Some of my favourite pictures from Ghana...

Just happened to catch these kids walking in front of a wall - and they matched.

Fishing boat at Kokrobite Beach.

ry

Boy and his Jerry Can at Ada Foah.

Table built around the tree. Makes sense when we experienced a crazy wind sand storm - the tree is keeping the table in place. I stayed in the beach hut directly behind.

Busua Beach

Now that is dedication at Africa XI vs World XI to celebrate African Union Day - and peace in Africa.

Elephant tooth in jaw bone at Mole National Park.

Hide and Seek at Manya Krobo Bead Market.

Bridge at Akosombo at the base of Volta River/Dam - the world's largest man-made lake and source of electricity for Ghana.

Just one month...

Today officially marks one month remaining in Ghana.

And I thought I would celebrate with a "TOP 10" list of things I've grown to love in Ghana with hopes it will remind me to value this month as much as the first four, and to continue to dream big.

10. Goats on the side of the road.

Animals of all kinds graze anywhere they like.

9. Men in suits. Women in head wraps.

Seems like everyone is in their Sunday best... and I can barely manage to keep clean. Not fair.

8. Hankies. (sweat rags.)

Wiping sweat of your brow in public is not only necessary, but common.

7. Lightning storms.

Now that rainy season has begun, it is quite normal to wake up to the most magnificent lightning show. The sky lights up and thunder shakes my house. It's pretty incredible.

6. The Atlantic Ocean.

My previous experience includes a couple of trips to Myrtle Beach as a kid and hiding from jellyfish aka Méduse on Canada's East Coast. PS: The Gulf of Guinea is stunning and if you find a stretch that isn't a public dumping ground... relax and enjoy.

5. Electricity.

If you have it continuously for a week - you have hit the jackpot. Luckily, I live in region not-too-affected by blackouts. However, if the lights go out and you have things to do - tough luck.

4. Being called 'Obroni'.

In East Africa it was Mzungu, or Sister (if I was lucky), but in Ghana - I am an Obroni. And everyone enjoys reminding me everyday at all times. Regardless, it lets me make faces at kids and laugh... everyone thinks I am crazy anyways.

3. Pineapple. Mango. Coconut. Avocado. Pawpaw (papaya). Green Oranges, etc.

Fresh fruit is better than I've ever had. And it is not uncommon to eat an entire pineapple for breakfast. I don't know how I will afford this addiction when I get home.

2. Red dirt.

It sticks to everything.

1. Ghana's highlife/hiplife music scene.

Checking out weekly concerts at Alliance Francais, Reggae Nights around town, dancing down the street, and singing along to the all of 15 words to a song I know... it's amazing. At first, I was annoyed by Ghana's repetition of the same 5 songs over and over again.... now I know why.

They are the best.

AWAY!

Learning from peer educators

It has been some time since I have updated this blog – sorry, team.

Lots has happened. Most of it great. And I’ve been seeing and doing some pretty amazing things around Ghana.

One professional highlight was the opportunity to accompany Pro-Link HIV Counselling & Testing staff to an area of Accra called Agbogbloshie, known as one of the world’s largest E-waste dump sites. Pro-Link staff administered HIV tests to between 70-80 sex workers and their paying and non-paying partners (clients and boyfriends) as well as general community members.

We walked past the Onion Market (yes, an entire market dedicated to onions) and stopped by the local Police Station to let them know we would be interacting with community members and ask for permission to administer tests. The local police were friendly, although it was a small shock to see shirtless men locked up behind bars just past the counter ala John Wayne movie.

From there, we ventured off with Pro-Link Peer Educators – an incredible team of volunteers who outreach into communities to share messages of health promotion and encourage safer sex practices in a philosophy of harm reduction.

We stopped in people’s small courtyards, smiled at the curious kids who either pointed and yelled “Obroni” or who cried at the sight of me. The Peer Educators chatted up women and men of all ages, letting them know Pro-Link was offering free HIV testing in their community.

