Week Thirteen

Saturday 26th September
One of the pleasures of travelling in Ghana is reading the names of the roadside stores and chop bars as you drive past. Often religious, unintentionally funny and littered with grammatical errors, these are a few of my favourites that have amused or tickled me:

 Willie Vision Ventures
 Cak Sportswear
 Fear God Mobile Phones
 Three Pees Fast Food
 Highly Inflammable (written on the back of hundreds of oil tankers)
 Only Jesus Can Change Your Destiny Fashion Centre
 Master Moses Exhaust Pipe Specialist
 The Wonderful Finger of God Information Centre
 Baby Lovers Hair Care
 Jesus and Sons Electrical
 Nob Guest house
 Nothing Bad Furniture Store
 Respect Police Phone Doctor
 Nana Yaw – Rim Repairer
 Respect Rice Chop Bar
 Revelations 7, Verses 9-14 Enterprises
 God Provides Provision Store


Sunday 27th September
After saying goodbye to Bridie at four a.m. on Saturday, it was time to part ways with Big Paul today – he got word this morning that he will need to travel with work from early tomorrow, leading to a hastily arranged farewell.

Paul’s got his faults, he’s prone to exaggeration, religious fervor and can be about as subtle as a heard of elephants, but he’s never been anything other than a warm, sociable host ready with a big smile/, a joke or a debating point. He took to me in particular as the only man in a succession of female volunteers and I enjoyed his friendship, camaraderie and confidence. I’ll miss the old fella.

Despite the heavy rain we had a last beer together to toast both departures and walked to the other side of Achiase to pick up some locally weaved cloth that Paul had commissioned as a present to me.

Now that the goodbyes have started in earnest, and I know that my stay is coming towards an end I’ve really started to look forward to returning home, and can almost taste that first sausage sandwich and a real coffee – hopefully enjoyed over the morning paper.


Monday 28th September
I think Helen’s twigged that it’s my final week and she’s determined to cram as much into it as possible, which is fine for me. So, after the Monday morning meeting we went on a whistle-stop tour of local school, hospital and even prison to set up a series of meetings or presentations for the week ahead. Enough to keep us very busy.

We only found an obstacle at the local Achiase school, where always on the lookout, the headmistress wants us to fill their first aid box before we can hold any presentation. I think some of our predecessors may have promised this previously and not delivered leaving us to bear the brunt. I think we’ll have enough bits and pieces lying around to make a peace offering at least though.

At the prison we arranged a presentation with the officers for the only time they were able to give us – seven thirty on Thursday morning, which might prove a bit of a struggle considering my planned leaving drinks session for Wednesday night…


Tuesday 29th September
A bit of experience of Ghanaian hospitals all round today. We have a small, relatively new institution near us which caters for both private and health insurance patients, and as such is permanently franticly busy. But long waits in hospitals is one thing we are used to at home.

There is no clear structure for what constitutes a hospital, clinic or surgery, so they all tend to end up much of a muchness and become a one-stop-shop for all of the community’s ailments or complaints around the clock. Hence Julia’s five hour wait to be seen for suspected malaria today. Hot, crowded and airless, its no fun at the best of times, let alone when you’re not well.

It was our turn in the evening when we returned as Tiyah to request permission to carry out some educational one-to-ones with their collection of pregnant mothers. A one hour wait to see the doctor only to be told that we need to speak to his superior before anything further could be discussed, so a bit of a waste of time really.

I do though have renewed respect for the doctor himself, we left at around 6.30 in the evening and he was still going strong having been there since 9.00 a.m. seeing to a non-stop stream of patients often fighting amongst themselves about whose turn it is to be seen and piling into his office three at a time… yet he still found the time to receive us in a friendly and open manner.


Wednesday 30th September
It’s always nice to be appreciated, and I was genuinely touched by my going away ‘presentation’ tonight.

Trying to keep things understated I’d invited a few of my good friends from Achiase round for a few drinks tonight to start saying goodbye. The small cast included Bernice, Ahmed, Charles, the USA girls, Helen and her daughter Naa, Prince from the fried rice stall and Mr Xhu as well as the guys from the house. Keeping it simple I just got in a stack of beers and we took it from there.

