Special Note to Reader

As you may have noticed, my internet access is far too little, so you'll be receiving mass uploads of posts from time to time, likely corresponding with the weekends. Unfortuately, today internet is rather (read: very painfully, want to break the computer and yell and scream) slow in Ghana. The day started off with no power, so I'm just grateful it came back on so my trip to Wa wasn't entirely for nothing. Although, trips to Wa are always useful since you can get fruit here, and you can't in Lawra. I honestly ate an entire bunch of bananas in less than 12 hours (they're little here, so don't worry, no potassium overload).

I've had to withhold the publishing of a few stories, namely, the one on where I live, and on food. Without pictures, they're not too interesting. But I'll get those to you as soon as I can, and hope that you enjoy the rest in the meantime. I'll also go back and update those I've posted today with their corresponding photos next time as well, so be sure to back-read when you're on here next.

I've discovered that even though I don't have the ability to post too often, I enjoy writing posts. In some strange sort of way, it makes me feel like I'm connected with you, even though I'm not at that exact moment. So there will be many more stories coming your way. That said, I think it's too quiet from Canada, I need stories from you too!

Until next time I have internet ...

The Vinyl Cafe

I am still struggling with the fact that it is completely dark by about 6:45pm, and that I don't have electricity. Depsite the fact that the stupid rooster wakes me up at 4:43 am, I still find the days here incredibly long. After dinner Sam and I usually chat for a little bit, and then I retire to my room for some make shift BodyPump and BodyFlow. Sam thinks that I exercise too much (I think the opposite), and he usually heads off to his workshop. When I've had enough, I lie on my make shift yoga mat (a tarp), listening to a few more songs. Then, I brush my teeth for the evening. This is my favorite part of the day. My teeth are the one part of me I can get absolutely, perfectly clean. (Note: Be sure to let the hand sanitizer completely evaporate off your hands before flossing!) I then crawl into by mosquito-proof cave and listen to the Vinyl Cafe. There is something extremely comforting about the voice of Stewart Maclean. Perhaps it is because the stories in the Story Exchange are so uniquely Canadian, that I can pretend I am there. Or maybe it is because listening to the Vinyl Cafe is something I share with my family and many friends, and helps me feel connected in an odd sort of CBC way. Or perhaps it is only because it is nice to have a genuine laugh at the end of a long day. When listening to "Sam Turns Green", Sam (not the one in the story, but my host brother) came to see why I was laughing so much. Unfortunately, CBC podcasts are only weekly, so I am going to quickly run out of new episodes to listen to (I stopped listening in May so I could have a backlog to work through while here). However, I am sure that even on repeat, The Vinyl Cafe will continue to be a part of my evening routine, at least a few nights a week.

Belinda and Sondra

For the past several weeks I have been comparing and contrasting Canada and Ghana, the developed world and the developing world. However, even within Lawra there are startling differences between the way people live, and more importantly, the opportunities available to them. It is through two special little girls who have become my friends that I made this realization.

Belinda is 11 years old. She is the daughter of the pastor of The Church of Christ, where I attend with my host family. After the service on my first Sunday there, she came up to me and said that we (meaning Spencer, who was still here at that time, and myself) needed to come and greet the children's class. And so we went and said hello and carried on our way home. As services were closing on my second Sunday there, the rains came, trapping us at the church. Belinda decided that she needed to speak with me. The first thing she asked me, in near perfect English, was "Did you bring any toys for me?" I was a little taken back, but had to respond that no, I did not. Our conversation continued to the effect of something like:

"When will you return to your home?"

Not sure if she meant when will I brave the rains, or make my final journey home, I replied, "My home in Canada, or here?"

"Canada"

"In December, just before Christmas"

"So will you bring me back some toys then?"

