Bridie and I were called in extra early for the Saturday meeting with Helen so were present at the office for 8.00am sharp, fully equipped with concerns and questions about what’s happening next with Tiyah.
Unfortunately Helen doesn’t have all of the answers just yet. There certainly won’t be someone in place for next week, which means field work is again off of the agenda – unless Helen herself is able to spare some time. Instead we’ll be confined to the office and internet again.
Helen’s asked us to start designing some literature for Tiyah and to draft a two year ‘strategic plan’. I get the distinct impression that we’re being fobbed off though – in my opinion there isn’t a clear vision or indeed an urgent need for a business plan at this stage in Tiyah’s development. It feels more like something Helen’s plucked out of the air to keep us occupied, or perhaps more pertinently stop us from feeling that our time with the project has run its natural course…
The most pressing issue is to find at least one long term local with Paul gone and Ahmed’s commitment on the wane – we’ve hardly seen him in the last month. It’s not a criticism of him in particular, Ahmed’s put in a lot of time and energy to Tiyah over the last couple of years, his priorities are just changing naturally as he gets older. What we do need though is for him to recognise that fact and officially call it a day. When he turned up (late) to the meeting he looked a bit intimidated by what Helen’s response would be if he came out and said what we’re all thinking…
In the afternoon we went into Kumasi to show Julia around a little and I’d arranged to meet Oja – a friend of my mate Liam’s from him time in Ghana a few years ago. It was great to meet him and share a few experiences of Liam, and Oja seems like a top man with some interesting projects based now in the Volta region. I also know Liam will be chuffed that we managed to touch base and I’ve got a few photos of us together.
Sunday 13th September
Writing this at nearly ten in the evening listening to pouring rain – it started at about 7.30 whilst Helen, Bridie and I were in the office and hasn’t relented since.
In the end Bridie and I decided to brave it back – drenched isn’t the word. We struggled back slipping and sliding, a power cut meaning our only light came from Bri’s small torch and the frequent lightning bursts guiding us home.
We’d been in the office to interview two candidates for a replacement local volunteer for Paul; a girl we hadn’t met before (and as it turned out never will as she didn’t show up); and Small Ahmed ‘Fresh’ from our host family. Ahmed surprised me by interviewing really well, making me feel a bit guilty about steering Helen away from him previously, the concern being that he might not be mature enough. His experience of preaching and teaching with his church will help Ahmed in the work and I’m pleased that we’ll be able to give him a chance.
Although the work is voluntary, Helen does manage to pay a small allowance to the local workers, and it will be positive for him to do something constructive with his days.
Earlier I made a trip out to past Mampongteng to Helman Junction to visit Oja and his family. Two tro-tros out form Kumasi, but not an arduous journey. It was good to meet Oja again and to bring some small gifts to his family as a kind of surrogate Liam. I’ll also be able to show him pics of how the family has grown seven years on.
Monday 14th September
Today was just about as emotionally challenging as it comes. Bridie and I went with Helen to visit a couple that have recently come to light in the nieghbouring village of Adankwame.
The married couple are both blind – a bleak enough prospect in Ghana (and anywhere else to be fair) but the wife is also HIV positive. She was diagnosed with the virus about three years ago when she was still in the process of breastfeeding their new baby – now, thankfully, a healthy three year old.
From talking to them we uncovered the cruel full extent of her predicament – inexcusably for any country, she contracted HIV in the hospital as she was operated on following complications in the birth of their child – and with no means of comeback or appeal was dealt a life sentence there and then.
Cramped into their small, dark one room house hearing the story unfold made me feel very helpless. They’ve got no source of income, any little they have is donated by charitable organisations, or from the kindness of other people in their community. Although the husband in particular has tried to make some money through crafts, but there have been obstacles every step of the way.
At the moment, there’s not even a great deal that Tiyah can do, we’re not currently getting any external funding so any aid available is minimal. All we really have to offer on an ongoing basis is compassion and understanding – nice, but it doesn’t fill an empty belly pr pay for medication. On this occasion we were able to leave them with a small donation from our own pockets but that’s not a solution. It’s not feasible to keep giving handouts, and they’re just one couple amongst countless others across the country – the situation needs to be addressed on a much larger scale. Until then the small organisations will keep doing what they can.