Just getting to the community wasn’t easy. We walked through mostly mud roads having luckily been warned to wear close-toed shoes.

I can’t imagine what rainy season will do to the alleyways that thousands of people walk everyday between tin-roofed houses and shipping container stores. Rains bring increased rates of illness – such as cholera, malaria, typhoid – creates massive traffic gridlock and floods entire communities.

Our team set up a small wooden table and began testing. While it wasn’t the textbook type of testing I’ve heard about in school… I was impressed with Pro-Link’s efforts to reach the people in greatest need and how accessible the testing was. Peers helping peers get tested. Not clinical or scary. In a language people understood.

Of course, there was an informative condom demonstration that showed the growing crowd how to protect themselves from STIs.

While most of the tests were negative – 3 people tested HIV+. One man and two women. Of the two women – one was 22 and the other was 15.

This is something I am still processing and I am not comfortable blogging about yet.

While I know HIV is not a death sentence – with minimal education, limited access to required medication, associated stigma, and the chance that others will also become infected… the outlook isn’t good. Our team provided follow-up contact information for post-testing counseling and referred people to the hospital.

This was not the type of environment to take pictures. But you can check out the  Facebook page I have created to highlight our work to see pictures, as well as follow Pro-Link on Twitter.

Voting from Ghana Ain't Easy...

This morning I tried to register to vote for the upcoming Canadian election on May 2, 2011.

Why so early and with unsure results? Because I am currently abroad - and voting from Ghana ain't easy.

Firstly, a friend picked up a voter registration form last week - but since the Canadian High Commission is open from 7:30 am - 12:00 pm Monday to Thursday, and I work full-time in Accra - here comes the first challenge.

So, while I had the forms and had visited the Elections Canada website a few times and checked the Canadian High Commission to Ghana and Togo's site as well - it looked like as long as the forms were in their hands by the Tuesday before the election... we shouldn't have a problem.

To my searching on the sloooooowest internet of life (I AM IN GHANA) I did not see any other deadlines posted.

So, I filled out the forms and made it to the HC this morning.

Enter: Security checks.

Of course, nothing electronic can go through the gate and we enter one by one - so surrender your ipod, phone, pen drive, laptop and internet modem ... basically my connection to the world outside of Accra... and I'm handed a key similar to the one I locked my diary up with when I was 12.

Great.

Signed in. Received my badge. Noticed the 25+ Ghanaians/West Africans sitting outside in the heat waiting for some sort of Visa processing, etc -  as I was herded inside to the air conditioning reserved for Canadians. Wow.

Sitting. Sitting. Sitting.

At last - can we just talk to someone? Reception? Anyone?

(Did I mention I had called earlier this morning at 8am but to no avail - no one picked up regarding voting and even though I left my number, 8 hours later... no call back.)

I thought getting people to vote was a government priority.

So finally, the lady at reception speaks to us - yes, we only accepted ballot registrations up to the 15th of April. Eliections Canada needs to process... blah blah blah. Time to mail, fumbles with some official looking papers, etc.

Oh, and it's Easter this weekend. So - TWO STATUTORY HOLIDAYS.

Easter is a big deal in the very religious/Christian Ghana, and most of Africa. Families will be gathering and work will stop for at least a few days on wither side of the official holidays. I'm really looking forward to it.

So, although it wasn't posted. And according to the deadlines - we have time...

I wrote my name and phone number on an unmarked white notepad - and she took my forms to fax. I'm sure they are more likely to end up in the bin (Canadian translation: trash) as I stepped outside the door.

Irritated with the failure of our government to ensure that there is a realistic and efficient process for Canadians wishing to vote abroad or from remote areas (I am in a capital city with a High Commission - I can't imagine if I was in a rural village with a weekly mail pick-up ... PS: Stephen Harper... this exists!) and realizing that most likely thousands of Canadians travelling/working/living abroad will most likely experience the same...

