Some of Tao's Pictures

I'm so proud of my kitchen!

Actually I took this one on a walk

XPRESS Camp

My friend Helen, a VSO worker in Ghana from 1999-2001, once told me you need to live in a place for 6 months to finally feel like the place is your home. This December I have reached that mark. This friend of mine sure has some wisdom. Let me tell you what has been going on that now I feel like I know my place in Ghana.

Kimmy Smith (Naama) my neighboring PCV in Kolpong organized a youth development camp focused on service learning and volunteerism. I had the authority to choose three young people to attend this 5 day camp in Wa. The selection process was based on an interview I held with students who wanted to attend. I already had an idea of whom I was going to take, but it was important to make the selection formal and professional to reduce the jealousy of those who did not get chosen. I had 5 boys from the Jeyiri Junior High School show up. I graded the students based on English proficiency, intent, understanding of the camp and potential to be a community leader.  One of the students who I really wanted to take did not show up because it was market day. I went to his house last night and told him I was disappointed he did not come because I see a lot of potential in him. I continued to explain my dilemma: teach him a life lesson, or think of the benefits of Jeyiri this young man could provide if he had an opportunity to attend the camp.  My heart and mind was on the improvement of Jeyiri so I invited him. The teachers and head master at the school approved my selections. Yusif (Jugaba), Haruna and Saliah were going to go to Wa.

The Gender and Youth Development group was in charge of the camp. So all the PCVs who have been in Ghana for a year were leading all the programs and did most of the work. I enjoyed being in the background, seeing how camps run and help out where needed.  There were 45 campers ranging from 12 to 25 years old. They learned how to do a service project, how to be a volunteer and why it’s important.  We talked about problems in our communities and what they wanted to be when they grew up. There was one program where the boys and girls split up to discuss health issues like sex, puberty and menstruation. A motivating guest speaker attended. There was a talent show where the PCVs did the thriller dance. Lastly it would not be a camp without skits and art crafts. The campers were busy from 8am- 9pm everyday. Trust me they learned A LOT.

Making masks 

One afternoon was spent doing a clean up Wa Market service project. Brooms, trash pickers, gloves and masks were all donated for the event.  Each PCV had 5 campers to watch over in the market. I was in the first group to enter. I was talking to a woman and asking her why are we cleaning, what is so vital about picking rubbish up in the community.  Well this conversation took a startling turn when she told me that we should get someone to clean up the dead man 2 meters from where I am standing. WHAT?!? WHERE?!? Ohhh She must be referring to the cloth, sticks and wooden crates that are covering the dead body there.  Apparently this mentally unstable older man died that morning and was still lying in the spot he fell. The police have to do some paperwork before they can come pick it up. Of course we did not know at that point that the police had already been called. One of the campers gathered us all together to say, “Since we are volunteers we need to clean this place, let’s call the police ourselves and make the report.” Awww he has learned so much at this camp, but what is the number to call the police? 911 won’t work here. After standing around a bit the police in a pickup truck came to remove the body. Mind you market is still happening and people are walking around the covered body. However, now a crowd is forming. Two Dutch women walk inches next to the body as the police start removing the crates. I call them over and ask, “Do you realize that you practically just walked over a dead body?” They were quite surprised. They stood next to my students and I was the removed the clothes to reveal the half dressed old man. The mother of the Dutch women said, “Are you sure he’s dead? He doesn’t look dead.” The police took some pictures then lifted the stiff body into a body bag and drove away. All was left was the crowd and a cloth with some bodily fluids on it. Several women began to tell the campers to pick it up. Of course they were frightened and said no.  After some discussion we decided for the health of the community we should pick it up. I then took the bag to throw away when I ran into some PCVs and told them the story and they took the bag from me to dispose of.

Ryan and Ruth cleaning up Wa Market

Ok body gone, shows over, let’s start cleaning again! We were out from about 1pm-4pm. To get the point across on the importance of a clean environment I would tell people, “A dirty environment leads to diseases like malaria, cholera and diarrhea. Did you not just see the dead body here? Did he not die in this dirty place? What happens to you if you live here?” All and all it was a success of a service project. Even after the camp my students organized a clean up Jeyiri day.

