Saturday 1st August
After the dramas of the previous evening we made a bit of a later start to the day than planned, but set off for Kakum National Park, where the main attraction is the suspended canapé rope walkway – 40 meters high through the trees in the dense Ghanaian rainforest.
It’s a real tourist trap, but well worth a visit for a unique perspective on the sights and sounds of the forest, the rope walkways have a tendency to swing alarmingly and creak from time to time, leaving those without a head for heights somewhat perturbed.
We also took up the option of a one hour guided walk through the forest – in hindsight perhaps flip-flops weren’t the most appropriate footwear – where we so little or no wildlife, although our guide was able to point out notable trees, including some humungous centuries old cotton trees with a base the size of an average house.
On the way back to Cape Coast we stopped off at Hans Cottage Botel, another tourist must see, that features a restaurant built over a small lake housing many fish, birds, and most notably fresh water crocodiles. Enjoying lunch less than ten yards from a basking croc was a new experience for me, although I chose not to join the groups queuing up to touch one of them being of the firm opinion that these boys are just too hard to mess about with.
A nap, dinner of fresh barbequed snapper in a seafront restaurant and back to the old Oasis haunt for a final evening of fun and games with the Rasta boys. I also got the chance to catch up with Johnny again and we all spent the night back in the Panafest… shots, beers, 7.5% bottled Guinness… the recipe for another late night.
Sunday 2nd August
In a moment of madness Duncan, Becky and I agreed to meet King Bobo on the beach for a morning workout at 8.30, so we dragged ourselves from our slumber and spent an hour or so running on the beach and performing various contortions, stretches and exercises under the King’s instruction, followed with a refreshing dip in the sea. Apparently the King trains people up to five times a day on Accra beach – no wonder there’s not an ounce of fat on his body as I was shattered afterwards, although three consecutive late, boozy nights probably weren’t the ideal preparation.
After that we set about traveling back to Kumasi and managed to get a seat on the Mass Metro bus – a budget alternative to the usual STC coaches. I now know why it so cheap (4 cedis ride instead of ten). Crushed into the middle of a ‘3 man’ seat next to a woman with a stereotypically huge African backside, with Bridie on the isle seat the journey was hot and uncomfortable. Already tired and a little hungover, four hours of bumping along left me more than a little grouchy!
But still a fantastic weekend, where I go the chance to meet some brilliant characters.
Monday 3rd August
A nervous Small Paul was clearly working up to something in our Monday meeting this morning, and in his roundabout way he finally got round to broaching the subject of funding for Tiyah. As a fairly recently created NGO they’re very short of cash for their projects (both the one here in Kumasi, and the two programmes in the North). As well as kitting out the office here, which is basic to say the least and funding the community work that we deliver, both Paul and Ahmed work for Tiyah with no recompense.
There are some obvious things that we can do to help, but all of us volunteers are in a similar position – we’d love to be able to help more, but are all having to fund our trips here whilst not working back at home, so the riches just aren’t there for all the will in the World.
I think for me it will be about the little things I can do while here, including seeing if I can help with appeals for funds/grants elsewhere, then seeing what my position is when I finish… although with no job to return to I can’t afford to be too generous. Maybe some ongoing funding work from back in the UK is the answer.
This week should be fun, we’re going to be teaching correct condom use in the communities, so Small Paul and I visited the National Cultural Centre to buy two black wooden penises as props (I guess they’re used as some kind of fertility symbol) – we opted for large rather than extra large. Not an uncomfortable experience at all then.
Tuesday 4th August
Paul showed once again the capacity to surprise today when he admitted, a little sheepishly, that he believes it’s possible for HIV to be transmitted spiritually. It demonstrated once again how far we have to come when an educated, articulate and religious man like Paul still believes this hogwash…and he’s one of the people supposed to be educating about HIV. A bit scary really.
We had a very entertaining session in Barekese this morning, breaking out the wooden penises in a ladies hair salon to demonstrate condom use. Lots of girly giggling, and I let Laura and Bridie take the lead, but to be fair the girls in the hairdressers weren’t too shy at getting involved.
Otherwise we had two other very good community presentations – which is pretty much all we’re able to do at the moment while the schools are still on vacation – which incidentally also has the knock on effect that any time we pitch up to deliver a presentation in the street we’re instantly surrounded by kids out to see the Obronis.
Result at dinner tonight – dinner wasn’t tomato sauce, so took advantage and stocked piled with two massive rice balls to go with the spicy peanut soup and beef.