Unfortunately I had to explain that I didn't know when I would be coming back after that. She wanted to know if I had some toys in my house here, and then when I told her I didn't, she reasoned that it was because I was big now and probably didn't need toys anymore, and c concluded that I should probably just mail her a doll when I got to Canada. In speaking with her, I was amazed at her language skills and comprehension. There were only a few words she didn't understand the meaning of, and when I explained them in other terms, she understood and then quickly integrated them into her own speach. Belinda loves school and studying, and wants to attend University. She told me she is ok at math and science, but her favorite class is Citizenship, perhaps explaining her desire to be a lawyer when she grows up. As she described how she will become a lawyer, Belinda tried to explain to me about a group that came to her school. I'm not entirely sure what organization it was, she referred to it as Equality, but that may be the program name. Students were given the opportunity to write about their dreams and "what they want to be when they grown up", and then the program will help to try and provide opportunities for the children to realize their dreams. However, this activity took place before she transferred into the school so she did not have the opportunity to participate. She wanted to write a letter to them independently but then explained that if she did it on her own, without their supervision there was the chance they wouldn't believe that she wrote it herself. Although she wanted to participate in this program, Belinda seemed confident that she could accomplish her dreams on her own and with God's help.

As much as I was questioning her to learn about the life of a middle-class Ghanaian 11 year old, she had plently of questions for me too.

"Do you come from the land where Barack Obama is?" I explained a little about the proximity of Canada and the United States, and tried to tell her about Stephen Harper, but she didn't seem too interested in him.

"Is it true that white people are always putting this white cream on their face and arms so they don't get touched by the sun?" She seemed amused when I explained that the purpose of sunscreen was not so I wouldn't turn black, but so I wouldn't turn red like the trim on her dress. (I've had other people ask me questions about the functionality of this white cream I put on all the time). Belinda, however, commented that my white skin was very beautiful, and that she like the little bits of color (i.e. freckles). This was different from some kids in Tamale who would point at me, then poke themselves in the patterns of freckles and just laugh.

Belinda expressed that she would like to come with me when I go back to Canada, and stay with me and greet my sisters. She had never been on a plane, but would like to go. Canada seemed especially inviting since you had to take two planes to get there, and then within Canada I had to take yet another to get to where my family was. (I hope I can remember this attitude when I am complaining whilst on my 8 hour flights home). I told her that Canada was probably much too cold for her, it was way colder than this rainy day we were experiencing, and that quite often, it snowed. She lit up when we started talking about snow, she had learned about it in school and thought it very neat that I had seen snow in real life.

At the end of our conversation she took my mobile number, because she wanted to be able to call me later. She gave me her father's number so that I could speak with her again sometime too, explaining that she really wanted her own phone, but her dad wouldn't buy it for her, and that she had to wait until she was older and had a job. Just before I was about to leave, she ran off to get me a copy of her portrait. Even though I had taken some photos of her, she wanted me to have a copy of portrait to share with my sisters in Canada. She carefully tore some paper out of her notebook and wrapped it up, and placed it carefully in my bag.

Later that evening, Sondra, the little neighbor girl came by. As she lives in the compound next door, I see Sondra a lot. She often meets me when I come home from work and helps me push my bicycle down the pathway. Often times I will be in my room and look up and see that she has appeared. For the first five minutes or so, she usually just stares at me, and then she will begin talking in Dagaare, oblivious to the fact that I cannot understand her. I love her sweet voice nevertheless. Her family doesn't speak any English, or have much education. They are subsistence farmers, and are focused entirely on survival. Whenever Sondra comes by, I look for some food to give her. My host family seems to feed the neighborhood on a rotating schedule, and pays special interest to the children. I find this absolutely amazing, since, through my Western eyes, they do not have much, but yet it is more than their neighbors. I happened to have some chocolate sandwich cookies in my bag from my Friday indulgence, so I gave her one. I smiled when she immediately split it open and started licking the filling like an Oreo. I watched her as she focused on eating it, all her attention was given to the food. Then, when I thought she was finished, she starting picking up the crumbs from the floor and eating them. Sometimes after she finishes eating, she just wonders off, but today she seemed to linger around. I don't have any toys, nor do I even know if Sondra would know what to do with them. I pulled out my notebook and ripped a sheet out and got a pen for her. We started to draw. I drew a dog, since I know the Dagaare word for dog, and could explain what it was. I wanted her to draw. She started drawing shapes. I call them shapes, because I was not sure what they were. She found a calendar under the chair and looked at the picture on it, a cartoon of some children standing the earth. Through her gestures I understood that she was going to try and draw that. She continued to draw some "shapes". I'm not entirely sure how old Sondra is, my guess is that she is about 4 or 5, since I know her older sister is 7. As I watched her draw, I couldn't stop thinking about her lack of opportunities for development. Her drawing ability was that of a two year old, and while she knew what she was trying to do, she could not represent it. I love Sondra, and wish I could provide her with the same opportunity as Belinda. These two girls live only 2 km apart, yet their lives are incredibly different. I've interacted with each independently, but it wasn't until I spent time with them both on the same day, I realized just how polar their lives are, and how blessed I was a child.