When the students came home they were proud to tell the school, chief, landlord and elders EVERYTHING they learned. I am so proud of them for their cooperation, leadership and attentiveness they gave this XPRESS camp. Now I now I can rely on them with anything I want to do. They are taking the responsibility of community volunteer very seriously and I know they will always remember this camp. Small change has occurred in them. Now I know I’m in the right place. My purpose in Jeyiri has become more evident.   

Times are Good in Jeyiri

These girls are always at my house. I gave them some flowers to put in their hair because they liked the one I had. Well it made their day and now everyone asks me for flowers.

Master P. Being cute at market.

Market Day in Kolpong, aka the one day a week I can drink and buy food! We are in the one hut that sells beer (sometimes cold!)

My counterpart's kids. Although it is a tough contest, I think they are the cutest.

Here he is! Sleeping with his best buddy. All my neighbors can't believe a dog can have toys.  Thanks mom, what will think of the dog bed you are trying to send???

Update:
1) Master P. is growing very fast and is bigger than in these pictures.
2) I will start doing health lessons on Fridays (this Friday Nutrition!)
3) Health and Creative Minds clubs will begin after Thanksgiving.
4) Considering being the kindergarden teacher because the kids just sit under a tree all day and cry and nothing else.
5) Thanksgiving will be spent in Accra with all my friends at the U.S. Ambassador's house.
6) I am going to start teaching Tao English. He's a man from China who is putting in electricity in my district.

Role Model

Everyone is watching you. They all know what you are doing, eating, wearing, saying, who you associate yourself with and how you do work. Eyes are everywhere. There is no escape. What do you do? Run, hide, and be frustrated from lack of privacy? On the other hand, do you think when is the next time you will have the stage and a full audience?

In Jeyiri I have center stage and I am in front of a packed auditorium.  When people are talking about me I don’t even know what they are saying to correct or support what their thoughts are about me.  So what do I do? I have made my mantra, “Live by example.” How can I tell people to eat more vegetables and a balanced diet if I don’t eat correct? Several people already come up to me and say An La Minne won’t eat the food if it has no vegetables. They are watching! How can I tell people to start a dry season garden (which they think is impossible) if I don’t have one.

Here are some things I am trying to do my example:

1. Wash hands with soap and water before cooking, before eating and after going to toilet
2. Eating Balanced
3. Grow Veggies all year long
4. Read (I want to build a library and start a creative minds club)
5. Diversity in gender roles (doing things men usually do like weed and play soccer)
6. Family Planning (aka not getting pregnant at 23 by telling people I want to continue schooling and saying I don’t have the money to have a family now)

Every decision I make or action I do is being judged and critiqued. Might as well send a positive empowering educational message while I have all eyes and ears on me.

Malaria Killing Real People

Most days I wake up, clean, read, eat and go over to the Jeyiri CHPS (Health Clinic). I have been filling in the books, taking weight and temperature and even doing malaria tests. This entails cleaning a finger, poking it with a sterile needle, squeezing the finger, drawing blood and placing it on the test strip. Then I wait about 3 minutes for the results. One line means negative and two lines means positive for malaria.  Now the test strips are only for one type of malaria. So even if the person is negative, but has bodily aches or a temperature we still give the malaria medicine along with multivitamin.  Soon I will even be able to distribute the drugs to people and write up their prescriptions.  The only thing that will take a while to do would here the patient’s complaints. I still don’t here the language all that well.  I will be getting a tutor with two other volunteers, so we can all practice.

It seems that every person who comes in has malaria. Most are woman and children. One child had a temperature of 42°C. He was rushed outside so we could throw cold water on him. I know that the people in my village are extremely strong and endure more that I thought humanly possible, so to see the suffering on their faces, I know their misery is more than I could bear.  Isn’t malaria that NGO disease that Westerns give money to all the time to help the poor Africans? How come I am in a place where people die because they cannot afford preventative bed nets and when they get sick they have no health insurance. The children die at home with no means for their parents to help them. 