Wednesday 5th August
Johnny was in Kumasi on his travels today, so met up with him, his director Mr Aziz and Kumasi guide Jacob at Vic Baboos – having traveled into town with Big Paul. As always in the travelers’ haven I bumped into someone I knew – Beth from Wales, and Eva a Dutch girl from our orientation week were already there when I arrived.
We all spent a happy few hours blowing the froth off a couple of Stars and catching up on life in Ghana in general. It’s good to talk to people sharing the same experience from the same perspective.
Mr Aziz seems like a good man, and his volunteer projects throughout Ghana an interesting option – missing out on the middlemen (SYTO/Bunac) so saving a fair bit of money in the process. We’re all planning to meet up and visit the Ashanti King’s Palace tomorrow afternoon.
While in town I also dropped into the supermarket to pick up some treats from home; Kioara squash and a tiny jar of Marmite for 7.50 cedi – very expensive, but worth it for a taste of England.
When I got back I found my ‘whites’ wash which I’d left soaking to try and get something other than dirty brown had been cleaned to an alabaster sparkle and hung up to dry. Either our friendly neighbour student Kwame took pity on me, or I’ve discovered a new kind of voodoo.
Community work in Adankwame this morning on basic HIV/AIDS information – we had been planning to get the penises out again, but there were just too many kids milling around, so felt it just wasn’t appropriate. There might be a tough session on Friday, one of the men I was talking to with Small Paul wants to come and see us for a 1-2-1 session – he’s clearly got a few worries, so we’ll see what happens.
Not sure what tomorrow holds, we’re due to visit one of the local hospitals, but found out today that our contact there has been fired. Cest La Vie in Ghana.
Thursday 6th July
I was vaguely aware that I’d be traveling to Ghana in the ‘rainy season’ but didn’t in truth think much of it. After all it’s still Africa, right? Well the last couple of weeks haven’t been especially hot, and it’s rained on or off at least every other day – not what I was really expecting.
Until this evening today was a bit of a non-event – our planned hospital visit was cancelled and my plans to get some office admin were hindered by the hoards of kids that descend on the office as soon as unlock the door. It’s like a treasure trove in there for them, they can’t resist getting their hands on anything and everything which makes it a mission to get anything achieved.
After giving up on that the afternoon was mainly spent at a loose end in the compound dodging the showers and prepping for the radio session this evening (the one postponed from last week).
By this stage all three of us know the topic and our lines off by heart so I was pretty relaxed about the whole thing. The radio station in Achiase is in effect a huge loud speaker system supported by a ramshackle studio, reminiscent of the service radio station set up in M*A*S*H. The benefit being that with the speaker turned up full blast everyone in the village has little option but to listen.
We had an hour booked from 7.30, so ran through the usual material with translations from Paul and Ahmed, and then fielded a few questions texted in at the end. At one stage we needed a little padding to get through the time and Ahmed went into overdrive – I’ve no idea what he was saying, but it sounded great, and was delivered with genuine passion. All things considered I think it was a successful session.
Bridie and Laura are off to Green Turtle Lodge (a popular tourist beach resort) early tomorrow morning, so I should have the compound to myself this weekend – I’m quite looking forward to it.
Friday 7th August
A quiet start to the day with the girls off on their travels at the crack of dawn, and with no specific programme I took it on myself to plough through a bit of admin in the office – and finally managed to get a fair bit done before the kids cottoned on to my presence… although the office computer switching itself off on a regular basis was infuriating.
Spent another hour twiddling my thumbs later in the office when the private meeting I’d scheduled with the man from Adankwame didn’t materialise, tediously predictable, but both Small Paul and the guest were no-shows. That’s just the way in Ghana, and I need to try and be philosophical and roll with it – but it’s frustrating when people won’t help us to help them.
A friend from the village has shown a particularly keen eye for a business opportunity opening a fried rice stall 30 seconds walk from our house, so I tucked into a large bagful of delicious fried rice, chicken and spicy pepper sauce for lunch - think he’s found himself a regular customer.
Then in the evening I headed into Bantama for a night on the strip with Beth and the Dutch girls Eva, Annalot and Anouk. Sitting at the roadside bar it was left to Beth and I to keep the British end up – the three Dutch girls managed one beer between them all night. Safe to say Beth and I managed to shift a few more than that. The four of them are off traveling next week and have a military minute by minute schedule to stick to, along with that, the tedious debates over each cedi spent and the lack of drinking action I’m not sure how much fun Beth’s going to have…
The bars in Bantama operate an interesting toilet policy in that they just don’t appear to have them, instead when nature called we had to make a five minute walk to a paid bathroom down the road. No wonder so many people (men, children and even women) end up urinating in the streetside gutters!
