Today’s journey took us through the rolling hills outside of Accra up the mountain to the Aburi Gardens. Along the way were some of the most beautiful, I mean Bea-U-Ti-Ful views of Accra. It reminded me in many ways of the sights of the Hill Country or the beauty of over-looking the water at the Oasis. Along the way we stopped in a quaint little town known for its wood working magic. I picked up a few pieces that may serve as gifts for friends or may go on my bookshelf. We shall see. I did my first bit of haggling, too. I hate haggling, but you have to do it here. I have a friend who told me he witnessed a piece of art start at 140 cedis be negotiated down to 7 cedis (equivalent of going from $100 to $5!). I struggle with that feeling of “well, I have more” or “I can afford” (even if I am a ‘poor student’ poverty is relative). I do know, though, I have a certain price I am comfortable paying for pieces. I can walk away getting a wee bit ripped off and be OK with it because I know I am directly supporting the manufacturer - unlike buying items in the States when The Man is just taking my money. I digress…
On the way to Aburi we also passed the home and recording studio of Rita Marley – Bob’s widow. A dreaded man was hand painting a mural outside of her home. Sweet.
In Aburi we visited the gardens. I learned a bit about local vegetation, but mostly I sweated. It was hot, very very hot.
We returned to the hostel for the evening to enjoy some down time. A seamstress came to our site and I got measured for a dress and a shirt. I chose my own fabric and designs. Now, *that’s* the way it’s supposed to be. I wonder if I can find a local seamstress in the states and have all of my clothing hand-made. I would love to a) buy local and b) have clothing in my style and my size. My dress should be ready by Friday so I can wear it to the wedding on Saturday, whoo!
I am super tired from this trip and am taking the opportunity of free time tonight to just rest and relax. I’m feeling a bit run-down, sort of achy and tired in general. Hopefully I’ll be rested for tomorrow’s big day at the school! I am so excited to finally see our project site and talk with the Headmaster about our program! I hope it all comes together as we imagined :)
31 May 2009
30 May 2009
Day 4: Accra & Tema, Ghana
What a day! Visited the National Museum, Kwame Nkrumah monument and the local town of Tema. I am exhausted – physically, mentally, and emotionally drained.
The National Museum is chocked full of various artifacts and recreations of Ghanaian, West African, and African history. It seemed to me to be quite large, by Ghanaian standards (two stories, 5 large rooms). Downstairs was information pertaining to Ghana: puberty and mating rituals (mostly tribal traditions of the indigenous peoples); musical and dancing traditions, including sample instruments (drums, xylophone, horns); the role of children in the family; woodwork and textiles (including descriptions of meetings of differing carvings, symbols, designs, and patterns and sample loom). The upstairs had more original artifacts from other West African countries including skulls, art, jewelry and traditional tribal adornments.
The most impactful piece of the museum for me pertained to the slave trade. Tucked away towards the back of the museum is a dark hallway with glass cases of information about slave trade. Many original artifacts have been preserved, including accounting records for the buying and selling of people. These ledgers did not list slaves by name, of course, rather they listed as items purchased: 1m, 3w, 3b, 2g, 1c (m=man, w=woman, b=boy, g=girl, c=child, non gender specific). It was sickening to see people reduced to items like this. AND, it was sickening imagining what tasks people were assigned …especially when only 1c (b/g) was purchased. What was this child forced to do? How often were these children (and adults, but especially children) purchased for sexual satisfaction? Reading these slips made my stomach turned. It is a very chilling feeling. A piece of wood from one of the ships read three words only: “Peace and love.” Original shackles and chains used on the boats as well as branding sticks were also on display. There are not words to describe how it felt for me to see these items – I cannot even begin to imagine what it might be like to see these items for those who are direct descendants of Africa. Chilling is the best word. Nauseating works too. Intense. The final piece was a door labeled “The Door of No Return.” This dark tunnel led out of the museum to daylight for me, but I know where it led for so many other people in history…
Next week we are visiting two slave ‘castles’ in Elmina/Cape Coast. I am nervous about those experiences… it is all so in your face. I am privileged to never have had to feel sooo deeply and intensely about this topic before. I am both anxious and terrified of that experience. I am so angry that slavery happened – angry that humans are capable of such atrocities. Angry that similar atrocities are still happening today and so many stand by, ignorant, and do nothing. What should I be doing? What can I do (physically and emotionally)? What is the best approach, for me, in addressing global social injustice, war, and strife??? Am I doing enough? Is there such a thing as “enough”? If so, what is it?
The Kwame Nkrumah monument and museum was less emotionally charged, yet equally informative and engaging. This man is the shit. He is everywhere in Accra and people, for the most part, loved him. As the first President of course he will forever remain a famous political figure in Ghanaian history and on top of it he did so much good for the country. I have to learn more about how and why he was overthrown or lost power. This monument stands at the exact location where President Nkrumah declared Ghana’s independence in 1957, directly across the street from the old Parliament. In front of his monument are statues of men drumming and blowing horns as a reincarnation of those who were playing music for the festive welcoming ceremony. His body rests in a tower behind the statue that represents a tree and a sword down so he is forever resting under the tree. Behind the monumental statue and tower is another statue – an older statue of Nkrumah that had been vandalized by rebels. It has no head, one arm, and a gash in the back of one knee. The statue stands today as a political statement of “you can’t take me down.” There was a one room museum in back with some photos of President Nkrumah (taken with various political world leaders) as well as copies of the several books he has written. At the gift shop I made my first Ghanaian non-food/drink purchase: a beautiful set of hand glazed bowls (3 for 9 cedis, or about $6.50 total) and a wallet (2 cedis, or about $1.50).
After lunch at Ange Hill Restaurant a group of us headed to Tema (which I previously learned was “the only well planned city in Ghana”) with K, our Assistant Program Director. K. was born and raised in Tema as a little boy and is now finishing his Ph.D. at UT-Austin. He was kind enough to take us to his hometown, introduce us to his family and an important mentor of his, share his homes with us (mom and dad are divorced), show us his schools, and take us to a funeral of a community member.
Our first stop was at K.’s childhood home where his mother still lives to pick up his 2 ½ y.o. daughter The houses are all very small and close together with goats, chickens, and dogs roaming freely in the neighborhood. A heap of trash was piled outside. K. made a point of informing us of the changes to Tema since he was growing up. He said there is now much more trash and disrespect in the community. When he was a child, he recalled, the city was cleaner and people had more commitment to maintaining the community. His mother’s home was quite small and extremely warm as they do not have air conditioning. I believe they spend much of their time outdoors. His cousin was there cooking something delicious smelling in the kitchen. Mom came out to greet us; she was obviously shy and sweet. Acesi was quite shy, and probably overwhelmed by 25 new faces, as well.
Next stop was to one of K.’s key mentors growing up, Mr. Ofori-Nyako and his wife. Now a retired architect, Mr. Ofori-Nyako was the first City Planner for Tema. Essentially, he was *the One* who made Tema “the only well planned city.” He briefly shared his experiences working for the city as well as his views of how the city has changed. Having heard his wife is a teacher in the Ashaiman community where I will be completing my project, I snuck into the living room to strike up a conversation with her about her thoughts on the girls’ empowerment program and the key needs of the girls. She said the largest concern for girls is staying school and one of the largest preventable barriers to girls completing their studies is teen pregnancy. As such, she talks a lot with the girls about sexuality, menses, and the importance of waiting to have sexual relations with boys because “the boys leave you and it is hard to provide for your child.” (Sound familiar?) Many of the street children, she said, have no fathers or no one to provide for them. She doesn’t believe that talking about sex is bad. “The parents are too busy at home to talk about it with them, so someone at school has to.” Maybe she can run the world?? They invited the group back next Saturday for a community wedding! I hope (and believe, who am I? Obama?) that we will be able to attend. It should work out…
Following the visit with Mr. and Mrs. Ofori-Nyako, we walked a few blocks to K.’s father’s home. I was carrying Acesi, so I lagged back a bit and her and I pointed at dogs and trees and chit-chatted in 2 ½ y.o. English/Twi/Ga. We both knew about the same amount of Twi/Ga so it worked out well. Acesi really took well to me and several others were jealous that she let me hold her first. It’s just a magical touch I have… I love kids!
Afterwards we headed over to the funeral. I felt a little uncomfortable crashing a funeral, but K. assured me it was OK. Since he grew up in this community, I trust knows better than do I. We walked through a long alley (which was lined on both sides with trash, and we passed a man who was peeing on the wall as we all walked by. I am not sure if this is common behavior?) and arrived at K.’s secondary school where the funeral was being held in the back area. We walked in to about 200 people sitting in chairs under four ‘gazebo’ type tents (making a square) dressed in dark colors (reds, greens, and black are worn if the deceased was under 80. White is worn for someone who passes after age 80 as a sign of respect for the long, full life they lead.). The tent nearest to our left when we walked in consisted of the family of the deceased. After K. went and greeted the family they welcomed us to participate. As the family members sat, we walked through in a greeting line and shook the hands of each person. We did not say anything (such as “I’m sorry for your lost”), but shook hands and smiled. The feeling was not somber, but was celebratory. A large, framed picture of the deceased man sat in front of the family. We were then invited to take a seat. K. did not want to do this as his plan was originally to just stop by, observe, and leave. I was not comfortable with that voyeuristic approach (even though he swore it would be fine!). I am glad we sat and participated until the made a formal greeting to us on the loud speaker (they had an emcee and a sound system). Ugh!! Hello, Americans! K. said this was an honor to be greeted and this is how the family shows thanks. It felt odd, like we were stealing the attention away from their ceremony. Maybe that’s self-centered? I try to just trust in K. and remain open to all of the experiences. The family then got up and came over to us and shook our hands in a receiving line sort of way. Again, no exchanges of words other than Akwaaba, or welcome, were shared. To then show our thanks, we collected cedis to make a donation to the family which is customary. The funeral is a very costly endeavor and the community makes donations to help off-set costs. We sat for about 20 minutes as a band of drummers and trombonists performed music (interesting note, people did not clap at the end of a song. Also different for me.). K. wanted to get moving but was having trouble getting away from all of the obligatory greetings and people to talk to (you know how homecomings can be!) so he asked us to get up in small groups and start heading towards our van. But, we were all distracted. As we left the tents we walked across a field where about 50-100 kids were playing. And, they wanted to play with the obronis, or foreigners. They were certainly not shy about coming up to us to play. I was immediately mauled by a group of about 10. They were very intrigued by the digital cameras and wanted to take pictures. First I took pictures of them, and then they wanted to take pictures. I shared the camera and let them take pictures and they were having a blast making funny faces and being silly. Again, I found myself carrying around two little kids as they were tugging on my legs. I am such a softie sometimes
By this time we had stayed about an hour longer than intended and K. had to round us up for the van. As I was walking away one sweet girl, Julianna, 12 y.o., came up to me and asked for my phone number because she wanted to keep in contact. Instead I gave her my address and told her to write. I hope she does. (She didn’t know her address so I couldn’t get that to start the pen-pal friendship). I asked what she would write to me about – she said “school.” She wants to be a teacher when she grows up.