I know that in America people die too without means to medical help, but is it worse in Africa? Who is suffering more? Is it even possible to compare the suffering of the poor in a first world country compared to a third world country? The situations are so different and are complex in their own ways. So what is more important domestic or international volunteerism? Again who is suffering more? Volunteers who have been on both sides like myself always come to this question. Is there a right answer? As long as am dedicating my life to decrease the suffering in the world, isn’t that enough. I would like to hear your thoughts on which path is benefiting the world more domestic or international volunteerism.  

More Pictures!

Sean Blaufuss hard at work

Baby weighing in Gushie, Northern Region Ghana

Waterfall 

The home stay family in Anyinasin. Michael, George, Felix, Yaa, Yaa, Akens

I'm getting a Dog!

Life in Jeyiri is one that goes by moment by moment. I can try to make a list of what I want to do throughout the day, but it never seems to work and is not as fun.  Maybe I’ll go greet the 6 new training teachers at the school. What actually happens is that I get roped into teaching a class. I started talking about malaria and then went into life in America. Some of the questions were: Is it easier to live in America? Does

America have night and day? Do you have a plane? I also told them that there is poor in America where schools don’t have books or supplies. We spent most of the time talking about farms. Their minds were blown to here that we have farms; however, they are under the impression that they are all massive and computers run them. I hope that it opened the children (actually teenagers) to come to me with more questions. The third goal of Peace Corps is to share American culture with Ghanaians. Check.

Another instance of doing something completely unexpected occurred yesterday. I thought it would be a day of mostly relaxing because it was too hot and the village was at farm. In the afternoon a nice new white truck pulls in front of the clinic. The men get out and call me over. They were scientists from Ghana Health Services. They are collecting flies in the town down the rode that cause River Blindness.  They want collect the DNA from the flies and see if they are still carrying the disease or are becoming resistant to the drug that they are giving the people.  The community health nurse, Paulina, will be monitoring the fly collectors. I told the men that I studied biochemistry and I would like to help in any way I can. Unfortunately they were from the Upper East Region and not the Upper West so I won’t be very close to do any of the heavy science things. I will help Paulina out in the fieldwork collecting and recording data. We all piled into the air-conditioned truck and took a ride to the most remote village that happens to be in Mole National Park and has monkeys and if you go into the bush a small ways you will see elephants.  It is beautiful going down the red dirt road with tall green grass on both sides. When I start running at 4 in the morning I will definitely go down this road.

In order to make my house a little homier I have decided to get a dog. When I went to market I walked with Naama (Chief’s mother), the PCV next to me, to go pick my dog out of a litter of six 8-day-old puppies. I choose the only black one. It has a white belly and tail. Keeping up with the tradition of naming pets after American food that we miss, the little boy is called Master P. The idea came to me after we ate pork in the market and I brought my Masterpiece BBQ sauce to put on it. I can’t wait to here the Ghanaians yelling, “Master P wa wa wa [come come come]!” All the dogs here are about the same medium size with short hair. Most of the dogs are a brown red color. If it happens that I fall in love with this dog and bring it back to America (yes mom welcome this possibility J), than I will tell everyone that Master P is an African dingo.

I hope all is well with you all readers and you are enjoying the beginning of the change in seasons. Ghana is really making me appreciate America. Here are some things Naama and I discussed:
1.   Teachers that take that job because they want to educate and not because the job is available (generalization)

2.     Free public flush toilets, even in McDonalds

3.     Malaria is eradicated

4.     Parents don’t yell/forbid for kids to go to school (generalization)

5.     A woman can tell off a man if he calls her “Woman” even if he knows her name

6.     Free Internet in libraries

7.     Abundance and diversity of food (generalization)

8.     Washing machines

9.     Running water