Last night, before I went to bed, my phone rang. I answered it even though I did not know the number.

On the other end I was greet by a "Hello Sister Elizabeth". Belinda just wanted to greet me and wish me good night.

The Rains Came Down and the Suds Came Up

I love the rainy season. While it means I have to be extra vigilent in anti-mosquito precautions (I've adopted the practice of using knee socks once the sun goes down. I seem to have a hard time keeping my toes and ankles in the mosquito net at night), and having to time my bike travels by the color of the clouds, it also means that I can have real showers. Yup. I wait until it monsoons, and then strip down (well, I cover myself in a cloth, but hey, it's pitch black by this point anyway) and go outside. My (host) family thinks I am going to catch a cold, but I can tell you the satisfication felt by being truly clean is enough to combat any potential illness due to bathing in the rain. I've tried washing my hair via a cup and a bucket, and yes, I can do it, but it is not as satisfying or as clean. However, get a good downpour, stand under the drainspout, and you can thoroughly wash your hair in seconds. Sadly, my wonderful bottle of North American 2-in-1 got misplaced somewhere along my journey up to Lawra. I hope that whoever found it is enjoying their superclean and wonderfully smelling hair. I've managed to find a bottle of rather retro-looking shampoo, which did an ok job of cleaning my hair, although it was definitely not formulated for my (very obviously) non-African hair. So, last night I opted for Sunlight dish detergent. It was incredible! As I was combing it out afterwards, I could feel that it was dry, and apologized for any damage I am doing to it, but oh it felt clean. And this morning it still looks and feels clean. Fortunately, the heat and humidity means that my hair is staying quite wavy, which makes it easier to hide the dirt. I am still looking forward to my salon wash and cut on December 19, and know I will revert back to my daily showers, shampoos and blowdrys, but in the meantime, I will continue to enjoy the rains when they come.


Ok, I am now totally laughing. I am in Africa, supposed to be leaving a positive impact, changing the world, and I am here typing a post about my hair. C'est la vie.

Down to Business

To date, I’ve talked a lot about what I am seeing, experiencing and feeling, but have not shared much about my actual placement with MoFA, so here it goes …

A one-line summary of EWB’s Agric Strategy in Ghana could be: to improve the way MoFA delivers agricultural extension services. Of course, this is my one-line interpretation of a very large document, but hopefully the other EWBers over here will agree with me on this one. In the Northern and Upper East Regions of Ghana, EWB is focusing on the development and delivery as the AAB Curriculum. This program helps to provide AEAs with some of the tools they require to build business and market skills, and impart these to their farmer groups.

In the Upper West, we have taken a different approach. Farmers are out in their fields on a daily basis, and due to many different reasons (to be discussed another time) do not have the technologies that from a Western point of view, would call “appropriate”. Many farmers have therefore, out of necessity, have found a way to work with the resources that they do have access to. Through the Farmer Innovation Challenge, MoFA has begun to capture these farmer innovations and indigenous technologies as a way of promoting participatory farm management and education. Similarly, the MoFA Innovation Challenge was also born to encourage MoFA employees to take ownership for improving internal processes and activities. During my four months here, I will be focusing on transitioning these challenges from a one-time activity to a sustained learning process within extension services.

Now for a few more details …

Farmer Innovation Challenge (FIC) - Lessons From the Field

The underlying goal of FIC was to improve the way extension services are delivered to district farmers. The traditional model is that agric technologies and practices are transferred to the farmers through a top-down model. The AEA receives information from the district (who has received mandates from Accra), and then shares this information with farmers in his regions.
A few months ago a workshop was held where AEAs were invited to share the innovations that already exist in their districts. They were encouraged to conduct an innovation search among their farmers, and to bring their findings to the workshop.

