Missing but in Action....Ghana!

Hello Blog world!

 It has been a minute…Okay, okay, maybe more like two weeks, sorry! I know you all have been waiting patiently to hear about the amazing things that have been taking place in Ghana, trust me I have been painfully dying to blog about it. Unfortunately, the internet here has not been on my side to allow me to do so, as I am still on the hunt to find a reliable source, but never mind that, lets talk Ghana!

My Arrival

-I landed in Ghana on May 27around 8:35PM (about an hour later than my initial arrival time.) Wait!….Pause; (Guess who made it through the airport all by herself? This Girl! (It was a piece of cake!)….. Resume...I was greeted, or should I say, I greeted my taxi driver Francis who was standing in the crowed holding a ProWorld sign waiting for me. When I first spotted him, I waved at him smiling really big, but he looked at me confused. I motioned for him to come over to me, and he pointed at himself as to say “Me? Are you sure I am here to pick you up?”  I later found out he had been searching for an “Obroni” meaning foreigner, or more specific, white person in Ghanaian language. I could tell that he was shock to see a brown skin girl such as myself, since most who come to Ghana to do work are Obronis. To him, myself, and to most Ghanaians I do not look like a foreigner all, and it is usually not until I open my mouth to speak that I am treated like one. (More on this later)

Although I was getting in to the car on my first night in Ghana with a complete stranger in a foreign country, (totally ignoring American Culture rule number #1…”Never get in the car with a stranger,” sorry mom!) I never once contemplated doing so. That night, just like every night since I’ve landed in Ghana, I have always felt safe and as if I was at home. One may find this understandable as they think to themselves,  “At home is the only thing a person should feel when they are surround by a population that they blind in so well with.” This however, is not what made me feel at home. You see, The Ghanaian people have a certain culture about them that is so welcoming, and when they say “Akwaba” (Welcome) it is something that is not only meant, but also something that is felt by the newcomer.  When in Ghana, it is easy to see that everyone shares the same role which is to take care of one another rather they be stranger or not. Everyone plays his or her role well. This dawned on me one morning as I watched a little girl sleep on the shoulder of a young man on my taxi ride to work. Although the young man did not know the little girl, it did not matter at that moment how acquaintance they were (“Acquaintance” does not have the same role in Ghana as it does in the U.S, and it certainly does not determine how one treats another) he was responsible for her. At that moment, it was his job, role, better yet, his duty to make sure that she was waken up at her stop, and crossed the street safely to begin farther walking to her destination. Many Ghanaians have showed this same form of responsibility to me throughout my stay. For this I am thankful. Because I arrived In Ghana early,  (one week earlier than the rest of the proWorld participants) it was my job to organize my own transportation from Accra (the Capital of Ghana) to Cape Coast, where I am currently and where I will remain for the duration of my stay in Ghana. The drive from Accra to Cape Coast was about two and a half hours, but it can take up to 11hrs based on traffic. (It took my peers 6hrs, to make this same trip, so fortunately I got lucky!). I made my  travel in a TroTro which is a small van packed with thirteen Ghanaians.  The trip cost roughly 11cedis or 6 US dollars.  The process for getting there was a crazy one, I am honored that I made it alive. Many Locals tell me that I am a very brave girl for making the trip to Cape Coast alone.

Sarah (my ProWorld Coordinator) picked me up from a red and black school (that is all I knew to tell the driver, when he asked where to let me out at, and unfortunately I missed my stop and was thrown out of the van into a taxi because the driver refused to turn around (funny story)…. But I made it!

I spent the rest of the week waiting for the other "Obronis” to arrive. While doing so, I received the chance to go exploring  with a former volunteer named Lindsay. By the time the others arrived, I was a pro at navigating through Cape Coast!

Activities-

I have done so much in the past two weeks, and I would really like to go into deep discussion about  them, but I would really hate to Overwhelm you all with ALL of the details, so I will try to stay as brief as possible on this section.

Sunday June 2 I met my home stay family! They are wonderful, I am living with my Auntie Matilda, her daughter Helena, Her nephew “Kofi” (Kofi means Friday. All Ghanaians have a Fante’ name or Tri name which represents the day of the week which they were born on.) Hint* Do not try hard to remember names I speak about, since most of the names will be the same but will be referencing multiple people. My Fante’ name is Araba, meaning Tuesday born.) In addition, there Is Kofi’s wife Heroine, and there son Kofi who is 3yrs and my 4yr old little sister who I love to bits and pieces, Alswel (meaning: All is well)

Monday June 3

I attended my first day of Work at the Social Welfare Department. I love my work and I am more than happy with my placement!!!!!!!!