Sad to go we said goodbye to the kids (some of who started crying ) and headed off. A few of the group members were also crying I think because of the stark poverty the saw. While I noticed, of course, the conditions, I did not see it as “poor.” In the faces of the adults and children I saw love, happiness, and joy. Simple life does not equal bad. The simple joy of playing soccer in a field or jumping in a puddle does not mean someone is destitute. I acknowledge the poverty and challenges of the community just as I acknowledge that from this community comes great people, strong people, resilient people. While K. was able to ‘make it’ does not mean everyone else will, nor does it mean they should “pull themselves up by their bootstraps.” It does, however, speak volumes to me of the strength, determination, and abilities of humans – all across the globe.
We departed for a quick driving tour of the rest of Tema, particularly the industrial area. Tema is one of two main ports in Ghana (the other is Takoradi). The port employs over 50% of the town’s people. They export goods from all over the country, but especially fish, cement, and chocolate for the local community. After dropping off Acedi, we headed back to Accra for dinner at the mall. Apparently the mall is the place to be on Saturday nights. Women were dressed to the 9’s here. I had a light sandwich and did some reading in a café. It was nice to decompress and process the day.
Later… (duh, duh, duhmm)
The shit hath hit thy fan. Finally. After several days of feeling isolated, disconnected, and alone on the seriousness of our experience, we finally had a group discussion (four hours of sitting in a circle) of race, class, and ethnocentrism. Some people had strong reactions to the experience in Tema and the things they saw and felt. We finally had a space to process some of this – and it was ugly. It seems that many folks who are on this trip have not had a chance to educate themselves about the realities and effects of poverty, especially the racial implications. Having had years of training in this area, I had been feeling very irritated since arriving. I have overheard conversations and comments that just reek of ignorance and covert racism, classism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, etc. Many of the white people in the group have not yet formed a racial identity of their own (and probably have not thought about their ‘race’ beyond ‘white’). Unacknowledged privilege galore.
I have been stewing for a few days over these issues and had a sufficient amount of anger in me already. So, when I heard complaints from white, upper-class women about feeling “segregated,” “attacked,” and “excluded,” I became outraged. I stood up and made a statement (that was, a few complained, apparently, “aggressive,”) about my frustrations, including a bold point of how this is quite possibly one of the first times they have ever felt some of those feelings of exclusion that people of color feel All.The.Time., especially in White America. The white privilege continued with ideas of “but, I didn’t do,” “it’s not my fault,” and “why am I being treated this way?” Hmmm, where have I heard comments like this before?! My patience for folks on this trip who have not explored their identities is low. I respect that we are all at different places on the spectrum, however, I inaccurately assumed that folks were more prepared for a trip of this nature. After 3.5 hours, I was running very low on patience. After one of the black women begged and pleaded with white students to “give her this opportunity” I about became ill. The parallels of a black person pleading with a white person in the heart of the origins of slavery … “Please, Master, let me…” rang so strong in my mind. I stood up after her speech and gave a white privilege and ally speech. I stood as a white person to say people of color do not need my, or ANY white person’s permission. I (again, “aggressively,” I guess) called people out and suggested that if they really want to connect that they do less talking and more listening. Don’t take it personal – it’s not about YOU (for once). Don’t expect people of color to be your tools for education – educate yourself. Seek out information on your own. LISTEN. Read. Ask questions, respectfully. Few people seemed to like what I had to say…but I had to say it.
I refuse to stand by and do nothing and let others to fight alone.
I refuse to leave it be and pretend it’s not my issue as well.
As long as one is oppressed, we are all oppressed.
The National Museum is chocked full of various artifacts and recreations of Ghanaian, West African, and African history. It seemed to me to be quite large, by Ghanaian standards (two stories, 5 large rooms). Downstairs was information pertaining to Ghana: puberty and mating rituals (mostly tribal traditions of the indigenous peoples); musical and dancing traditions, including sample instruments (drums, xylophone, horns); the role of children in the family; woodwork and textiles (including descriptions of meetings of differing carvings, symbols, designs, and patterns and sample loom). The upstairs had more original artifacts from other West African countries including skulls, art, jewelry and traditional tribal adornments.
The most impactful piece of the museum for me pertained to the slave trade. Tucked away towards the back of the museum is a dark hallway with glass cases of information about slave trade. Many original artifacts have been preserved, including accounting records for the buying and selling of people. These ledgers did not list slaves by name, of course, rather they listed as items purchased: 1m, 3w, 3b, 2g, 1c (m=man, w=woman, b=boy, g=girl, c=child, non gender specific). It was sickening to see people reduced to items like this. AND, it was sickening imagining what tasks people were assigned …especially when only 1c (b/g) was purchased. What was this child forced to do? How often were these children (and adults, but especially children) purchased for sexual satisfaction? Reading these slips made my stomach turned. It is a very chilling feeling. A piece of wood from one of the ships read three words only: “Peace and love.” Original shackles and chains used on the boats as well as branding sticks were also on display. There are not words to describe how it felt for me to see these items – I cannot even begin to imagine what it might be like to see these items for those who are direct descendants of Africa. Chilling is the best word. Nauseating works too. Intense. The final piece was a door labeled “The Door of No Return.” This dark tunnel led out of the museum to daylight for me, but I know where it led for so many other people in history…
Next week we are visiting two slave ‘castles’ in Elmina/Cape Coast. I am nervous about those experiences… it is all so in your face. I am privileged to never have had to feel sooo deeply and intensely about this topic before. I am both anxious and terrified of that experience. I am so angry that slavery happened – angry that humans are capable of such atrocities. Angry that similar atrocities are still happening today and so many stand by, ignorant, and do nothing. What should I be doing? What can I do (physically and emotionally)? What is the best approach, for me, in addressing global social injustice, war, and strife??? Am I doing enough? Is there such a thing as “enough”? If so, what is it?
The Kwame Nkrumah monument and museum was less emotionally charged, yet equally informative and engaging. This man is the shit. He is everywhere in Accra and people, for the most part, loved him. As the first President of course he will forever remain a famous political figure in Ghanaian history and on top of it he did so much good for the country. I have to learn more about how and why he was overthrown or lost power. This monument stands at the exact location where President Nkrumah declared Ghana’s independence in 1957, directly across the street from the old Parliament. In front of his monument are statues of men drumming and blowing horns as a reincarnation of those who were playing music for the festive welcoming ceremony. His body rests in a tower behind the statue that represents a tree and a sword down so he is forever resting under the tree. Behind the monumental statue and tower is another statue – an older statue of Nkrumah that had been vandalized by rebels. It has no head, one arm, and a gash in the back of one knee. The statue stands today as a political statement of “you can’t take me down.” There was a one room museum in back with some photos of President Nkrumah (taken with various political world leaders) as well as copies of the several books he has written. At the gift shop I made my first Ghanaian non-food/drink purchase: a beautiful set of hand glazed bowls (3 for 9 cedis, or about $6.50 total) and a wallet (2 cedis, or about $1.50).
After lunch at Ange Hill Restaurant a group of us headed to Tema (which I previously learned was “the only well planned city in Ghana”) with K, our Assistant Program Director. K. was born and raised in Tema as a little boy and is now finishing his Ph.D. at UT-Austin. He was kind enough to take us to his hometown, introduce us to his family and an important mentor of his, share his homes with us (mom and dad are divorced), show us his schools, and take us to a funeral of a community member.
Our first stop was at K.’s childhood home where his mother still lives to pick up his 2 ½ y.o. daughter The houses are all very small and close together with goats, chickens, and dogs roaming freely in the neighborhood. A heap of trash was piled outside. K. made a point of informing us of the changes to Tema since he was growing up. He said there is now much more trash and disrespect in the community. When he was a child, he recalled, the city was cleaner and people had more commitment to maintaining the community. His mother’s home was quite small and extremely warm as they do not have air conditioning. I believe they spend much of their time outdoors. His cousin was there cooking something delicious smelling in the kitchen. Mom came out to greet us; she was obviously shy and sweet. Acesi was quite shy, and probably overwhelmed by 25 new faces, as well.
Next stop was to one of K.’s key mentors growing up, Mr. Ofori-Nyako and his wife. Now a retired architect, Mr. Ofori-Nyako was the first City Planner for Tema. Essentially, he was *the One* who made Tema “the only well planned city.” He briefly shared his experiences working for the city as well as his views of how the city has changed. Having heard his wife is a teacher in the Ashaiman community where I will be completing my project, I snuck into the living room to strike up a conversation with her about her thoughts on the girls’ empowerment program and the key needs of the girls. She said the largest concern for girls is staying school and one of the largest preventable barriers to girls completing their studies is teen pregnancy. As such, she talks a lot with the girls about sexuality, menses, and the importance of waiting to have sexual relations with boys because “the boys leave you and it is hard to provide for your child.” (Sound familiar?) Many of the street children, she said, have no fathers or no one to provide for them. She doesn’t believe that talking about sex is bad. “The parents are too busy at home to talk about it with them, so someone at school has to.” Maybe she can run the world?? They invited the group back next Saturday for a community wedding! I hope (and believe, who am I? Obama?) that we will be able to attend. It should work out…
Following the visit with Mr. and Mrs. Ofori-Nyako, we walked a few blocks to K.’s father’s home. I was carrying Acesi, so I lagged back a bit and her and I pointed at dogs and trees and chit-chatted in 2 ½ y.o. English/Twi/Ga. We both knew about the same amount of Twi/Ga so it worked out well. Acesi really took well to me and several others were jealous that she let me hold her first. It’s just a magical touch I have… I love kids!
