Well, after that excitement subsided, Vince took Collin, Theresa and I across the street from my office to visit the museum and mausoleum of Dr Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of Ghana after independence from Britain in 1957. The mausoleum is a gorgeous marble structure, and I have posted some pictures in the ‘Pages’ section. It was truly fascinating to walk through the museum and see the history of his life, the number of books and theses he wrote and see photographs of him with many other important leaders of the 20th century, including the founding fathers of the African Union (AU).
I am truly looking forward to tomorrow, as we have planned a trip to Cape Coast (west of Accra) to tour the city, the slave castles and go on a canopy-walk (similar to swinging bridges) at Kakum National Park, a rainforest reserve. It has been a long couple of weeks being isolated in our humble little abode in the suburbs of Accra, but I can’t wait to see more of the country and learn more about their history.
With that being said, I should wrap up this blog post, and try to figure out how to work our new washing machine. (Weird I know, but we splurged and bought a washing machine… its cheaper than having our dress pants and dress shirts cleaned each week, so we figured why not). If only washing machines were that cheap in Canada!
XOXO
Kelsey
Part A: Transit – In True Ghanaian Fashion
It has been nearly a week since my last post, and now, sitting and reflecting on the week’s happenings, I realize that I couldn’t be farther away from home right now. This week was filled with a chaotic transportation system, a political riot & arrest, and a LOT of just sitting around and waiting. I think it would be best to divide this post into Part A and B to truly do the week justice. So here is Part A, based on transportation.
The week started off on Monday as Vincent (the brother of our advisor, and landlord of our flat) had kindly offered to take Collin and Theresa and I around on the ‘tro-tros’ to meet up with our employers and get acquainted with the upside-down transit system that is present in Accra.
**Tro-Tros: by nature, they are fundamentally run-down 15-23 passenger vans which give each passenger roughly 2 cubic feet of space to fit into (on most of my rides, I have not been able to square my shoulders up to the back rest because there isn’t even enough space to sit shoulder to shoulder).
- The absence of air-conditioning makes for an exceptionally hot, humid and windy ride as all of the windows are left open.
- There are two workers: the driver and the ‘mate’ (who hangs from the window of the sliding door shouting the destination to civilians on the street and collecting fares from passengers).
- My favourite tro-tros are the ones where the door falls off and has to be held on by the mate (which is more common than you might think).
Luckily for us, Vincent took us on the tro-tros a few days in a row, because it quickly became apparent that in Ghana, there is a high level of unspoken communication that enables the residence to function efficiently with very little verbal discussion. For a foreigner however, hand signals and head tilts don’t really paint a clear picture on where the tro-tro your about to get into is headed.
What we have learned so far is that there are three main hand signals used in our area:
a) Rapidly pointing downward with your index finger: going to Madina Market
b) Rapidly pointing forward with your index finger: going to Accra/Tema Station
c) Pointing down with your index finger, while making a circlular motion: going to Circle Station
At first explanation, this appears relatively clear and easy enough… but in reality, these hand-gestures are often quite sloppy and nearly impossible to understand as one motion merges into another and then back again. When your standing at a junction between two dirt roads in the heat of the day, and traffic is rapidly moving past you, it gets more than a little stressful flagging down the right tro-tro and figuring out which way they are headed.
For the last two days, we have all headed our separate directions and have made it to and from work without getting lost… well at least not massively lost haha. We always end up finding our way home (knock on wood), so hopefully practice makes perfect and we’ll have it all figured out soon enough.
Being used to a bus system and the C-Train, it is hard to accept that there is not scheduled times, particular routes or regularity in the system at all. Taking transit here involves a blind belief that eventually the tro-tro you get on will actually stop at your station, regardless of how much time or what route it takes to get there. Work starts at 8:30am for me, so I typically leave the house by 6:45 which makes for a very long day when 3½ hours of everyday is committed to tro-tro rides. It is always dusk by the time I get home from work and nightfall takes place at 6pm.
With this being said, I will now officially state that I will NEVER complain about Calgary’s often tardy buses and break-downs on the C-Train tracks every again. No one understands a real commute better than the citizens of Ghana, crammed into a sauna-box of a van for two hours as you are constantly bombarded through the windows to buy things from sales people in the street (See the ‘Top 10 List’ posted under the ‘Pages’ section).
Although I might sound extremely pessimistic about this system, and frustrated about never knowing if I will be at work 30 minutes early, or an hour late… I think a part of me will miss the tro-tros when I leave. The passengers are always kind and go out of their way to be helpful, even if they don’t know what you want. Plus, I’m already getting used to being able to buy anything I want on my way home through the window… need more TP? No problem. Haha, only in Ghana J
XOXO
Kelsey
*Quick Fact: It costs me roughly 1 CEDI + 60 Gp (Ghana pesewas), equivalent to about $1.60 Canadian to get to and from work each day