I might not be able to vote in this election... but I will vote on it...

It sucks.

Plain and simple. It's undemocratic. It's a waste. And I doubt anything will change.

I am young. But I am not apathetic. I am volunteering and working for positive change - and sadly, this election... I won't have a say.

A bunch of pictures...

Work and enjoying Ghana has left my blog quite empty lately.

I'm sorry.

But I just posted a bunch of new pictures to my Flickr account - so please peruse.

On other news, I have moved from my host family and am now living in an apartment with friends. It will have its own challenges - water will be more scarce and I will need to be self-reliant - however, I am looking forward to getting to cook for myself, and my room has A VIEW OF THE OCEAN.

Yes, it's distant and I have to squint through the screen that keeps the mosquitos out and me malaria-free... But nevertheless, it's there.

My commute to work has also been cut in half. Hurray!

I've spent weekends at various beaches - from the historic Cape Coast to a music festival in Busua, to an epic hike trekking through farmer's fields and over hills in Aburi.

I'm healthy. happy. and now responding to "Gifti" as no-one can pronounce Heather.

Cats and my house

So, this blog will be of few words... but the usual creepy cat pictures that I am known for.

Yes, we have 6 (ish) cats who roam around our house/compound.  They cry for food all the time... but tsthey are the best fed cats in Ghana. I make sure of it. Although they would like me better if I could offer them something other than vegetarian left-overs... if only I had some fish heads like my meat-eating housemates...


My favourite. I call him "Little One" because he is the the Little One. Has not grown in 7 weeks. Strange, right?



Plus, check out the pool where I've started to swim nightly. It's quite posh.

I duck under this laundry every morning and evening to get delicious Ghanaian specialties. Like Milo.

The road leading to Becca Swimming Pools. My home.

Our corner. Odds are this taxi just honked at me. They ALL do. Even if you just got out of one... they still want you to get in their taxi. It's not happening.

Our neighbours are goats. No, they aren't really. But animals here are free-range. So, you need to look "left, then right, and then for goats" when crossing the street.

I promise more pictures and more stories soon.

Lots of love. XOXO

A day or two at the beach...

Let me start by apologizing for my absence.

I’m sorry – I have been internet-free for a week now. Trust me, it has gotten to me more than it has to you.

Regardless, I want to share some updates from Ghana and show some pictures from my relaxing weekend at Kokrobite Beach and Big Milly.

Last week Friday, Aimee, Kat (2 other volunteers) and I made the journey out of big, sweaty Accra and headed west to the nearest beach town, Kokrobite

(pronounced KO-CROW-BEE-TAY). We had this GREAT idea to escape traffic by leaving the city a few hours early… We are so smart.

Well traffic is pretty steady in Accra… it took be half an hour on the side of a dusty road under construction to find a tro tro headed to Circle to meet the girls. When I finally got to Circle, the girls let me know that they were stuck in traffic and I should just hang out and wait for them.

Great.

(Note sarcasm!)

So, here I am with my backpack on, exhausted, and standing on the side of the road AGAIN for 40 minutes. At least I had a distraction…

I seemed to make the day of 2 boys (about 13-14) who were working/selling stuff/hanging out across the overpass from me. They kept waving at me. And I kept laughing. They were really funny…. At least until they started taking about a hundred pictures of me on their cell phones.

That was just hilarious.

Boys dodging through traffic to take pictures of the sweaty, lost solo-Obruni to be found.  So I laughed, and smiled at them and waited some more.

Finally, they worked up the nerve to send over a younger boy in a school uniform with a note. On it was their phone number – and I was supposed to write my number down for them to call me.

I almost choked – these boys have nerve! I am clearly not 13.

So, I wrote them back a note… didn’t give out my number, of course… and finally caught up with Kat and Aimee.