Afterwards we headed over to the funeral. I felt a little uncomfortable crashing a funeral, but K. assured me it was OK. Since he grew up in this community, I trust knows better than do I. We walked through a long alley (which was lined on both sides with trash, and we passed a man who was peeing on the wall as we all walked by. I am not sure if this is common behavior?) and arrived at K.’s secondary school where the funeral was being held in the back area. We walked in to about 200 people sitting in chairs under four ‘gazebo’ type tents (making a square) dressed in dark colors (reds, greens, and black are worn if the deceased was under 80. White is worn for someone who passes after age 80 as a sign of respect for the long, full life they lead.). The tent nearest to our left when we walked in consisted of the family of the deceased. After K. went and greeted the family they welcomed us to participate. As the family members sat, we walked through in a greeting line and shook the hands of each person. We did not say anything (such as “I’m sorry for your lost”), but shook hands and smiled. The feeling was not somber, but was celebratory. A large, framed picture of the deceased man sat in front of the family. We were then invited to take a seat. K. did not want to do this as his plan was originally to just stop by, observe, and leave. I was not comfortable with that voyeuristic approach (even though he swore it would be fine!). I am glad we sat and participated until the made a formal greeting to us on the loud speaker (they had an emcee and a sound system). Ugh!! Hello, Americans! K. said this was an honor to be greeted and this is how the family shows thanks. It felt odd, like we were stealing the attention away from their ceremony. Maybe that’s self-centered? I try to just trust in K. and remain open to all of the experiences. The family then got up and came over to us and shook our hands in a receiving line sort of way. Again, no exchanges of words other than Akwaaba, or welcome, were shared. To then show our thanks, we collected cedis to make a donation to the family which is customary. The funeral is a very costly endeavor and the community makes donations to help off-set costs. We sat for about 20 minutes as a band of drummers and trombonists performed music (interesting note, people did not clap at the end of a song. Also different for me.). K. wanted to get moving but was having trouble getting away from all of the obligatory greetings and people to talk to (you know how homecomings can be!) so he asked us to get up in small groups and start heading towards our van. But, we were all distracted. As we left the tents we walked across a field where about 50-100 kids were playing. And, they wanted to play with the obronis, or foreigners. They were certainly not shy about coming up to us to play. I was immediately mauled by a group of about 10. They were very intrigued by the digital cameras and wanted to take pictures. First I took pictures of them, and then they wanted to take pictures. I shared the camera and let them take pictures and they were having a blast making funny faces and being silly. Again, I found myself carrying around two little kids as they were tugging on my legs. I am such a softie sometimes
By this time we had stayed about an hour longer than intended and K. had to round us up for the van. As I was walking away one sweet girl, Julianna, 12 y.o., came up to me and asked for my phone number because she wanted to keep in contact. Instead I gave her my address and told her to write. I hope she does. (She didn’t know her address so I couldn’t get that to start the pen-pal friendship). I asked what she would write to me about – she said “school.” She wants to be a teacher when she grows up.
Sad to go we said goodbye to the kids (some of who started crying ) and headed off. A few of the group members were also crying I think because of the stark poverty the saw. While I noticed, of course, the conditions, I did not see it as “poor.” In the faces of the adults and children I saw love, happiness, and joy. Simple life does not equal bad. The simple joy of playing soccer in a field or jumping in a puddle does not mean someone is destitute. I acknowledge the poverty and challenges of the community just as I acknowledge that from this community comes great people, strong people, resilient people. While K. was able to ‘make it’ does not mean everyone else will, nor does it mean they should “pull themselves up by their bootstraps.” It does, however, speak volumes to me of the strength, determination, and abilities of humans – all across the globe.
We departed for a quick driving tour of the rest of Tema, particularly the industrial area. Tema is one of two main ports in Ghana (the other is Takoradi). The port employs over 50% of the town’s people. They export goods from all over the country, but especially fish, cement, and chocolate for the local community. After dropping off Acedi, we headed back to Accra for dinner at the mall. Apparently the mall is the place to be on Saturday nights. Women were dressed to the 9’s here. I had a light sandwich and did some reading in a café. It was nice to decompress and process the day.
Later… (duh, duh, duhmm)
The shit hath hit thy fan. Finally. After several days of feeling isolated, disconnected, and alone on the seriousness of our experience, we finally had a group discussion (four hours of sitting in a circle) of race, class, and ethnocentrism. Some people had strong reactions to the experience in Tema and the things they saw and felt. We finally had a space to process some of this – and it was ugly. It seems that many folks who are on this trip have not had a chance to educate themselves about the realities and effects of poverty, especially the racial implications. Having had years of training in this area, I had been feeling very irritated since arriving. I have overheard conversations and comments that just reek of ignorance and covert racism, classism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, etc. Many of the white people in the group have not yet formed a racial identity of their own (and probably have not thought about their ‘race’ beyond ‘white’). Unacknowledged privilege galore.
I have been stewing for a few days over these issues and had a sufficient amount of anger in me already. So, when I heard complaints from white, upper-class women about feeling “segregated,” “attacked,” and “excluded,” I became outraged. I stood up and made a statement (that was, a few complained, apparently, “aggressive,”) about my frustrations, including a bold point of how this is quite possibly one of the first times they have ever felt some of those feelings of exclusion that people of color feel All.The.Time., especially in White America. The white privilege continued with ideas of “but, I didn’t do,” “it’s not my fault,” and “why am I being treated this way?” Hmmm, where have I heard comments like this before?! My patience for folks on this trip who have not explored their identities is low. I respect that we are all at different places on the spectrum, however, I inaccurately assumed that folks were more prepared for a trip of this nature. After 3.5 hours, I was running very low on patience. After one of the black women begged and pleaded with white students to “give her this opportunity” I about became ill. The parallels of a black person pleading with a white person in the heart of the origins of slavery … “Please, Master, let me…” rang so strong in my mind. I stood up after her speech and gave a white privilege and ally speech. I stood as a white person to say people of color do not need my, or ANY white person’s permission. I (again, “aggressively,” I guess) called people out and suggested that if they really want to connect that they do less talking and more listening. Don’t take it personal – it’s not about YOU (for once). Don’t expect people of color to be your tools for education – educate yourself. Seek out information on your own. LISTEN. Read. Ask questions, respectfully. Few people seemed to like what I had to say…but I had to say it.
I refuse to stand by and do nothing and let others to fight alone.
I refuse to leave it be and pretend it’s not my issue as well.
As long as one is oppressed, we are all oppressed.
29 May 2009
Day 3: Accra, Ghana
Today has consisted of:
• Morning lecture from Dr. Stephen Ayidiya, Professor of Social Work at University of Accra-Legon and former member of Parliament (1993-1996), on the history of social work in Ghana
• Visit to WEB Dubois Museum
• Afternoon lecture from Dr. Michael Willams, Aya Centre, on Panafricanism
• Welcome dinner celebration at Chez Afrique
HISTORY OF SOCIAL WORK IN GHANA
I learned a ton from the morning lecture with Dr. Ayidiya!
Effects of colonization
Before the 1800s, Ghana was comprised of small entities or independent peoples through W. Africa until the British colonized the country (French colonized countries to the sides of Ghana throughout West Africa). The area now known as Ghana had been a colony for 100+ years as “The Gold Coast.” The Gold Coast colony was comprised of the Southern part (along coast, including Accra and Elmina), Ashanti (mid-range) and the Northern part (above the Volta River, historically connected with Northern Africa). The transatlantic trade of people (slaves) and material goods brought purchasable goods from the Northern region; Gold Coast residents served as brokers of this trade. The North was to be kept as workers for gold mining on the western part of present-day Ghana’s gold coast and cocoa farms. This is largely responsible for the stark inequalities (poverty, child labor, sex trade, discrimination against women, etc.) seen today in Northern Ghana. After gaining independence in 1957 (just 50 years ago!), few families and children traveled from Ghana’s North to the Southern Gold Coast for education and development. Dr. Ayidiya, for example, belongs to one of these families; he is first generation to obtain an education.
Establishing social service structure
Ghana’s first President, Kwame Nkrumah (whose name is EVERYWHERE around here), first addressed agriculture issues with cocoa and food crops which are main area of production for income and foreign exchange (and sustenance). President Nkrumah established the Community Development section of the Department of Social Welfare to create basic infrastructure for the country relating to:
- Development and establishment of schools (the physical creation and building of schools)
- Construction of roads (in 1970s) for trade routes and travel
- Public health initiatives, especially disease of cocoa and water sanitation
- Mass education campaigns – through villages night school was made available for adults who never had a chance to go to school to learn to read and write
According to Dr. Ayidiya, the city of Tema (located 10 miles outside of Accra) was the only well-planned city in Ghana.
Social work practice
Initial services were around work with youth and “the destitute.” This included work with juvenile probation and orphans (in orphanages and on the streets). What is known as “Family Services” in the States looks very different and is not very common or strong in Ghana. Here, as in many areas of the world, the nuclear family is not predominant. External family is relied on heavily even still today. Special areas of concern are for single mothers (especially widowed women) and child labor (often coming from single mother homes as a result of lacking education and stable income). Women tend to lack resources and access to education and jobs.
Most all social work training happens in the U.S. (post-grad, post-Doc).
Role of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)
Many services and issues today are addressed by international and local NGOs. While some NGOs do good work in the country, many come into various parts of the country with their own agendas rather than working with the people to empower them to find their own solutions. Many NGOs do not focus on capacity building and basically end up taking away valuable resources from the community (water, food, shelter, land).
The neocolonial practice of NGOs is convoluted because many groups are politically based and do not just provide relief or services. Many NGOs are connected to international offices in the U.S. and other parts of the world and seem to have their own agendas in their work and relations in Ghana. NGOs are influencing local and national politics and policies.
Dr. Ayidiya suggests there needs to be more Ghanaian-based NGOs. If NGOs (as they currently exist) were really working, he said, we would not see the problems and poverty that we still see today in the Northern Region. There are as many NGOs as there are families in Northern Ghana, yet this area remains the most poverty-stricken and troubled part of the country. What would really help the area is if these groups were to collaborate instead of all working independently towards the same goal (creating confusion and the duplication of services). This sounds painfully familiar to U.S. practices…
I asked Dr. Ayidiya his thoughts on the use of Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) – curious of the implications of this sort of organization. Though not an NGO (in fact, PC works collaboratively with governments to offer services), I remain skeptical of the implementation and integration of PC and PCVs in communities. He believes PC is more aligned with the national values (as set by the Ghanaian Parliament) and has been “good to have,” in his opinion.
