Ghana Day 20 -040112 - Celebrating and Reflecting

Ghana Day 20, 04/01/12

This experience volunteering in Ghana began with some eye-opening observations about how life here is different than the States.  Gradually, we acclimated, and the strange merged into the familiar.  The roads and streets everywhere are filled with goats and chickens, in the same way that one might find pigeons back home.  

Our first day, I couldn't take enough photos of people carrying and selling things from their heads.  In traffic, and heavy bulky items, A tray of 100 sunglasses, 25 kilos (60-ish pounds) of yams or plantains.  Water, juice, tissues, paint brushes, soda, sweat rags, baked goods, loaves of bread.  You name it, all right in your car window as you waited for the traffic light to change.  

As time passed, and our observations jaded, It became less noteworthy to notice carrying stuff on one's head, even practical, and the predictable availability of goods became a welcome convenience instead of a strange oddity.  Imagine having snacks brought to you in your car, in traffic, whenever the mood struck.  

The majority of our time was spent with our orphanage community of 34 kids, and the daily additional 90 school students, who became extended community for lunch.  Mornings (beginning at 6am) and evenings were spent with the resident kids, and after two weeks, they felt like family.  My wife, Penny, sometimes accuses me of being "Disney Dad" with our own kids, being the one to take them on special outings or bearing gifts.  One this trip, we brought an entire (49.5 lbs) suitcase of school materials, coloring books, puzzles, games and fun stuff like glow stick necklaces and candy bracelets.  We were able to allocate the distribution of these items over the time of our stay, so the kids had a fun sense of anticipation whenever we arrived. Had they been aware of who Disney was, we would have carried the label.

They loved the stuff, and we have videos of them breaking into song and dance the evening that we distributed the glow-sticks after sunset.  But our really cherished memories were from the little less remarkable moments when we were there to pitch in with chores, console someone with a scraped knee, or just hold them for unlimited free hugs.  

There were three of us, Penny, myself and our 18 year old friend, Hannah, from Australia.  We dispensed hugs nonstop all day long, and there was a tremendous feeling of love and welcome and human exuberance to have 30+ kids running at us with open arms upon every arrival.  Each of us had our own favorites, but the saying"each of us is a part of all of us" really applies.  Everyone did chores and brought their unique gifts to the mix and became a part of the fabric of this community.

 There were three staff women, Ma Lizzy, Acquaa and Ellen, who were the backbone staff of the orphanage, keeping everyone clean and fed.  Penny and I took on the mission, during our stay, of supporting these incredibly hard-working women.  This included kitchen chores, serving meals and a huge amount of dish washing and cleanup, especially for lunch for 125 with only 50 dishes.  We worked hard each day doing this for 6 hours in the blazing sun, and our reward was earning their respect during our brief stay.  

Many readers have asked if they can help to support the orphanage project, so we set up a webpage for the orphanage, fundraising for some of the recurring expenses like food, shelter and utilities.  We also have a donation page for several special projects like completing the toilet/shower building, classrooms and raising money for mattresses for the children.  You can find out more, and support the school with a contribution of any size at: WestAfricanSchool.org

The women in Ghana are tough and strong and hardened.  They cook and wash and go to market, and many sell their produce or wares for a few extra dollars a month.  It is amazing just how much hard work is involved in getting through one day.  Most everyone is up at 5am, and they don't retire until at least 10 or 11pm.  Life in Ghana involves a lot of physical work. During our first few days, we literally passed out at night from exhaustion, hard labor in the humidity and 90 degree heat.  It got easier, but we were still pretty wimpy in our efforts compared to the locals.

Every family in Ghana is descended from some tribal legacy and culture.  They each have particular dress, observances and practices as well as language nuances.  This is probably similar to the regional dialects that we have throughout the US, although probably more festive and colorful

For our last day of "work" at the orphanage, the full school had an "assembly" which was dedicated to us.  We were placed on honorary seats at the front of the group, and students and staff sang to us for about a half hour.  As the group continued to sing familiar songs, we were ushered away into a "changing room" within the house, and instructed to change into a colorful tribal dress and tunic that they had handmade for us.  After receiving last minute instructions on how to wear the non-intuitive dress, and after Penny had her hair wrapped in ceremonial cloth by our host, we reappeared as guests of the assembly.  The kids sang to us, we were presented with certificates of appreciation, and each child greeted us as they filed by in a queue (something that didn't occur without great effort).