Saturday June 8  I toured the Cape Coast Castle. This castle is also known as the housing point where many West African slaves where kept before they were shipped off to other parts of the world during the Atlantic slave trade. It was a very intense feeling knowing that a survivor who could have very well been from my bloodline, could have very well been shipped out through those doors. I still cannot believe that, this specific castle hosted 60 million Slaves! I am happy to have not only been able to learn, but also be able to experience a recap of history. In addition to this, the other ProWorld volunteers and I traveled about two hours to the setting where the slaves received their last bath and “cleaned up” before they where auctioned off to the slave owners. I along with two other participants took off our shoes and walked  barefooted through the forest just as the slaves had done. This was a remarkable experience.

Sunday June 9 I will attend a football game (soccer) starring cape Coast’s superstar team, the mighty dwarfs. Hopefully next Sunday I will be able to attend Church with my Auntie( Homestay mom) Matilda.

Allow me to start off by saying that working with the Social Welfare Department, is everything I wanted! I truly believe that it is my Director who is making this experience a great one, and for this I thank him so much!

Work-

Work in Ghana, is definitely different from work in the United States, as people in Ghana have less incentives to actually get things done. However,  as this week has gone by, I have been constantly able to point out the similarities in the work being done by the Social Welfare Departments in Cape Coast and the work being done by the DSW’s in the U.S. The greatest of these similarities is that there is much to be done, with little help and very little resources. Because of this, I am so thankful for the experience I have had working with the RCC because it has has forced me to understand that in this type of work, where one is working in the public sector for the good of the people, it is important to remember that things are always tentative. Because I am aware of this, it has been fairly easy for me to adjust to my work environment in Cape Coast where there are only two full time workers with little resources and little direction. Although there are very little resources, and I am a firm believer that things get done when one has the resources it needs to be successful, I actually believe that things can, and will get done here in Cape Coast this summer…. As a matter of fact, many things are already well the way.

It has only been my first week of work, and I have already done sooo much, including the rewriting of a children’s Act, which has not been rewritten in over 30 years! It took myself, and the two other ProWorld interns whom I love so much, just two days to rewrite this Act. We all have high hopes that it will be adapted by the assembly in the area that we are working in (this is  a  very reasonable wish, and we all feel confident that it will be done. I will keep you posted on what happens.) The revision of the Act is very important as it will help with the core guidance of my work while in Ghana: Finding an effective way to monitor NGO’s, Day Care Centers and Residential Homes (orphanages) In the Cape Coast area. There are currently 70-Day Care Centers and Orphanages that the Cape Coast Department of Social Welfare is responsible for. The Act, which is so important, explains the proper requirements that must be put into place in order for an organization to be eligible to meet full registration requirements with the Social Welfare Department, and most importantly to stay in practice. These requirements can be as simple as, there must be clean drinking water available for each child, to something so complex, as each attendant/caregiver must seek proper training requirements and gain a certificate from DSW in order to partake in the Duties of an Attendant/Caregiver. There are very many loopholes however that makes it difficult for organizations to abide by these rules, and in addition  that makes it even more difficult for the Social Welfare Department to do its job, which is making sure that these organizations abide by these rules. One of the issues as I’ve shared with you of course is that the guidelines to what is acceptable and what is not, has not been made clear in 30 years. In addition, and what I see as the number one issue for the reason that almost nothing gets done in Ghana, is, NO ONE HAS AN INCENTITIVE to do their job! (this is a long and stressed conversation that I received the pleasure of engaging in with my director one day while at work. I will be happy to talk more bot it in my next post....., which will be soon, I promise! (Or at least I hope) 

Frustration I have to get checked for Malaria on Monday as I have been really sick over the past couple of days L but Malaria certainty won’t stop me! That is all for now…Want pictures? Stay tuned.

P.S I hope all of my fellow moellershipers are enjoying their stay as much as I am! Also I miss ALL of My Beyond Borders Germany Crew, especially you (George!) I hope you all had a smooth transition back in to American Lifestyle…. See you soon!One Last though…..I find it funny how this trip is called independent travel, I feel like I am traveling with so many great friends, as I have met so many Amazing people along the way. This is truly a blessing! Thank you all