Feminist Activism and Women’s Empowerment
Of course I asked his thoughts on this area of social work. His response was not surprising as it seems to be a common criticism of feminist work in the developing world. Often, groups come in to Ghana wanting to tell women their rights (to not be abused, to be gainfully employed, etc.). Obviously, he said, they know violence is not a good thing, but removing a woman from an abusive partner is useless if she cannot survive. Many, if not most, women here still rely on their male partners for financial resources to buy food, clothing and shelter and care for children. If women’s basic needs are not met, it is futile to preach of their ‘human rights.’ The women here are “not stupid. They know their rights. They are balancing for survival.”
This brought up questions for me about our girls empowerment program. What is the most useful information for the girls? So far I have been told to focus on education and health (especially sexual health). When asked about sex education, Dr. Ayidiya said it is a mute point. He seems to believe that “you do not have sex until marriage, so if you are not married, there is nothing to talk about.” Bullshit. We know girls and boys are having premarital sex here and all across the globe and are NOT being educated about it. While not ‘forbidden’ to talk about, it is taboo (he says…). I find it curious that this is coming from a male perspective (albeit not the usual “White Male” perspective of which I am usually bitching). I am skeptical that he can truly speak to the experience of women and girls.
I am still interviewing women and girls to seek more knowledge…
W.E.B. DUBOIS MUSEUM
The Dubois museum is set in his old home where he came to live the final years of his life. Fed up with the States, he returned to Africa in his later years to work on the Panafrican movement (I think? Lots of details…it’s a bit hazy). The museum was quaint- small, by U.S. standards yet quite large by Ghanaian standards (especially within a historical context). Consisting of five+ rooms, we saw the living room, dining room, library, office, and master bedroom as part of our tour. Many of his original books remain in the library and office. The living room is full of art and photographs of notable Ghanaian leaders (with great emphasis on former President Nkrumah). The dining room had an art feature of works by high school students on the meaning of President Nkrumah’s 100 year celebration. The dining room is now used mainly as a meeting room for outside groups. His master bedroom features much of his individual artifacts, including robes from universities he attended and received honorary awards; original journals, ledgers, and degrees; and a tapestry. His bust is centered in the middle of the room. What shocked me the most was these items were not locked! While behind a glass case, you could open the case and physically touch these items. I did not get a chance to ask our guide about this practice. I am curious as to the reasoning for not having things locked, especially since the cases had locks on them.
Dubois and his wife are both buried on site. A tour was also given of a worship room outside, but it was too hot for me inside the small space so I missed pieces of that lecture. I did, however, catch a piece about the wood carvings on sitting stools. Each stool in the circular room has a different symbol and meaning, such as “I return to my God,” or “Unity.” I took pictures on a couple of the stools.
PANAFRICANISM and PANAFRICAN MOVEMENT
I am not a history buff. In fact, I mostly despise history, despite knowing its’ extreme importance and relevance in understanding how we got here today and to prevent repeating mistakes. However, I have always struggled to follow timelines and remember dates and facts. Maybe I am more of a big picture thinker?
Anyway, Professor Williams gave a brief (I do mean brief – approx. 45 minutes. We were running late, as usual. “Ghanaian time.”) lecture on Panafricanism. Since I struggled to follow along with everything, I can offer an overview of the tidbits I picked up.
Panafricanism is the movement to unite Africa and the African people. The entire basis is unity. Throughout time, Africans have been separated – through force, slavery, war, and other tragedies. The boundaries of countries were randomly decided by colonizers in strategic ways. For example, the lines of small countries such as Togo were set by French colonizers to prevent or limit trade. These arbitrary lines have created much conflict throughout Africa (Sudan, anyone?) and contributes to the systematic destruction of African peoples.
If Africa was to UNITE, it would be one hell of force! It would be a much stronger powerhouse capable of competing and thriving in today’s world. Africa is rich in materials (this continent has so many natural resources of value; think: oil and gold = $$$$$). The unity of Africa would lead to a United States of Africa (a new and improved U.S.A. perhaps?).
Benefits of African Unity (AU)
- Combination of resources and wealth (oil, gold and other metals, cocoa)
- Increased capital by pooling money and resources (“we could stop begging!”
- Market (“Why do you think China is so rich?”)
- Common currency (makes for ease of travel and exchange)
- Central planning and division of labor (development, especially)
- Settle water disputes (who owns what river/lake; clean water for all)
- Power and strength in #s (negotiation, protection against invasion/sezing)
Challenges to African Unity (AU)
- Inter- and intra- ethnic, religious, and political conflicts
- Regional borders and conflict
- Vested interest of other nations in the current system (I doubt the States want Africa to be a world leader or powerhouse)
- Lack of basic infrastructure, i.e. ROADS (inter- and intra-)
- Weak economies; low GDP/GNP
I am interested in learning much more about Panafricanism. Some suggested readings include:
Africa Must Unite by Kwame Nkrumah
King Leopold by Mark Twain
Black Livingston (author?)
I am also interested in researching the vested interest of other nations in keeping Africa separated (“You gotta keep ‘em separated!” Name that tune…). Professor Williams posed a question concerning the EU. What, exactly, does the EU export? What do they offer the world? He pointed out that they basically import everything. How might the world economy look different if Africa started demanding (and receiving) fair treatment in the world market?
CHEZ AFRIQUE CELEBRATION
After being here for three days we had our official welcome dinner today! Our Ghanaian peers joined us for our first authentic Ghanaian meal at Professor Williams’ wife’s restaurant, Chez Afrique (“She’s a freak” … she’s super freaky, now…). We all dressed up (the best travelers can – a dress and Tevas for me) for our night on the town. Chez Afrique has a beautiful outdoor seating area and features a live band on Fridays. It felt very Austin-esque to be sitting under the stars enjoying a Star beer and listening to live music. It makes me happy to have similar experiences on the other side of the globe. =)
I sat at a table with Gloria, a student at UAL studying sociology and Arabic. Not only did she help me order my dinner, but she was a great conversationalist! I loved getting to know her better – we have a lot in common. She shared with us her history growing up and experiences at University. We were able to talk about sociology and theories (so cool, I know). AND, she read the Babysitter's Club and Sweet Valley High as a little girl. How interesting?! (And, while I am delighted we shared similar stories growing up, I have also thought about the implication of those characters potentially serving as her role models growing up. Where were her role models? Girls who looked liked her and had similar experiences as her?)
For dinner I went with the Banku and Tilapia with Hot Pepper Sauce and a snail kebob. Banku is made from milled corn mixed with Cassava and stirred with water until it makes a round ball of paste. Two and a half hours later we still had not received my meal. After Gloria complained on our behalf (the benefits of hanging with locals), we finally got our plates. First we were served a large bowl of hot water to clean our hands in preparation for the meal Banku is traditionally eaten by hand (right hand only, because the left hand is seen as dirty). Bless my little adventurous heart, the fish came out full with the eye and tail and scales. I really struggle with eating meat off of the bone as is and I really cannot do carcass on my plate. I tried my best to be in the moment and give it a fair try. I succeeded, I think. At the least, I did not throw up. That is success to me. And, my snail kebab never did showed up, thankfully. I had enough adventure with my food for one night.
I did a little dancing on the cramped dance floor. The music was great and the people were feeling it, but I really wasn’t. Exhausted and tired as all heck, I retired early for the evening. We begin again tomorrow bright and early at 8AM and this girl needs her beauty rest.
• Morning lecture from Dr. Stephen Ayidiya, Professor of Social Work at University of Accra-Legon and former member of Parliament (1993-1996), on the history of social work in Ghana
• Visit to WEB Dubois Museum
• Afternoon lecture from Dr. Michael Willams, Aya Centre, on Panafricanism
• Welcome dinner celebration at Chez Afrique
HISTORY OF SOCIAL WORK IN GHANA
I learned a ton from the morning lecture with Dr. Ayidiya!
Effects of colonization
Before the 1800s, Ghana was comprised of small entities or independent peoples through W. Africa until the British colonized the country (French colonized countries to the sides of Ghana throughout West Africa). The area now known as Ghana had been a colony for 100+ years as “The Gold Coast.” The Gold Coast colony was comprised of the Southern part (along coast, including Accra and Elmina), Ashanti (mid-range) and the Northern part (above the Volta River, historically connected with Northern Africa). The transatlantic trade of people (slaves) and material goods brought purchasable goods from the Northern region; Gold Coast residents served as brokers of this trade. The North was to be kept as workers for gold mining on the western part of present-day Ghana’s gold coast and cocoa farms. This is largely responsible for the stark inequalities (poverty, child labor, sex trade, discrimination against women, etc.) seen today in Northern Ghana. After gaining independence in 1957 (just 50 years ago!), few families and children traveled from Ghana’s North to the Southern Gold Coast for education and development. Dr. Ayidiya, for example, belongs to one of these families; he is first generation to obtain an education.
Establishing social service structure
Ghana’s first President, Kwame Nkrumah (whose name is EVERYWHERE around here), first addressed agriculture issues with cocoa and food crops which are main area of production for income and foreign exchange (and sustenance). President Nkrumah established the Community Development section of the Department of Social Welfare to create basic infrastructure for the country relating to:
- Development and establishment of schools (the physical creation and building of schools)
- Construction of roads (in 1970s) for trade routes and travel
- Public health initiatives, especially disease of cocoa and water sanitation
- Mass education campaigns – through villages night school was made available for adults who never had a chance to go to school to learn to read and write
According to Dr. Ayidiya, the city of Tema (located 10 miles outside of Accra) was the only well-planned city in Ghana.
Social work practice
Initial services were around work with youth and “the destitute.” This included work with juvenile probation and orphans (in orphanages and on the streets). What is known as “Family Services” in the States looks very different and is not very common or strong in Ghana. Here, as in many areas of the world, the nuclear family is not predominant. External family is relied on heavily even still today. Special areas of concern are for single mothers (especially widowed women) and child labor (often coming from single mother homes as a result of lacking education and stable income). Women tend to lack resources and access to education and jobs.
Most all social work training happens in the U.S. (post-grad, post-Doc).
Role of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)
Many services and issues today are addressed by international and local NGOs. While some NGOs do good work in the country, many come into various parts of the country with their own agendas rather than working with the people to empower them to find their own solutions. Many NGOs do not focus on capacity building and basically end up taking away valuable resources from the community (water, food, shelter, land).
The neocolonial practice of NGOs is convoluted because many groups are politically based and do not just provide relief or services. Many NGOs are connected to international offices in the U.S. and other parts of the world and seem to have their own agendas in their work and relations in Ghana. NGOs are influencing local and national politics and policies.