After the dramas of the previous evening we made a bit of a later start to the day than planned, but set off for Kakum National Park, where the main attraction is the suspended canapé rope walkway – 40 meters high through the trees in the dense Ghanaian rainforest.
It’s a real tourist trap, but well worth a visit for a unique perspective on the sights and sounds of the forest, the rope walkways have a tendency to swing alarmingly and creak from time to time, leaving those without a head for heights somewhat perturbed.
We also took up the option of a one hour guided walk through the forest – in hindsight perhaps flip-flops weren’t the most appropriate footwear – where we so little or no wildlife, although our guide was able to point out notable trees, including some humungous centuries old cotton trees with a base the size of an average house.
On the way back to Cape Coast we stopped off at Hans Cottage Botel, another tourist must see, that features a restaurant built over a small lake housing many fish, birds, and most notably fresh water crocodiles. Enjoying lunch less than ten yards from a basking croc was a new experience for me, although I chose not to join the groups queuing up to touch one of them being of the firm opinion that these boys are just too hard to mess about with.
A nap, dinner of fresh barbequed snapper in a seafront restaurant and back to the old Oasis haunt for a final evening of fun and games with the Rasta boys. I also got the chance to catch up with Johnny again and we all spent the night back in the Panafest… shots, beers, 7.5% bottled Guinness… the recipe for another late night.
Sunday 2nd August
In a moment of madness Duncan, Becky and I agreed to meet King Bobo on the beach for a morning workout at 8.30, so we dragged ourselves from our slumber and spent an hour or so running on the beach and performing various contortions, stretches and exercises under the King’s instruction, followed with a refreshing dip in the sea. Apparently the King trains people up to five times a day on Accra beach – no wonder there’s not an ounce of fat on his body as I was shattered afterwards, although three consecutive late, boozy nights probably weren’t the ideal preparation.
After that we set about traveling back to Kumasi and managed to get a seat on the Mass Metro bus – a budget alternative to the usual STC coaches. I now know why it so cheap (4 cedis ride instead of ten). Crushed into the middle of a ‘3 man’ seat next to a woman with a stereotypically huge African backside, with Bridie on the isle seat the journey was hot and uncomfortable. Already tired and a little hungover, four hours of bumping along left me more than a little grouchy!
But still a fantastic weekend, where I go the chance to meet some brilliant characters.
Monday 3rd August
A nervous Small Paul was clearly working up to something in our Monday meeting this morning, and in his roundabout way he finally got round to broaching the subject of funding for Tiyah. As a fairly recently created NGO they’re very short of cash for their projects (both the one here in Kumasi, and the two programmes in the North). As well as kitting out the office here, which is basic to say the least and funding the community work that we deliver, both Paul and Ahmed work for Tiyah with no recompense.
There are some obvious things that we can do to help, but all of us volunteers are in a similar position – we’d love to be able to help more, but are all having to fund our trips here whilst not working back at home, so the riches just aren’t there for all the will in the World.
I think for me it will be about the little things I can do while here, including seeing if I can help with appeals for funds/grants elsewhere, then seeing what my position is when I finish… although with no job to return to I can’t afford to be too generous. Maybe some ongoing funding work from back in the UK is the answer.
This week should be fun, we’re going to be teaching correct condom use in the communities, so Small Paul and I visited the National Cultural Centre to buy two black wooden penises as props (I guess they’re used as some kind of fertility symbol) – we opted for large rather than extra large. Not an uncomfortable experience at all then.
Tuesday 4th August
Paul showed once again the capacity to surprise today when he admitted, a little sheepishly, that he believes it’s possible for HIV to be transmitted spiritually. It demonstrated once again how far we have to come when an educated, articulate and religious man like Paul still believes this hogwash…and he’s one of the people supposed to be educating about HIV. A bit scary really.
We had a very entertaining session in Barekese this morning, breaking out the wooden penises in a ladies hair salon to demonstrate condom use. Lots of girly giggling, and I let Laura and Bridie take the lead, but to be fair the girls in the hairdressers weren’t too shy at getting involved.
Otherwise we had two other very good community presentations – which is pretty much all we’re able to do at the moment while the schools are still on vacation – which incidentally also has the knock on effect that any time we pitch up to deliver a presentation in the street we’re instantly surrounded by kids out to see the Obronis.
Result at dinner tonight – dinner wasn’t tomato sauce, so took advantage and stocked piled with two massive rice balls to go with the spicy peanut soup and beef.
