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!