Dr. Ayidiya suggests there needs to be more Ghanaian-based NGOs. If NGOs (as they currently exist) were really working, he said, we would not see the problems and poverty that we still see today in the Northern Region. There are as many NGOs as there are families in Northern Ghana, yet this area remains the most poverty-stricken and troubled part of the country. What would really help the area is if these groups were to collaborate instead of all working independently towards the same goal (creating confusion and the duplication of services). This sounds painfully familiar to U.S. practices…
I asked Dr. Ayidiya his thoughts on the use of Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) – curious of the implications of this sort of organization. Though not an NGO (in fact, PC
Feminist Activism and Women’s Empowerment
Of course I asked his thoughts on this area of social work. His response was not surprising as it seems to be a common criticism of feminist work in the developing world. Often, groups come in to Ghana wanting to tell women their rights (to not be abused, to be gainfully employed, etc.). Obviously, he said, they know violence is not a good thing, but removing a woman from an abusive partner is useless if she cannot survive. Many, if not most, women here still rely on their male partners for financial resources to buy food, clothing and shelter and care for children. If women’s basic needs are not met, it is futile to preach of their ‘human rights.’ The women here are “not stupid. They know their rights. They are balancing for survival.”
This brought up questions for me about our girls empowerment program. What is the most useful information for the girls? So far I have been told to focus on education and health (especially sexual health). When asked about sex education, Dr. Ayidiya said it is a mute point. He seems to believe that “you do not have sex until marriage, so if you are not married, there is nothing to talk about.” Bullshit. We know girls and boys are having premarital sex here and all across the globe and are NOT being educated about it. While not ‘forbidden’ to talk about, it is taboo (he says…). I find it curious that this is coming from a male perspective (albeit not the usual “White Male” perspective of which I am usually bitching). I am skeptical that he can truly speak to the experience of women and girls.
I am still interviewing women and girls to seek more knowledge…
W.E.B. DUBOIS MUSEUM
The Dubois museum is set in his old home where he came to live the final years of his life. Fed up with the States, he returned to Africa in his later years to work on the Panafrican movement (I think? Lots of details…it’s a bit hazy). The museum was quaint- small, by U.S. standards yet quite large by Ghanaian standards (especially within a historical context). Consisting of five+ rooms, we saw the living room, dining room, library, office, and master bedroom as part of our tour. Many of his original books remain in the library and office. The living room is full of art and photographs of notable Ghanaian leaders (with great emphasis on former President Nkrumah). The dining room had an art feature of works by high school students on the meaning of President Nkrumah’s 100 year celebration. The dining room is now used mainly as a meeting room for outside groups. His master bedroom features much of his individual artifacts, including robes from universities he attended and received honorary awards; original journals, ledgers, and degrees; and a tapestry. His bust is centered in the middle of the room. What shocked me the most was these items were not locked! While behind a glass case, you could open the case and physically touch these items. I did not get a chance to ask our guide about this practice. I am curious as to the reasoning for not having things locked, especially since the cases had locks on them.
Dubois and his wife are both buried on site. A tour was also given of a worship room outside, but it was too hot for me inside the small space so I missed pieces of that lecture. I did, however, catch a piece about the wood carvings on sitting stools. Each stool in the circular room has a different symbol and meaning, such as “I return to my God,” or “Unity.” I took pictures on a couple of the stools.
PANAFRICANISM and PANAFRICAN MOVEMENT
I am not a history buff. In fact, I mostly despise history, despite knowing its’ extreme importance and relevance in understanding how we got here today and to prevent repeating mistakes. However, I have always struggled to follow timelines and remember dates and facts. Maybe I am more of a big picture thinker?
Anyway, Professor Williams gave a brief (I do mean brief – approx. 45 minutes. We were running late, as usual. “Ghanaian time.”) lecture on Panafricanism. Since I struggled to follow along with everything, I can offer an overview of the tidbits I picked up.
Panafricanism is the movement to unite Africa and the African people. The entire basis is unity. Throughout time, Africans have been separated – through force, slavery, war, and other tragedies. The boundaries of countries were randomly decided by colonizers in strategic ways. For example, the lines of small countries such as Togo were set by French colonizers to prevent or limit trade. These arbitrary lines have created much conflict throughout Africa (Sudan, anyone?) and contributes to the systematic destruction of African peoples.
If Africa was to UNITE, it would be one hell of force! It would be a much stronger powerhouse capable of competing and thriving in today’s world. Africa is rich in materials (this continent has so many natural resources of value; think: oil and gold = $$$$$). The unity of Africa would lead to a United States of Africa (a new and improved U.S.A. perhaps?).
Benefits of African Unity (AU)
- Combination of resources and wealth (oil, gold and other metals, cocoa)
- Increased capital by pooling money and resources (“we could stop begging!”
- Market (“Why do you think China is so rich?”)
- Common currency (makes for ease of travel and exchange)
- Central planning and division of labor (development, especially)
- Settle water disputes (who owns what river/lake; clean water for all)
- Power and strength in #s (negotiation, protection against invasion/sezing)
Challenges to African Unity (AU)
- Inter- and intra- ethnic, religious, and political conflicts
- Regional borders and conflict
- Vested interest of other nations in the current system (I doubt the States want Africa to be a world leader or powerhouse)
- Lack of basic infrastructure, i.e. ROADS (inter- and intra-)
- Weak economies; low GDP/GNP
I am interested in learning much more about Panafricanism. Some suggested readings include:
Africa Must Unite by Kwame Nkrumah
King Leopold by Mark Twain
Black Livingston (author?)
I am also interested in researching the vested interest of other nations in keeping Africa separated (“You gotta keep ‘em separated!” Name that tune…). Professor Williams posed a question concerning the EU. What, exactly, does the EU export? What do they offer the world? He pointed out that they basically import everything. How might the world economy look different if Africa started demanding (and receiving) fair treatment in the world market?
CHEZ AFRIQUE CELEBRATION
After being here for three days we had our official welcome dinner today! Our Ghanaian peers joined us for our first authentic Ghanaian meal at Professor Williams’ wife’s restaurant, Chez Afrique (“She’s a freak” … she’s super freaky, now…). We all dressed up (the best travelers can – a dress and Tevas for me) for our night on the town. Chez Afrique has a beautiful outdoor seating area and features a live band on Fridays. It felt very Austin-esque to be sitting under the stars enjoying a Star beer and listening to live music. It makes me happy to have similar experiences on the other side of the globe. =)
I sat at a table with Gloria, a student at UAL studying sociology and Arabic. Not only did she help me order my dinner, but she was a great conversationalist! I loved getting to know her better – we have a lot in common. She shared with us her history growing up and experiences at University. We were able to talk about sociology and theories (so cool, I know). AND, she read the Babysitter's Club and Sweet Valley High as a little girl. How interesting?! (And, while I am delighted we shared similar stories growing up, I have also thought about the implication of those characters potentially serving as her role models growing up. Where were her role models? Girls who looked liked her and had similar experiences as her?)
For dinner I went with the Banku and Tilapia with Hot Pepper Sauce and a snail kebob. Banku is made from milled corn mixed with Cassava and stirred with water until it makes a round ball of paste. Two and a half hours later we still had not received my meal. After Gloria complained on our behalf (the benefits of hanging with locals), we finally got our plates. First we were served a large bowl of hot water to clean our hands in preparation for the meal Banku is traditionally eaten by hand (right hand only, because the left hand is seen as dirty). Bless my little adventurous heart, the fish came out full with the eye and tail and scales. I really struggle with eating meat off of the bone as is and I really cannot do carcass on my plate. I tried my best to be in the moment and give it a fair try. I succeeded, I think. At the least, I did not throw up. That is success to me. And, my snail kebab never did showed up, thankfully. I had enough adventure with my food for one night.
I did a little dancing on the cramped dance floor. The music was great and the people were feeling it, but I really wasn’t. Exhausted and tired as all heck, I retired early for the evening. We begin again tomorrow bright and early at 8AM and this girl needs her beauty rest.
28 May 2009
Day 2: Accra, Ghana
My day began sharply at 8:15AM when a friend called our room to notify us that we were going to be left by the buses if we didn’t get our arses downstairs asap. It turns out neither my roommate nor I heard our alarms and we had slept through breakfast. I threw on one of my cotton dresses and out the door I went. As with many things here in Ghana, it was a hurry up and wait situation…the buses were running late. People here run on what they refer to as ‘Ghanaian time’ – which means about 30-90 minutes AFTER the originally set time. It’s nice in times like this morning when your jet lag is in full force.
Today marked the official beginning of our program! We began at The University of Accra – Legon (UAL) which is about a 5-10 minute drive from our hostel, if traffic is smooth. Upon entering the University, two signs greeted us along with several white, drab-looking buildings with red dirt roads. Our first lecture was held in a lecture hall in the School of Social Work. The School of Social Work, not surprisingly is not the nicest building on-campus. In fact, it is not its own building, per say, rather it is several annex buildings cornered together with a quad area in the middle and a small patio area to the side. The morning lectures were perfunctory welcomes from our PD, our UAL advisor, and one of our local guides. We received some general background and cultural information about Africa, Ghana, and Accra and a list of Do’s and Don’ts for our behavior (including several warnings to not get drunk, since one lady who did “got raped” and it “might not have happened had she not been drinking and been aware of her surroundings.” Ahhh, victim blaming, gotta love it! Yep, the speaker is a man). After a brief lesson in Twi (thank you, or ‘medase!’) we had an opportunity to meet with our Ghanaian peers. Each group has been matched with a student from the University who will serve as our liaison to our agencies as well as our cultural guide on this experience. Our guide is a recent graduate who is completing his mandatory year of service with the Ghanaian government. How cool! I can’t wait til the US catches on to the benefits of domestic servitude (NOT only military service). One last quick lecture and then we took a driving tour of the University.