What I wasn’t expecting was for Helen to hijack proceedings and turn the evening into my official going away ceremony, so her gushing speech was delivered in front of everybody which made me feel more than a little bit embarrassed, but proud and a tad emotional…. She said some very nice things, before moving onto the gifts, I was presented with and immediately dressed in an African shirt, and big piece of cloth and various beads, as well as being given a certificate and Tiyah desk tidy. The regional assembly HIV focal person also turned up to present the certificate which was a nice touch.

Finally Helen led everyone in an endless rendition of the classroom symbol of appreciation which involved rubbing hands together before ‘throwing’ imaginary fire at the recipient. Chucking fire at someone doesn’t sound all that nice, but I’m assured it’s an honour…

Suitably embarrassed I managed a few words of thanks before slinking back to my beer. I’ll have a proper chance to thank Helen over the next couple of days.

With a 7.30 presentation scheduled for the next morning we didn’t let the evening get too heavy and I went to bed with some mixed emotions about leaving. It was fantastic that I’ve got so many good friends that could come, but it’s sad to say goodbye in the knowledge that in all probability I won’t see most of them again. It was also a shame that two of my best buddies couldn’t be there with both Big and Small Paul out of town.


Thursday 1st October
I’ve spent a bit of time in a Ghanaian prison. That sounds like a pretty good thing to tell the grandkids one day.

We were half an hour late for our 7.30 appointment (Helen’s fault not mine despite last night’s drinking) which meant we missed the window to talk to the screws as planned. Instead in a interesting turn of events we were invited to give our hypertension presentation to a group of the inmates. Twenty minutes later we were in the pen sitting in front of around fifty Ghanaian convicted criminals.

In actual fact they weren’t the bunch of desperados that you might have feared. They listened, and asked a lot of questions at the end of the session when they came across as a likeable decent group of young men, although I’ve no doubt the presence of Hannah, a 21 year old white girl brightened their week and had something to do with their attentiveness. I also expect we were a welcome distraction – the men are serving hard labour, which much make an hour or so listening to us a much more attractive proposition…

Generally speaking the conditions in the prison were better than I expected, clean but sparse, and there was quite a relaxed atmosphere and a certain bond between the prisoners and their guards. I don’t know what level of crime they were all in for, but I’d guess its not too serious.

Afterwards we paid a few visits to hair salons in Asoufua and Barekese, and boosted our own sense of satisfaction by dropping in on our blind HIV sufferer with a donation of food.


Friday 2nd October
It wasn’t exactly how I’d pictured it, but I spent most of my final night in Kumasi sheltering in near pitch darkness in the pub store room – but I could certainly think of worse places to be stranded. I’d nipped up after dinner en route to Fresh’s to pick up a couple of lagers to see us through the night when the storm hit without warning. With the power knocked out by the storm we were forced to take refuge in the only covered part of the pub – the store room.

Spent the next couple of hours sitting on beer crates chatting to the landlady, Dora, her husband Rasta and the couple of other locals that had been left similarly stranded, and watching the dramatic weather unleash its fury.

Earlier in the day my final duties with Tiyah included a series of discussions with hair salons in Achiase that had a bit of an end of term feel to them, and attending the after school club at the local high school.

Despite the fact the days have been fast running out, and I’m continually doing the last something or other it doesn’t really feel like I’m actually leaving tomorrow.


Saturday 3rd October
My taxi was booked for 11.00 which meant a morning final packing and rushed goodbyes starting with Bernice who was hurrying off for a science exam in Kumasi. I then pitched up at the 9.00 meeting to say farewell to Helen and the Tiyah project in general, although I fully intend to remain in touch with the project and help where possible from home.

Strolling back through Achiase for the final time I dropped in on a few of the characters, Theo Walcott from the cement store, Florence at the local shop and Dora at the Spot were all on the route home to say goodbye and swap contact details.

I have to admit to being a little bit put out that the kids seemed utterly uninterested in my departure – Judy & Priscilla absorbed with their cooking in a tiny sauce jar barely registered my attempted emotional goodbye, despite being full of emotion throughout the stay – I guess they get used to the obroni volunteers coming and going while it’s a bit more of a bigger deal for me.