It was heartwarming though to see that a concerned friend has rented the room out for them, and when they walked us back to the road we met some community members that have also made various contributions – but these are people without much themselves in the first place.
Perhaps the saddest part was watching their bright eyed three year old girl – clearly with loads of energy, and already developing an independence beyond her years, and wondering just what kind of life she’s going to lead?
Tuesday 15th September
Continued my quest to retrace some of Liam’s steps by visiting his old project in Okaatrom, about one hour’s drive from central Kumasi. Helen had just placed two volunteers from Holland at the centre and was planning to pay them a visit so I was able to hitch a ride out in the SYTO car with her (via a detour to dropping her daughter off at boarding school of course).
We were greeted in formal fashion as always by Osei – the project manager, and Liam’s friend – and as is the custom were asked to state our ‘mission’ That aside it was an extremely warm welcome and in spite of the many volunteers in and out of the doors since Liam’s time in 2002 he clearly made a big impression and was still remembered fondly seven years down the line. Osei took me round the project which runs vocational training (woodwork, basket weaving, catering…) for school students that have failed academically, and pointed out all of the new buildings and facilities that have been built since 2002 for photographic purposes.
The trip was only slightly soured by the constant pleading for money – from me, and for me to pass on to Liam – to help them build the next works, accommodation block or whatever. But you come to expect that pretty quickly. Everyone was pleased to see me though and treated us to lunch and a beer.
This evening a doctor called round for a meeting as a follow up to our visit to the blind couple yesterday. He’s familiar with their case and with the lady putting us on to him was able to talk about her case freely. Unfortunately it was the all too familiar thing of talking for the sake of it. Helen already knows the doctor so all we really needed was to confirm that he still has our contact details, and is happy to refer HIV sufferers in the area to us if he thinks we can help them.
Didn’t really need to take an hour and a half, but Helen can talk the hind legs off a donkey, which is part of her charm, but I do cringe slightly when she announces grand plans or commitments for Tiyah that we just aren’t ready to deliver on yet. It’s all good-willed of course, but we need to concentrate on what we can achieve without raising expectations elsewhere too highly.
Too much sizzle and not enough sausage.
Wednesday 16th September
After more than a week away, Big Paul cam back early this morning, and it was good to see the old man home. He always bring a bit of life to the evenings. Having not said that he was leaving, we learnt that he had indeed been away working with the computer school in the Western Region. Must admit I thought it was another one of his big plans that would come to nothing.
Today some admin work in the office, and time spent thinking through this two-year plan that Helen has asked me to draw up. We’re also starting to work with Small Ahmed (Fresh) tomorrow – teaching him the ropes and the presentations that we’ll be delivering again from next week.
Otherwise, a quick trip into Kumasi – one aim being to pick up Bridie’s water-damaged iPod which after much harranging and more than one month in possession of the repaired agreed to hand back. We knew that it hadn’t been fixed, but what we didn’t expect was for it to come back scratched, dented and tattered, looking about five years older than when it went in…
Much excitement this evening when a package of goodies from home arrived after an impatient four weeks of waiting. Indulging in marmite M&Ms and Haribos for the next few days.
Friday 18th September
There’s again been no sign of Big Ahmed this week despite his renewed promise of commitment to Helen on Saturday, so we’re left cracking on with bringing Small Ahmed up to speed. Today and yesterday we ran through our HIV presentations and took him through what to expect in the field next week. With a new volunteer from the UK also arriving today it feels like a fresh start. Albeit only with a couple of weeks left for me.
I’ve also had the opportunity to put some more thought into the strategic plan – and the more I think about it, the better the opportunity to help clarify Tiyah’s focus, which is a bit fuzzy at the moment – whether Helen takes the comments on board is a different matter altogether though. But what really needs to happen is to decide the one or two things we can do well instead of trying to do it all and spreading the efforts too thinly.
Back at the compound, a bit of shifting around to accommodate the new arrival, another girl of course, Hannah from England. Bridie’s moved in to share my room for the week until she leaves leaving the other two girls to share the bigger bedroom.
Hannah’s arrival prompted a sociable evening with various members of the extended ‘family’ turning up to say hello, play cards and share a beer.
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