I took many pictures of campus through my glass window. I really wish we could have gone for a walk on-campus. Again, since there are 40 of us, I guess it is not ideal? At any rate, UAL has about 28,000 students. Many students live on campus (in non air conditioned dorms. Think Houston in the summer type heat. If that is meaningless, think 90 degrees, 90% humidity. Ugh) and walk 45-40 minutes to get to their classes. There are several majors of study offered and a few of the buildings I saw included Business, Social Work, Nursing, Archeology, and African Studies. They have post-graduate programs (I assume this is similar to a Masters?) in Communication and Law and also have a Medical School. In fact, our UAL advisor told us that Ghana is one of the leading African countries in producing doctors. Many of their medical students leave Ghana and go to Europe or Asia where they can make more money. It is even to a point where European and Asian people are requesting Ghanaians to stop coming because they are allegedly stealing jobs from local medical students. I thought that was pretty cool. Go Ghana doctors! Woo! Maybe they can specialize in reproductive health or something…
We took a stop at the University bookstore where I picked up a copy of The Emancipation of Women: An African Perspective by Florence Abena Dolphyne, former Chair[person] of the Ghana National Council on Women and Development. It highlights what she believes women’s emancipation means to women in Africa, including how it relates to traditional beliefs and practices. Seems like a good read and, again, will provide some context to my work here.
Our next stop was for lunch at Monarch Hotel. A similar buffet menu was offered: fish, chicken, spaghetti and meat sauce, French fries, rice, fried plantains, cabbage salad, and some delicious local ice cream for dessert! Mmmmm, it was so creamy and delicious with just a hint of vanilla and maybe some nutmeg (?). So good.
We loaded back up on our buses to head out for our driving tour of Accra. We began in East Legon, where we are staying and passed through Airport Centre. This is where you will find upscale homes (equal to $100-200K USD) and “larger life.” At this point, I was not yet able to tell that it was a wealthier section of town – that came later. We passed a new addition in the East Legon section: HOTEL OBAMA (they sure love Obama here! I saw shirts with Obama’s face on them and several of his books for sale in the mall. Later, we saw a man passing by proudly sporting his Obama shirt).
Accra is divided by the Akon people which make up most of the population and include the Ashanit, Afani, Asanti, and Aguapimp. A small fraction of the Accra population is comprised of the Agha, the indigineous people. There are noticeable class differences between the groups – particularly the Akon and Agha.
Driving out of East Legon, we headed into downtown Accra. On the way we passed the home to the current President, John Atta Mills (our equivalent to the White House) which is a cool pointed space looking sort of building. We passed Black Square, the main town square where big rallies, speakers, and other events are held. Prior to the celebration of Ghana’s 50 years of independence a few years back, the visit by former President Bill Clinton brought in the largest crowd (Our guide said Clinton was loved and that is why so many came out to see him. Bush, however, was not greeted so kindly. Go figure.) We also passed the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park, another highly trafficked space. Kwame Nkrumah was the reigning president before John Atta Mills and it seems that people LOVED him. I’ll have to ask some more questions and/or do some research to see why his crap doesn’t stink. Really, the love him.
Saw several of the political buildings (which we will be visiting and being greeted by the Assembly next week). Stopped for a potty break at a restaurant along the Atlantic Ocean which had a beautiful view…as long as you didn’t look too far to the right where the indigenous people are living and working. We ended up getting a closer look at this poverty when we passed Jamestown where many of the indigenous peoples live and work; it was intense. They live in tiny huts just big enough for sleep. Everything else, including cooking, must be done outdoors because there is such a lack of space. It is quite a sight to see and take in. The next place we went to, “Sodom & Gamur” is the most economically disadvantaged area I have ever seen. Houses were on stilts in the middle of what appeared to be the dump. Literally, piles upon piles of trash were within meters of where these people live. And, the smell was atrocious. Our guide said this is where many children end up who migrate from northern Ghana and other rural areas looking for work. The children, who are uneducated and vulnerable, often end up living here, working for less than 50 cents a day and frequently end up in sex work or slave trade. :( Sad stuff.
Finally, we drove through the Lima community which is primarily Muslim and immigrants from Niger, Senegal, and other West African countries. Interestingly enough, this, our guide said, is known as the “least safe” part of Accra with the most social struggles. Does Ghana have negative attitudes towards Islam? Do they hold similar ideals concerning immigrants as the US? (There was another time when he mentioned, “it is mostly the Nigerians” who commit crimes in Ghana.) Hmmm…
Other cool/random things I saw:
• A restaurant called McBonalds. With a ‘B”
• A sign on a wall saying “No urinating on wall” with a price listed afterwards. Do they charge to pee on the wall? Is even urinating not free anymore?!?!
• Goats meander freely all over the place…even on the side of a 4 lane road. They generally do not disrupt traffic or bother anyone, it’s just a sight to see 20 goats walking alongside your van.
While I am glad we had an opportunity to see the city (which is quite large and sprawling), I wish we were given a chance to walk around more and interact with people. I felt like I was on a driving tour through the zoo. I took several pictures even though I felt extremely awkward about it. I mean, here I am, my white privileged American self being driven around in an air-conditioned van gawking and snapping photos of these people. I have really grappled with my feelings around this experience all night. It just doesn’t seem right… I am hoping for more genuine interaction within the community.
Tomorrow we have lectures all day followed by our official Welcome Dinner Celebration at Chez Afrique restaurant and nightclub. Sound it out…what’d you come up with? ;)
Today marked the official beginning of our program! We began at The University of Accra – Legon (UAL) which is about a 5-10 minute drive from our hostel, if traffic is smooth. Upon entering the University, two signs greeted us along with several white, drab-looking buildings with red dirt roads. Our first lecture was held in a lecture hall in the School of Social Work. The School of Social Work, not surprisingly is not the nicest building on-campus. In fact, it is not its own building, per say, rather it is several annex buildings cornered together with a quad area in the middle and a small patio area to the side. The morning lectures were perfunctory welcomes from our PD, our UAL advisor, and one of our local guides. We received some general background and cultural information about Africa, Ghana, and Accra and a list of Do’s and Don’ts for our behavior (including several warnings to not get drunk, since one lady who did “got raped” and it “might not have happened had she not been drinking and been aware of her surroundings.” Ahhh, victim blaming, gotta love it! Yep, the speaker is a man). After a brief lesson in Twi (thank you, or ‘medase!’) we had an opportunity to meet with our Ghanaian peers. Each group has been matched with a student from the University who will serve as our liaison to our agencies as well as our cultural guide on this experience. Our guide is a recent graduate who is completing his mandatory year of service with the Ghanaian government. How cool! I can’t wait til the US catches on to the benefits of domestic servitude (NOT only military service). One last quick lecture and then we took a driving tour of the University.
I took many pictures of campus through my glass window. I really wish we could have gone for a walk on-campus. Again, since there are 40 of us, I guess it is not ideal? At any rate, UAL has about 28,000 students. Many students live on campus (in non air conditioned dorms. Think Houston in the summer type heat. If that is meaningless, think 90 degrees, 90% humidity. Ugh) and walk 45-40 minutes to get to their classes. There are several majors of study offered and a few of the buildings I saw included Business, Social Work, Nursing, Archeology, and African Studies. They have post-graduate programs (I assume this is similar to a Masters?) in Communication and Law and also have a Medical School. In fact, our UAL advisor told us that Ghana is one of the leading African countries in producing doctors. Many of their medical students leave Ghana and go to Europe or Asia where they can make more money. It is even to a point where European and Asian people are requesting Ghanaians to stop coming because they are allegedly stealing jobs from local medical students. I thought that was pretty cool. Go Ghana doctors! Woo! Maybe they can specialize in reproductive health or something…
We took a stop at the University bookstore where I picked up a copy of The Emancipation of Women: An African Perspective by Florence Abena Dolphyne, former Chair[person] of the Ghana National Council on Women and Development. It highlights what she believes women’s emancipation means to women in Africa, including how it relates to traditional beliefs and practices. Seems like a good read and, again, will provide some context to my work here.
Our next stop was for lunch at Monarch Hotel. A similar buffet menu was offered: fish, chicken, spaghetti and meat sauce, French fries, rice, fried plantains, cabbage salad, and some delicious local ice cream for dessert! Mmmmm, it was so creamy and delicious with just a hint of vanilla and maybe some nutmeg (?). So good.
We loaded back up on our buses to head out for our driving tour of Accra. We began in East Legon, where we are staying and passed through Airport Centre. This is where you will find upscale homes (equal to $100-200K USD) and “larger life.” At this point, I was not yet able to tell that it was a wealthier section of town – that came later. We passed a new addition in the East Legon section: HOTEL OBAMA (they sure love Obama here! I saw shirts with Obama’s face on them and several of his books for sale in the mall. Later, we saw a man passing by proudly sporting his Obama shirt).
Accra is divided by the Akon people which make up most of the population and include the Ashanit, Afani, Asanti, and Aguapimp. A small fraction of the Accra population is comprised of the Agha, the indigineous people. There are noticeable class differences between the groups – particularly the Akon and Agha.
Driving out of East Legon, we headed into downtown Accra. On the way we passed the home to the current President, John Atta Mills (our equivalent to the White House) which is a cool pointed space looking sort of building. We passed Black Square, the main town square where big rallies, speakers, and other events are held. Prior to the celebration of Ghana’s 50 years of independence a few years back, the visit by former President Bill Clinton brought in the largest crowd (Our guide said Clinton was loved and that is why so many came out to see him. Bush, however, was not greeted so kindly. Go figure.) We also passed the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park, another highly trafficked space. Kwame Nkrumah was the reigning president before John Atta Mills and it seems that people LOVED him. I’ll have to ask some more questions and/or do some research to see why his crap doesn’t stink. Really, the love him.
Saw several of the political buildings (which we will be visiting and being greeted by the Assembly next week). Stopped for a potty break at a restaurant along the Atlantic Ocean which had a beautiful view…as long as you didn’t look too far to the right where the indigenous people are living and working. We ended up getting a closer look at this poverty when we passed Jamestown where many of the indigenous peoples live and work; it was intense. They live in tiny huts just big enough for sleep. Everything else, including cooking, must be done outdoors because there is such a lack of space. It is quite a sight to see and take in. The next place we went to, “Sodom & Gamur” is the most economically disadvantaged area I have ever seen. Houses were on stilts in the middle of what appeared to be the dump. Literally, piles upon piles of trash were within meters of where these people live. And, the smell was atrocious. Our guide said this is where many children end up who migrate from northern Ghana and other rural areas looking for work. The children, who are uneducated and vulnerable, often end up living here, working for less than 50 cents a day and frequently end up in sex work or slave trade. :( Sad stuff.
Finally, we drove through the Lima community which is primarily Muslim and immigrants from Niger, Senegal, and other West African countries. Interestingly enough, this, our guide said, is known as the “least safe” part of Accra with the most social struggles. Does Ghana have negative attitudes towards Islam? Do they hold similar ideals concerning immigrants as the US? (There was another time when he mentioned, “it is mostly the Nigerians” who commit crimes in Ghana.) Hmmm…
Other cool/random things I saw:
• A restaurant called McBonalds. With a ‘B”
• A sign on a wall saying “No urinating on wall” with a price listed afterwards. Do they charge to pee on the wall? Is even urinating not free anymore?!?!