 

We came a long way to drop ourselves into someone else's culture, and to try to discover a way that we could make some small contribution in time and labor and love. Mission accomplished. With a small donation that we were able to make, thanks to many generous friends at home, we saw the “groundbreaking” of a new building at the orphanage for toilets and showers. They are only about $500 away from completing this, so it seems likely that this will occur, with additional help, in the somewhat near future. We had the satisfaction of participating in daily routines that helped to shape the lives of these kids; feeding, bathing, and washing. Most of all, we brought a lot of human touch, love and caring to a small group of kids who have very small lives but big hopes and dreams.

Their surroundings are beyond minimal, they clear out the two classrooms to sleep on mats in the evening, 18 per room, sharing one toilet. They have no toys, but the benches and chairs and bowls and sticks that are around become forts and castles and goal posts and musical instruments that amuse and delight. For the two weeks that we were present, everyone's belly was filled with three meals a day. This wasn't always the case, but we were spared seeing them miss a meal, which happens more frequently than it should. It takes about $100 a day to deliver the 200 meals involved with the residents and the school. Parents pay for about $20 of this, the rest depends on donations. This is a new project, only nine months old, they don't have a stable flow of donations and resources are pretty low.I'm working with them to develop a simple webpage to tell their story, and to enable PayPal donations to a broader global audience.

The kids are clean, bathed twice daily, and relatively healthy. A few runny noses and kid coughs, but generally they are strong and vital and free from disease.. 

As you know, in the US, we are a society who have become dependent on our health care providers to dispense health, a practice that seems to discount the enormous power of our own bodies to heal. Effectively, none of the kids in our orphanage will have much interaction with the Ghanaian health care system unless something life threatening occurs. Home remedies, band aids, hugs and prayer are the primary prescriptions, and I have to say that, statistically, these kids are way healthier than any cross section of Americans that I've met. I remember that the late George Carlin used to do a routine about American's obsession with disinfecting everything. He stated that “ My friends and I used to swim in the Harlem River growing up, in pure, raw sewage. We built strong immune systems and never get sick.” 

 I'm going to go out on a limb and say that our experience in Ghana supports the assertion that the human body is a brilliant guardian of our own health, without much external intervention. We must just remember that it grows strong as we challenge it, and not be afraid to let our immune system constantly expand its internal dispensary of natural healing through exposure. From a distance, it seems absolutely ludicrous to try to create a bubble of artificial and expensive antibiotics around us, as we do in Western medicine, when each of us carries such a potent internal mechanism of natural defense, waiting to be challenged. Our kids in Ghana were extremely healthy without the “benefits” of much health care, and a tribute to the simple power of basic hygiene and liberal amounts of soap and (cold) water.

We wrapped up our stay by returning to the IVHQ (our program) volunteer center in Accra, and checked back in with the people who were our liaisons with the volunteer program.  We did some last minute shopping at the Cultural Center market, which included purchasing a hand made djembe drum which was carved and decorated as we waited.

There are many things that we liked about Ghana. Like any experience, even in our own neighborhood, life is a mixture of caring people, selfish and greedy people, and indifferent people. Time moves a bit slower in Ghana. The culture is inherently friendly and warm, but white people are singled out to be overcharged, walking wallets. It is hot and humid, although often a bit hazy; air conditioning is almost never present, except in the “Western places” (high end hotels, the Accra Mall, the Accra Shop Rite, and a few overpriced tour buses).

Ghana is a place where people spend most of their time interacting with others, and everyone is in the same boat, just trying to survive another day. Most people laugh a lot, are friendly and very very hospitable.

The Ghanaian currency, the Cedi, is slipping in value, making purchases even more favorable for people holding dollars. It lost 5% in value during our three week stay. But, those, often white, dollar holders, are marked to be overcharged, so it is best to find or hire a local person to negotiate in the local language on your behalf. Otherwise, the favorable currency exchange will be nullified by bad negotiating.

We were warned to arrive at the airport at least three hours prior to our departure back to the States, and found an hour after our scheduled departure, that our plane engine required repair due to it chewing a bird on the way over to Accra. We stayed an extra night in a nice air conditioned hotel with a pool, and just reset our expectations, Ghana style, to wait another day. Best to fly over the Atlantic with two good engines, yes?

I'd like to leave you with a few photos, that will linger with us for a lifetime, that made this crazy experience totally enriching and worthwhile.

As different as cultures and habits might try to make us, basically we all want the best for our children. We need the same essentials, food, water and shelter.  And we all have hopes and dreams that provide the momentum to overcome adversity and to clarify the next stop on our life journey.

Thanks for joining us on this trip.

Arnie and Penny Davidson (and Hannah)

E Hampton, Connecticut USA