The kid I’ll miss most though is Enoch – he’s probably the most softly spoken kid in the world, but having gotten close to him he’s a cool little dude, even he ran off to play as soon as I’d given him his present of a football. The biggest goodbye though was saved for my brother Fresh who’s been a constant source of banter and friendship. The into the cab and leaving my home of the last three months…

After arriving in Accra I went on a night out with Nana, a friend of Roop’s from PWC and Sonia, her buddy from the London office. Coming back to Accra it strikes immediately as so much a more advanced and modern metropolis then second city Kumasi. Western style bars and catering to the tourists and ex-pats with inflated prices to match. Just from tonight’s experience though the idea of coming back here in a working capacity would appeal.

We drove around town and hit a number of bars, finishing in a club that in all honesty could have been transported from any provincial town in England.


Sunday 4th October
After a late start and a long walk in the sunshine I joined Sonia and a friend for lunch at a smart Italian restaurant with a pleasant sheltered courtyard in the Osu district – certainly not the kind of place you find in Kumasi.

The friend turned out to be a 50 something American called Mike whose here for three months helping his organisation spend some $13m on health aid in the country, which naturally enough made my ears prick up for Tiyah – there may be something we can do here…

Week Twelve

Sunday 20^th September

Into town with the new girls on Saturday to help them get their bearings in the dense hustle and bustle of central Kumasi, and then back out again in the evening for a night on the tiles in Bantama.

Big Paul and Bernice both cried off sick, so Bridie, Hannah, Julia and I took Fresh and Charles (our friend from the neighbouring village) out. A heavy night with the usual revelry ensued drinking, chatting and even a little bit of dancing before rocking home at about two in the morning.

Sunday was therefore slow to get going, but the promise of a roast beef lunch was enough to draw me from my bed. We’d been invited over to Paul’s house (a different Paul) – a Ghanaian who made a fortune in the USA and retired back to Achiase, the village that e grew up in with his American wife. By all accounts Paul has been ploughing a lot back into the community, building the main school in Achiase and taking extra lessons for more than a handful of kids in their house in the evenings.

Through his contacts in the States they have four American volunteers staying with them who are teaching at the school for three months. Following similar logic that demands parents insist you’ll be best friends with someone’s else’s children just because they’re ‘about the same age’ it was suggested that all of us Obroni would like to get together.

Despite that it was a pleasant afternoon, and the lunch was fantastic. Made all the tastier by being nothing like anything I’ve eaten in three months in Ghana. A huge joint of crumbly slow roasted beef, mashed potatoes, veg and a thick onion gravy. Proper Sunday fare.

Sitting in Paul’s air conditioned conservatory it was almost like being at home again – his house is luxurious, by Ghanaian standards at least – soft furnishings, TVs, laptops, a fully equipped kitchen and hot showers. It was really nice to spend the afternoon there, and probably a couple of days of his generous hospitality would be great, but on reflection I’d much rather go about things our way that the American girls’.

With all the mod cons and home comforts they’re hardly experiencing the ‘real’ Africa that we get to live everyday, and sitting in the confined comfort of their walled, gated home has a sort of colonial, lord of the manner feel. Far be it from me to suggest that’s something that might appeal to the average American physche…

Monday 21^st September

Today was declared a national holiday in Ghana – marking 100 years since the birth since the birth of their founding father, Kwame Nkrumah. I’ve had the chance to read up on him a little in books and newspapers over the last couple of days, and have been increasingly aware that he’s an important figure not just in the history of Ghana – but a visionary leader for the African continent as a whole, promoting the idea of a United States of Africa for many years.

He’s not universally loved in Ghana though – there are those, especially in the Ashanti region that still view him as something of a despot not forgiving him in particular for enforcing a very low fixed cocoa price in the early years of his government.

Even so he’s a character worth celebrating and is a source of great pride in Ghana, his role in early anti-colonialism in Africa leading to him being nominated the African of the Millennium by the BBC.