The workshop defined a Farmer Innovation as a new technology, idea or solution that the farmer him/herself has come out with. This includes adaptations to technologies or solutions. Some examples which were identified include:

Alternative Farm labor Agreements: A district farmer, in response to continual labor shortages on his farm, created an agreement with orphans. The agreement is such that they will work on his farm for an agreed duration of time, after which point he sets them up with the necessary inputs and capital to start up their own farm.

Harvest bicycle: A farmer has put extra spokes on his bicycle so as to make it strong enough to carry the harvest from his farm to his house.

Indigenous Technologies, here meaning a technology, practice, technique or solution to a problem which has been passed down to farmers from their ancestors, were also captured during this workshop. The majority of technologies identified were alternatives to costly pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers. Some examples include:

Tobacco pesticide: Grinding up tobacco and using it as a pesticide on crops. Salt bitter can be added to increase the potency if required.

Neem leaf pesticide: Boiling, drying and grinding the neem leaf for use as a pesticide. This is an adaptation of the original neem tree indigenous technology where the neem seed is ground up and used as a pesticide.

Moringa pesticide: Grinding the bark of the moringa tree and using it as a pesticide on legumes and a storage material for cowpea.

Bird fertilizer: Collecting bird excrement from under a tree where they congregate. The fertilizer is used on dry season gardening plots.

An important part of the workshop was a discussion among AEAs and District Leaders on how best use and share these innovations, to encourage further innovation in their districts, and to facilitate farmer problem solving. While we are already in the process of compiling a booklet of the identified innovations and technologies for sharing across the districts, I will be helping to develop an action plan on how to make this bottom-up learning a more integral process of extension services. I am currently going out with AEAs to understand field schools, demonstration plots, etc. and to observe how AEAs interact with their farmers. From this, I will work with the directors to determine if a workshop on participatory approaches is appropriate. While officers learn the importance of participatory involvement in extension and agric experimentation while in agric college, it has been many years for some since they have had a formal reminder. With many activities they are tasked to do, it sometimes becomes a matter of just relaying the required messages from Accra.

I will also be working with the directors to find ways to incorporate this process of learning from the field into existing activities. This may involve helping to create space in monthly meetings for reporting by AEAs of problems and innovations, or creating a new forum where these discussions occur. I’m still working through a game plan, trying to figure out how to best approach this in the 16 weeks I have remaining here. As I do so, here are a few of the questions that have started to bubble in my mind.

• A key objective of EWB’s agric work is to learn why farmers are/aren’t adopting technologies. How do we balance supporting farmer innovations and independent thinking with working to improve new technology adoption? By publishing a booklet of "rural knowledge", are we running the risk of perpetuating "bad" practices?
• Are the “new” technologies MoFA is promoting better than indigenous technologies (eg. aforementioned pesticides)? Are demonstration plots looking at these technologies in an appropriate manner?
• The primary focus of new technology adoption is to increase yield, and therefore profit for the farmer. What are the benefits/impacts of adopting chemical technologies over the natural, indigenous technologies to the health and environment of the farmers? Does this outweigh the need for increased profit?
• Does handing out “technology” reduce the level of innovation and adaptability of farmers in overcoming problems in the future?
• How can we encourage AEAs to find out what their farmers are doing? Can we help them to identify and capitalize on similarities and differences between new and old practices?
• What does the ideal agric change journey look like? How does this differ from what MoFA is experience in their extension programs?
• Which is the bigger challenge: resource constraints (agric inputs, labor, AEA resources) or adoption/behavioral changes? To what degree do these two factors compound each other? Where do current extension services place the emphasis? How does this balance need to be adjusted to see the results we are looking for?
  

I’ve got a lot to think about, and am thus encouraging you to pass along any thoughts you might have on the above questions. I need help!

MoFA Innovation Challenge (MIC) - Making MoFA Better From Within

The objective of this challenge was to encourage all MoFA staff at the district level to come up with innovative new ways of doing their jobs which will improve the relevancy, efficiency and effectiveness of MoFA work. The belief is that for any organization to be effective it must be continuously learn from its experiences, identifying problems, finding innovative solutions and changing its approach. Thus, the desired outcome of this challenge was to help staff see that they can push for process change internally, and to help them to develop their ability to look at projects and processes and evaluate and integrate the lessons learned.