Wednesday 5th August
Johnny was in Kumasi on his travels today, so met up with him, his director Mr Aziz and Kumasi guide Jacob at Vic Baboos – having traveled into town with Big Paul. As always in the travelers’ haven I bumped into someone I knew – Beth from Wales, and Eva a Dutch girl from our orientation week were already there when I arrived.
We all spent a happy few hours blowing the froth off a couple of Stars and catching up on life in Ghana in general. It’s good to talk to people sharing the same experience from the same perspective.
Mr Aziz seems like a good man, and his volunteer projects throughout Ghana an interesting option – missing out on the middlemen (SYTO/Bunac) so saving a fair bit of money in the process. We’re all planning to meet up and visit the Ashanti King’s Palace tomorrow afternoon.
While in town I also dropped into the supermarket to pick up some treats from home; Kioara squash and a tiny jar of Marmite for 7.50 cedi – very expensive, but worth it for a taste of England.
When I got back I found my ‘whites’ wash which I’d left soaking to try and get something other than dirty brown had been cleaned to an alabaster sparkle and hung up to dry. Either our friendly neighbour student Kwame took pity on me, or I’ve discovered a new kind of voodoo.
Community work in Adankwame this morning on basic HIV/AIDS information – we had been planning to get the penises out again, but there were just too many kids milling around, so felt it just wasn’t appropriate. There might be a tough session on Friday, one of the men I was talking to with Small Paul wants to come and see us for a 1-2-1 session – he’s clearly got a few worries, so we’ll see what happens.
Not sure what tomorrow holds, we’re due to visit one of the local hospitals, but found out today that our contact there has been fired. Cest La Vie in Ghana.
Thursday 6th July
I was vaguely aware that I’d be traveling to Ghana in the ‘rainy season’ but didn’t in truth think much of it. After all it’s still Africa, right? Well the last couple of weeks haven’t been especially hot, and it’s rained on or off at least every other day – not what I was really expecting.
Until this evening today was a bit of a non-event – our planned hospital visit was cancelled and my plans to get some office admin were hindered by the hoards of kids that descend on the office as soon as unlock the door. It’s like a treasure trove in there for them, they can’t resist getting their hands on anything and everything which makes it a mission to get anything achieved.
After giving up on that the afternoon was mainly spent at a loose end in the compound dodging the showers and prepping for the radio session this evening (the one postponed from last week).
By this stage all three of us know the topic and our lines off by heart so I was pretty relaxed about the whole thing. The radio station in Achiase is in effect a huge loud speaker system supported by a ramshackle studio, reminiscent of the service radio station set up in M*A*S*H. The benefit being that with the speaker turned up full blast everyone in the village has little option but to listen.
We had an hour booked from 7.30, so ran through the usual material with translations from Paul and Ahmed, and then fielded a few questions texted in at the end. At one stage we needed a little padding to get through the time and Ahmed went into overdrive – I’ve no idea what he was saying, but it sounded great, and was delivered with genuine passion. All things considered I think it was a successful session.
Bridie and Laura are off to Green Turtle Lodge (a popular tourist beach resort) early tomorrow morning, so I should have the compound to myself this weekend – I’m quite looking forward to it.
Friday 7th August
A quiet start to the day with the girls off on their travels at the crack of dawn, and with no specific programme I took it on myself to plough through a bit of admin in the office – and finally managed to get a fair bit done before the kids cottoned on to my presence… although the office computer switching itself off on a regular basis was infuriating.
Spent another hour twiddling my thumbs later in the office when the private meeting I’d scheduled with the man from Adankwame didn’t materialise, tediously predictable, but both Small Paul and the guest were no-shows. That’s just the way in Ghana, and I need to try and be philosophical and roll with it – but it’s frustrating when people won’t help us to help them.
A friend from the village has shown a particularly keen eye for a business opportunity opening a fried rice stall 30 seconds walk from our house, so I tucked into a large bagful of delicious fried rice, chicken and spicy pepper sauce for lunch - think he’s found himself a regular customer.
Then in the evening I headed into Bantama for a night on the strip with Beth and the Dutch girls Eva, Annalot and Anouk. Sitting at the roadside bar it was left to Beth and I to keep the British end up – the three Dutch girls managed one beer between them all night. Safe to say Beth and I managed to shift a few more than that. The four of them are off traveling next week and have a military minute by minute schedule to stick to, along with that, the tedious debates over each cedi spent and the lack of drinking action I’m not sure how much fun Beth’s going to have…
The bars in Bantama operate an interesting toilet policy in that they just don’t appear to have them, instead when nature called we had to make a five minute walk to a paid bathroom down the road. No wonder so many people (men, children and even women) end up urinating in the streetside gutters!
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