After a series of dodging through small alleys and markets, over an overpass, an one packed short bus ride between tro tro stations – to which we heard the very interesting Sales Pitch of a man selling some sort of miracle pills…. To the tune of “Blah blah blah (in Twi) hemmoroids…. Blah blah blah diarrhoea…. Blah blah Blah 2 Ghana cedis for 20 tablets… Blah blah blah constipation…” and carried on for about 15 minutes.

I couldn’t help but laugh. Yes, this man was selling 20 pills of some miracle drug on the bus for the equivalent of $1.50. And people were buying… how one pill can cure constipation, diarrhoea, hemorrhoids and an exhaustive list of other ailments… I do not know.

Finally, we made it to the right place to head out of the city.

Sigh of relief, right? Not so fast. The line had 75 people in it. So we waited amidst the car exhaust (diesel) and plastic bags blowing against our ankles in the wind until we were next to board the large tro tro to Kokrobite.

Finally we pile in and for 1 Ghana cedi (about $0.75) we start the 1.5 hour journey west.

It’s hot. We are taking back alleys to dodge traffic when possible. And we are crammed like sardines into a vehicle that probably was taken off the roads in some US city in the 70s.

Nevertheless, this is Africa and we are at least making our way out of town.

About an hour or two into our journey, our tro tro decides to pass the one moving slowly ahead of us. It should have been simple, but as the side of our tro tro smashes along the side of the smaller tro tro to our right… Kat nearly loses her arm that could have very well be out of the window. The painful screeching sound of metal-on-metal is followed closely by a popping and hissing as our tro tro grinds to a halt on the side of the road.

It’s now dark.

We pile out of the vehicle. We are ok, but clueless as to where exactly we are.

Across the street was a hotel. Suggesting we find out where we were… and eager to get away from a vehicle that may or may not explode… we headed over and befriended the security guard into calling us a taxi to our hotel.

As the tro tro we hit pulls up and a shouting match begins, I am not getting back into that tro tro.

Once the taxi arrives, we pay a few dollars and get door to door service.

Yay – we have made it to Big Milly. An infamous beach/Rasta hang out just in time for a West African dance troupe (see Cirque Du Soleil acrobats) cultural show. Dinner service was over, but they found us some fries and salad and we chowed down.

A few bottles of Star (local Ghanaian beer), some chatting with everyone around, we finally try to head to bed around 2am. Exhausted. But wait… we asked (and reconfirmed!!!) for 3 dorm beds and there are only 2? Ok, so in 30 degree C weather… Kat and I will share. Great.

Up again at 6… a walk on the beach shows it all to be worth it. The waves are big, the fishing boats are coming in… and boys are playing football (soccer) on the beach. A couple of the local dogs decide to keep us company, even though one’s limp is so bad she hobbles along on 3 feet.

We walk and walk. Enjoying the salty air and cool breeze before the sun comes up and the beach gets busy.

Which it does.

From fishermen bringing in the catch of the day – which you can buy and have cleaned for you on the spot – to curious children scampering about -  to other tourists/volunteers baking in the sun, to women selling beautiful printed simple beach dresses, to Rasta guys chilling, and even a Liberian refugee selling bags to support a school in the nearby refugee camp.

I lay out. Eat Eggplant Parm – Ghana style… spicy.

And enjoy the day…. And then Saturday night is Reggae night.

People start filing in from Accra, we eat pizza and chocolate cake from an authentic Italian restaurant… and chill in the open-air music venue to live Reggae.

It’s a chill environment. We meet friends who work mostly at Embassies in Accra – including American, Brazilian, etc – and other volunteers. We laugh. Joke about Ghana’s love for Celine Dion…. (weird, right? I thought it was only Beth Campbell!) and dance until the early morning.

Up again early and able to capture some great shots of the beach first thing in the morning.

Of course, followed by another day of good sun, good food, and good company.

Beach pictures will follow. I promise. I haven't used my camera nearly as much as I should be. But will upload as soon as possible. I promise, Dad. :)