• Goats meander freely all over the place…even on the side of a 4 lane road. They generally do not disrupt traffic or bother anyone, it’s just a sight to see 20 goats walking alongside your van.
While I am glad we had an opportunity to see the city (which is quite large and sprawling), I wish we were given a chance to walk around more and interact with people. I felt like I was on a driving tour through the zoo. I took several pictures even though I felt extremely awkward about it. I mean, here I am, my white privileged American self being driven around in an air-conditioned van gawking and snapping photos of these people. I have really grappled with my feelings around this experience all night. It just doesn’t seem right… I am hoping for more genuine interaction within the community.
Tomorrow we have lectures all day followed by our official Welcome Dinner Celebration at Chez Afrique restaurant and nightclub. Sound it out…what’d you come up with? ;)
27 May 2009
Day 1: East Legon, Accra, Ghana
After a long, full day of traveling I was rather happy to finally land on Ghanaian soil and arrive at our hostel. We have pretty fine accommodations – including wireless internet (1 hour/day) and air conditioning. (I’m sharing a room with fellow MSSW student and we seem to get along quite nicely thus far. She traveled to Amsterdam before arriving in Ghana so I’ve been enjoying lots of what she has to share and looking forward to that trip!) I enjoyed a late dinner of fish, rice, and plantains; took a quick (cold) shower; and headed off to bed. Having not been able to sleep much on the second flight I was painfully tired, had a piercing headache and just needed to rest.
I had a fitful night’s sleep and awoke at 7AM Ghanaian time (2AM CST). I tossed and turned to try to get back to sleep before the hammering began around 8AM. At the point, I gave up, awoke, did some yoga and unpacked a bit. Since the program was technically not scheduled to start until Thursday (28.05.09) we did not receive breakfast and lunch was not until 12noon. I enjoyed the down time and tried to just let my body rest.
Lunch was rather surprising. It was a buffet with options of spaghetti with meat sauce, tuna salad and chicken salad sandwiches, French fries, and plantains. Huh?! Is this Ghanaian food?!? No. Sure isn’t. As it turns out, our Program Director (PD) requested our hostel provide us with American food for the first few days so we can “ease into things” and to “reduce culture shock.” I would rather jump right in, personally, but since there are 30some other students I guess I have to follow along…
Another sometimes challenging part of traveling with a large group through an organized (a term I will be using loosely, as this is a pilot program and many things are not exactly organized…) trip is that occasionally you find yourself in strange settings that you would usually not do if you were traveling along. For instance, my first destination on my first day in Africa would most likely not be to be to the Accra Mall, a westernized shopping centre. Nope, sure wouldn’t be. I, in fact, avoid most malls like the plague even when in the States. Alas, I found myself in a bus headed to the Accra Mall where we spent the afternoon. It reminded me of what we did when I worked with a camp – take the kids someplace where they can entertain themselves for a few hours so we can have a break, i.e. don’t have to plan anything. The other caveat – since we had not yet received an ‘orientation’ we were instructed to not wander off on our own due to safety and security concerns. Like 30some oboronis (Twi word for “tourist,” loosely used as an equivalent to ‘American’) walking around the mall doesn’t draw attention to such…
So, since were stuck at the Mall for three hours (yes, 3 hours – I can’t spend that much time at a mall in the US for goodness sake!) I decided to make the best of. So, I struck up some conversations with some local girls who were wandering around the mall with sashes (think Girl Scouts or Ms. America style) that read “Healthy and Beauty Fair.” I stopped to talk with two young women to see what they were up to. These amazing young women were talking about cervical cancer and educating the community (men and women) about the importance of prevention, education, and testing. Since these ladies seemed to resemble my idea of how an ‘empowered’ woman in Ghana might appear, I asked them if I could ask some questions. I explained our project and asked what they thought were the most important issues facing girls here. One 23 year old female said education was most important. “Girls do not have the same opportunities here as boys,” she said. She said it is hard for girls to get an education because it is expensive. Another 20 year old female, who is currently working to save money for college to become an Accountant, said there are many distractions for a girl who is trying to become educated. Among the biggest distractions she mentioned smoking, drinking, sex, and ‘the lesbianic cults.” Hmmm, what? Lesbianic cults – where do those women hang out?? ;)
I asked more about this and could not really get any more information. She just kept repeating that the lesbians were a ‘big problem’ and that girls needed to stay away from lesbians. I asked what was wrong with lesbians. She said that “they make you do bad things. They are smoking and doing other bad things.” Note to self: investigate these smoking lesbians. Don’t worry, I’ll be careful – they sound pretty dangerous.
After talking with these girls I wandered down a bit more to where three adult women sat at a table also providing information about cervical cancer. I also asked if I could speak with them about my project.
These women are AMAZING!! They were amazingly helpful and had a wealth of information to share. They are professionals with a public health initiative through the Lady Pharmacists Association of Ghana (LAPAG). I spent close to an hour talking with Adjoah, Pamela, and Mekua. They listed the main concerns/threats for girls as:
1. Education: It is the only way out of poverty. Girls must focus on a goal. Support at home and individual determination helps.
2. Health, especially Reproductive Health: Girls receive NO health or sexual education (that’s even worse than Texas!). As such, there are high rates of STDS, specifically gonorrhea. They also talked of “candidasi” – which I need to look up. They didn’t know the English equivalent for this word. But, apparently it’s BAD! There is a high teenage pregnancy rate and many abortions; however, since abortion is illegal in this country, many back-alley abortions take place and girls often die as a result from hemorrhaging or other complications. (thank you, Roe V. Wade) Also, neonatal care is painfully lacking.
3. Violence against women: Including domestic violence, sexual violence, and teen dating violence. Mekua said these issues are very taboo to talk about; however, throughout Accra I saw billboards promoting the report and end of DV. I guess that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s OK to talk about (similar in the states…)
4. Career Guidance: Many of the girls have no idea what opportunities are available to them or how to get there. Adjoah suggested focusing more on this (and Education) since the other two areas are so heated and controversial.
I am really thankful that they took time to talk with me and share their opinions. It was amazing to be sitting in their space sharing with them many of the same concerns about women and girls. It doesn’t matter where we are we live “Under the Man,” as Pamela put it. Pamela was quite the outspoken one. I asked them how they were able to get to where they are today since it sounds like girls have so many extra challenges facing them. They each said dedication on their behalf and support from their parents. They were fortunate to come from homes that encouraged the girl-child as much as the boy-child. I asked if it was difficult to be a strong, outspoken woman in their society and they all quickly nodded in agreement that yes, it was difficult. They spoke of the extra work they have to do, as women. Pamela said “I have three full-time jobs: my work, my husband, and my kids.” Ugh.
I really wanted to ask them if they identified as feminists. I know many places in the world reject the word ‘feminist’ as it is often connected to images of white, upper-class US women projecting their values and opinions on women of color, lower-class, and international women. I did not want to threaten the relationship I was forging with them so I avoided the questions; however, I am very curious. We all exchanged e-mail addresses and I hope to keep in touch. Pamela told me, as I was walking away, “You better email us!!” I assured her I will.
Feeling high after this bonding experience I went to a quiet place to journal: the food court. Yes, every mall has a food court, right? And it’s complete with crappy pizza joints, Chinese food, and tacos. Even in Ghana. At least it was outside. I found a table to sit and journal.
It was neat to hear their perspectives and how so much of what they said troubles girls in Ghana parallels the experiences of US girls. In Ghana, it is magnified by poverty and severe lack of available resources. Also, cultural norms differ greatly which affects the plight of women. I love how quickly the four of us were able to connect, even if briefly, around our mutual concern for girls and women.
Talking with these women brought up many feelings for me about my feminism and my identity. I was thinking about the privilege I have in my work. I try, as much as possible, to acknowledge my privilege and keep it in the forefront of my mind. It can be a struggle, because in so many ways I feel I have been underprivileged. And, while I have certainly had my share of challenges in this journey through life, I still have clean drinking water; a place rest and get clean/use the restroom, and adequate food to eat. Having these resources allows me to pursue my work in girl’s empowerment, focusing on self-esteem and identity. It is a privilege. While I do not, this time, feel I must sacrifice my own resources (food, shelter, clothing, etc.) for the greater good, I can remain cognizant of my ability to access these resources with relative ease. There is just so much more bouncing around in my head that I am still processing.
Since I had over an hour yet to kill I decided to wander around the bookstore and ended up picking up Mrs. Doctor, by Mercy Ama Anim – a story about a woman from Accra who was born into a poor family and was able to become a doctor. It is a fictional account based loosely on her life. I thought it might be helpful to read before our project.
I still had a bit more time so I wandered around the grocery store which was conveniently located in the mall. Grocery store excursions in other countries are always so neat. It is interesting to see how much things cost, what are the most popular items (determined by the several rows of coconut milk or frying oil), etc. I found that tomatoes cost something like $7USD for four. Red or yellow bell peppers cost over $5 each. I bought a couple liters of bottled water and called it a day.
Upon returning to the hotel, my roommate told me a few people were drinking in one of the guy’s rooms. I joined them and had my first Ghanaian beer: Stone. It’s a lager that states on the can it is: Built to Satisfy and Reward. Lager brewed to be strong and refreshing. It’s a regular old Lager, nothing special. Threw back a couple, grabbed dinner (more fish, rice, and plantains) and hit the hay. My, oh my, I’m tired!!
Thursday officially begins orientation with a visit to the University of Ghana-Legon and a tour of Accra. Looking forward to it!
I had a fitful night’s sleep and awoke at 7AM Ghanaian time (2AM CST). I tossed and turned to try to get back to sleep before the hammering began around 8AM. At the point, I gave up, awoke, did some yoga and unpacked a bit. Since the program was technically not scheduled to start until Thursday (28.05.09) we did not receive breakfast and lunch was not until 12noon. I enjoyed the down time and tried to just let my body rest.