Tonight we made the traditional dish of fufu for dinner at my request as I wanted a go at pounding before leaving. Fufu’s a mixture of plantain and cassava that is par-boiled and then pounded repeatedly using a long pole with a flattened end until it reaches the consistency of raw pastry dough. The pounding is hard work, and it is seen as the duty of the man of the house – the time taken to get it to the right consistency being a matter of pride and something of a measure of your manhood.

My pounding wasn’t exactly exemplary – higher on enthusiasm than brute strength or technique, and in the interests of getting hungry stomachs fed I was relieved of my duties by a seventeen year old girl, Linda. No shame there then.

We also saw Small Paul briefly this morning on a flying visit back from University – seems like he’s having a great time, but he’s very much missed at Tiyah.

Tuesday 22^nd September

First day on the job for both Small Ahmed and Hannah, and without Paul or Big Ahmed on hand it was left to Bridie and I to show them the ropes.

The initial signs are that my original fears about Ahmed’s suitability for the role were misplaced – he did a good job as our instigator and interpreter. It’s also just nice to get out into the field again, giving presentations in several hairdressers and convenience stores in Asoufua.

Helen came to the house before work to catch up, and with the recent upheaval it was pleasing to hear that she intends to be spending more time with Tiyah during the week – her total commitment could never be challenged, so finger’s crossed she’s able to find the time to hold good the promises.

Wednesday 23^rd September

Necessity has bred a different perspective on death for most Ghanaians I meet – for want of a better phrase death becomes a way of life. But even so it still has the capacity to stun the senses for even the most hardened realist.

When Fresh came round this morning he told us that a cousin of his who lives in the Western Region had yesterday fallen into a river and drowned. He was only 21 years old. Fresh’s mother and father have gone immediately to see the family whilst Ahmed and Bernice wait for a date for the funeral.

We’ve gotten to know the young man’s junior brother quite well in the last couple of month’s because Joseph has been living with Ahmed’s family while he goes to school in Kumasi. A quiet lad without much English, but he’s a really nice guy, and for something like this to happen completely out of the blue is so cruelly, randomly, senseless that it beggars belief.

The news obviously put a somber mood on the rest of the day, but Fresh wanted to continue working. I think it helped him to be out and about with something else to occupy his mind, and in the end we got through a series of good, interactive presentations in Adankwame.

Thursday 24^th September

There’s been a noticeable change in the weather in the last few days – it’s now much more like the Africa that I’d been expecting of clear blue skies, virtually no wind and very, very hot. Just in time for me to top up my ‘tan’ such as it is, so that at least when I return people might actually believe that I have been to Africa.

A good day’s work today with four community presentations in Barekese, and a meeting with the blind HIV sufferer and her mother. As the ‘care-giver’ it’s important for us to build a relationship with the mother so that we can help offer the support that the whole family really needs. In terms of transition as well it was good for us to meet them with Hannah as she’ll be the main point of contact once Bridie and I have left…

With the countdown on to Bridie’s leaving – dawn on Saturday – we went into Kumasi this evening for dinner at Queen’s Gate Restaurant with the American girls with me once again the only boy, but getting used to that.

Friday 25th September

Bridie's last day, which in turn has put my own departure next week into sharper focus - watching her emotional goodbyes just reminds me that I'll be going through exactly the same thing this time next week.

Helen came round first thing this morning to give a brief presentation to Bridie, a reference, certificate and various local gifts of cloth, and most valuable of all a speech of real heartfelt gratitude.

With the other two girls under the weather we took a final trip into Kumasi - it was quite nice just to go as the two of us, we've spent quite a lot of time together, especially in the last month. The usual rounds of internet, supermarket and lunch followed before heading back for the evening's festivities - and a cold shower. It's been maybe the hottest day since I came to Ghana and being in town wasn't all that much fun.

As usual on leaving day, Bernice cooked up a storm, fried chicken, jollof rice and soaked white beans - and we spent the evening in the compound reflecting on our time in Ghana with Big Paul, Fresh and Xhu - the Chinese engineer living in Achiase for a month or so. With me departure imminent I realise that I need to shape up in terms of the people that I need to say goodbye to, and in picking up gifts for everyone that has been so good to me.