Lunch was rather surprising. It was a buffet with options of spaghetti with meat sauce, tuna salad and chicken salad sandwiches, French fries, and plantains. Huh?! Is this Ghanaian food?!? No. Sure isn’t. As it turns out, our Program Director (PD) requested our hostel provide us with American food for the first few days so we can “ease into things” and to “reduce culture shock.” I would rather jump right in, personally, but since there are 30some other students I guess I have to follow along…
Another sometimes challenging part of traveling with a large group through an organized (a term I will be using loosely, as this is a pilot program and many things are not exactly organized…) trip is that occasionally you find yourself in strange settings that you would usually not do if you were traveling along. For instance, my first destination on my first day in Africa would most likely not be to be to the Accra Mall, a westernized shopping centre. Nope, sure wouldn’t be. I, in fact, avoid most malls like the plague even when in the States. Alas, I found myself in a bus headed to the Accra Mall where we spent the afternoon. It reminded me of what we did when I worked with a camp – take the kids someplace where they can entertain themselves for a few hours so we can have a break, i.e. don’t have to plan anything. The other caveat – since we had not yet received an ‘orientation’ we were instructed to not wander off on our own due to safety and security concerns. Like 30some oboronis (Twi word for “tourist,” loosely used as an equivalent to ‘American’) walking around the mall doesn’t draw attention to such…
So, since were stuck at the Mall for three hours (yes, 3 hours – I can’t spend that much time at a mall in the US for goodness sake!) I decided to make the best of. So, I struck up some conversations with some local girls who were wandering around the mall with sashes (think Girl Scouts or Ms. America style) that read “Healthy and Beauty Fair.” I stopped to talk with two young women to see what they were up to. These amazing young women were talking about cervical cancer and educating the community (men and women) about the importance of prevention, education, and testing. Since these ladies seemed to resemble my idea of how an ‘empowered’ woman in Ghana might appear, I asked them if I could ask some questions. I explained our project and asked what they thought were the most important issues facing girls here. One 23 year old female said education was most important. “Girls do not have the same opportunities here as boys,” she said. She said it is hard for girls to get an education because it is expensive. Another 20 year old female, who is currently working to save money for college to become an Accountant, said there are many distractions for a girl who is trying to become educated. Among the biggest distractions she mentioned smoking, drinking, sex, and ‘the lesbianic cults.” Hmmm, what? Lesbianic cults – where do those women hang out?? ;)
I asked more about this and could not really get any more information. She just kept repeating that the lesbians were a ‘big problem’ and that girls needed to stay away from lesbians. I asked what was wrong with lesbians. She said that “they make you do bad things. They are smoking and doing other bad things.” Note to self: investigate these smoking lesbians. Don’t worry, I’ll be careful – they sound pretty dangerous.
After talking with these girls I wandered down a bit more to where three adult women sat at a table also providing information about cervical cancer. I also asked if I could speak with them about my project.
These women are AMAZING!! They were amazingly helpful and had a wealth of information to share. They are professionals with a public health initiative through the Lady Pharmacists Association of Ghana (LAPAG). I spent close to an hour talking with Adjoah, Pamela, and Mekua. They listed the main concerns/threats for girls as:
1. Education: It is the only way out of poverty. Girls must focus on a goal. Support at home and individual determination helps.
2. Health, especially Reproductive Health: Girls receive NO health or sexual education (that’s even worse than Texas!). As such, there are high rates of STDS, specifically gonorrhea. They also talked of “candidasi” – which I need to look up. They didn’t know the English equivalent for this word. But, apparently it’s BAD! There is a high teenage pregnancy rate and many abortions; however, since abortion is illegal in this country, many back-alley abortions take place and girls often die as a result from hemorrhaging or other complications. (thank you, Roe V. Wade) Also, neonatal care is painfully lacking.
3. Violence against women: Including domestic violence, sexual violence, and teen dating violence. Mekua said these issues are very taboo to talk about; however, throughout Accra I saw billboards promoting the report and end of DV. I guess that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s OK to talk about (similar in the states…)
4. Career Guidance: Many of the girls have no idea what opportunities are available to them or how to get there. Adjoah suggested focusing more on this (and Education) since the other two areas are so heated and controversial.
I am really thankful that they took time to talk with me and share their opinions. It was amazing to be sitting in their space sharing with them many of the same concerns about women and girls. It doesn’t matter where we are we live “Under the Man,” as Pamela put it. Pamela was quite the outspoken one. I asked them how they were able to get to where they are today since it sounds like girls have so many extra challenges facing them. They each said dedication on their behalf and support from their parents. They were fortunate to come from homes that encouraged the girl-child as much as the boy-child. I asked if it was difficult to be a strong, outspoken woman in their society and they all quickly nodded in agreement that yes, it was difficult. They spoke of the extra work they have to do, as women. Pamela said “I have three full-time jobs: my work, my husband, and my kids.” Ugh.
I really wanted to ask them if they identified as feminists. I know many places in the world reject the word ‘feminist’ as it is often connected to images of white, upper-class US women projecting their values and opinions on women of color, lower-class, and international women. I did not want to threaten the relationship I was forging with them so I avoided the questions; however, I am very curious. We all exchanged e-mail addresses and I hope to keep in touch. Pamela told me, as I was walking away, “You better email us!!” I assured her I will.
Feeling high after this bonding experience I went to a quiet place to journal: the food court. Yes, every mall has a food court, right? And it’s complete with crappy pizza joints, Chinese food, and tacos. Even in Ghana. At least it was outside. I found a table to sit and journal.
It was neat to hear their perspectives and how so much of what they said troubles girls in Ghana parallels the experiences of US girls. In Ghana, it is magnified by poverty and severe lack of available resources. Also, cultural norms differ greatly which affects the plight of women. I love how quickly the four of us were able to connect, even if briefly, around our mutual concern for girls and women.
Talking with these women brought up many feelings for me about my feminism and my identity. I was thinking about the privilege I have in my work. I try, as much as possible, to acknowledge my privilege and keep it in the forefront of my mind. It can be a struggle, because in so many ways I feel I have been underprivileged. And, while I have certainly had my share of challenges in this journey through life, I still have clean drinking water; a place rest and get clean/use the restroom, and adequate food to eat. Having these resources allows me to pursue my work in girl’s empowerment, focusing on self-esteem and identity. It is a privilege. While I do not, this time, feel I must sacrifice my own resources (food, shelter, clothing, etc.) for the greater good, I can remain cognizant of my ability to access these resources with relative ease. There is just so much more bouncing around in my head that I am still processing.
Since I had over an hour yet to kill I decided to wander around the bookstore and ended up picking up Mrs. Doctor, by Mercy Ama Anim – a story about a woman from Accra who was born into a poor family and was able to become a doctor. It is a fictional account based loosely on her life. I thought it might be helpful to read before our project.
I still had a bit more time so I wandered around the grocery store which was conveniently located in the mall. Grocery store excursions in other countries are always so neat. It is interesting to see how much things cost, what are the most popular items (determined by the several rows of coconut milk or frying oil), etc. I found that tomatoes cost something like $7USD for four. Red or yellow bell peppers cost over $5 each. I bought a couple liters of bottled water and called it a day.
Upon returning to the hotel, my roommate told me a few people were drinking in one of the guy’s rooms. I joined them and had my first Ghanaian beer: Stone. It’s a lager that states on the can it is: Built to Satisfy and Reward. Lager brewed to be strong and refreshing. It’s a regular old Lager, nothing special. Threw back a couple, grabbed dinner (more fish, rice, and plantains) and hit the hay. My, oh my, I’m tired!!
Thursday officially begins orientation with a visit to the University of Ghana-Legon and a tour of Accra. Looking forward to it!
26 May 2009
23.5 hours later...
I have arrived in Ghana!! I am utterly exhausted and am off to enjoy some delicious shut eye action. zzzzzzz
25 May 2009
OMGZ, it's finally here!!!
Sooo…Have I mentioned that I’m going to Ghana ?!!! J I am beyond excited right now!!
I have been an absolute whirlwind of emotions over the past week. Not only did I total my car a full 10 days before I am set to fly over the ocean (to add injury to insult, it my fault), but I also managed to come down with a sinus infection and bronchitis. The damn Austin allergies will get you every time! I spent 4 of the last 5 days in bed sleeping, pill popping (legally prescribed and used as directed), and generally feeling sorry for myself. Most of my friends were busy this weekend with their own stuff (graduation, family in town, etc.) so I had a full on pity party for myself. I *finally* started to perk up Saturday – just in time to run a few last errands in the pouring rain and lightening storm. It was great. I spent all of today packing, unpacking, repacking and alternating between pure excitement, absolute terror, and about six hundred feelings in between. (Luckily, I am entitled to a “full range of emotions” and to all of my “thoughts and feelings” so I just rode it out J) My dear friends came over to provide solace and, in the process, we rescued a runt cat. (Well, not so much ‘we’ as ‘they’… my friends are all such caretakers. It is sweet, really. )
It is 5:15AM and I sit here awake writing. I am partly staying awake so I can sleep well on the overnight flight tonight ( 8PM – 5AM ). I have completed my to do list:
Upload tunes to iPod
Copy important documents for self and local emergency contacts
Eat pizza and cake
Talk to/spend time with important people
However, I am mostly awake because I am SO FREAKING EXCITED!!!!
I really cannot believe I am as lucky to go on this trip. I never imagined that I would be afforded an opportunity like this. In many ways I still see myself as a poor, little girl still living in Morris , IL or Mooseheart, afraid I will never make out, afraid I will not get to live my dreams. And, here I am. 27 years old, in one of the greatest cities with more of the greatest friends than any crazy lady could ever wish for… It is a dream come true. I feel so lucky, and honored; yet, I know that I have made this happen. I have worked hard to get to where I am today; to have an opportunity such as this. And, I CAN’T WAIT! =D
For those who do not know, I will be traveling to Ghana in West Africa for four weeks with a summer program through the School of Social Work and Women’s Studies at UT. I will spend three weeks traveling throughout the country to three cities and four villages studying community and social development. We will be looking at the ways the Ghanian people have addressed social issues through governmental and non-governmental organizations as well as community organizing and mobilizing. For the final week, we will be volunteering with various agencies in the community. For my project I am planning to host a week-long girls empowerment program/week for high school girls. From my research I have learned that many of the girls in the Ashaiman community in Accra , the capitol of Ghana , suffer from similar issues as U.S. girls, especially low self esteem, body image, and relationship/sexual struggles. The goal of this program is to provide critical thinking and leadership skills to girls so they may make wise choices and plan for a self-sufficient and educated future. This is my life’s work. This is a dream come true.
With that, I will bid you adieu for now…
Pictures will be uploaded periodically to www.shutterfly.com. I will send that link when it is updated.
That’s all for now!
…‘til next time….
Shalom.
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