Prior to my arrival the call for innovation was put out to three districts in the Upper West. Since this challenge was being funded external to the regular budget staff were encouraged to put forth ideas, projects/approaches that may be of higher risk than normally accepted for approval. The emphasis of MIC is on experimenting and learning from experience, to build capacity for future innovation and change. Eighteen proposals came back, and then were subsequently evaluated for funding approval. Ideally, all would have been funded, but due to limited resources, only some received funding at this time. (Note: Some of the ideas were also proposed at no-cost, and are being implemented. In providing examples I have not distinguished between these innovations and ones that required funding).

Suggestion Box: Hierarchy is very prevalent in Ghanaian business, especially within government offices. This may inhibit staff from voicing opinions or offering criticism of poor practices. The district director will create a suggestion box to be placed in the district office where staff can anonymously offer feedback. The suggestions will be read at the monthly meetings and discussed. For issues of significant concern, committees will be established to further investigate the issue and develop any necessary action plans.

AEA Conceived Demonstrations: Demonstration plots are primarily dictated by the research department. Two AEAs will conduct a demonstration on a farming practice that he finds most pertinent to the farmers in his operational area and on a topic of which he has particular expertise. Specifically, demonstrations for bee-keeping and mango nursing will be demonstrated as income generating projects, which can be pursued during the dry season for sustained income for the farmers.

Weather Forecast Farmer Training: An AEA will hold a workshop to sensitize farmers in his operational area on the functioning of the new weather forecast gadgets which have been distributed to the districts. The goal is to gather farmer feedback and build trust and demand for weather reports. At the workshop farmers will also develop a system for disseminating the weather forecasts amongst themselves.

District Radio Show: All AEAs and DAOs within the specified district are invited to present topics of particular relevance to the district to be discussed on a weekly radio show. Farmers will also be invited to suggest topics of importance and share their own ideas and best practices on air.

Supervision Scheme: Having recognized that district officers do not visit the field and supervise as often as would be optimal, the district has come together to create some solutions. AEAs will document and report at the monthly meetings on how many times they were visited by which officers. There will be prizes for officers who visit the field most often. The district will regularly track improvements to supervision over time through anonymous surveys.

I was surprised at some of the ideas that came forward, they seem so simple. However, I guess this underscores the need to encourage organizational change. I am starting to follow-up with the innovators to see how their progress. I am currently identifying criteria which will help us evaluate the success of the innovation implementation, and hope to translate this to a tool to help evaluate the feasibility and appropriateness of new proposals and ideas. We will be organizing a workshop after the farming season, where the innovators will be able to come together with other district and regional staff and share their experiences. In kicking off the challenges, prizes for the most innovative ideas, and districts were offered. Thus, following the presentations, there will be peer evaluation of the innovations. Instead of a simple vote, which I think was the original idea, I am trying to develop a grading tool which will look at the factors which define a good extension innovation, such as, the impact level, scalability, sustainability, potential for farmer buy-in. (Again, if anyone has ideas or literature on this, send it my way please). This will provide an opportunity for discussion how to improve extension services. As with the Farmer Innovation Challenge, we will be publishing a document describing the innovations and some the key lessons learned.

While the Farmer and MoFA Innovation Challenges represent the bulk of my placement, there are two other areas that I will be working on.

Expanding our Strategies

The delivery of AAB is still very top heavy. While the teaching of market and business skills is very valuable and much needed, there is a danger that this could fall into the same “one-way” information exchange that many other extension services has. As I work with staff in my district in understanding the successes and learnings of the two innovation challenges, I hope to share this with the AAB team to improve the delivery of their program. I need to learn more about AAB in order to know what would be worthwhile to share with them, but I feel that what I will learn in the Upper West will be valuable in driving forward AAB curriculum improvements.

Understanding Performance Incentives

As part of our pre-departure training, each JF was given a research topic related to our sector strategy. My topic was something to the extent of exploring performance incentive theory, and how it is approached in private versus public sectors. Since our activities are focusing on agric extension, the motivation behind this question to develop a better understanding of how to get AEAs to provide exceptional extension services to their district. As I started exploring how to facilitate high performance in government organizations, my interest peaked (guess I am more of a management/human performance consultant than I want to admit to being). I feel that placement has given me a natural environment to continue this research, and so have added it to my placement objectives. Even though I have only been here a week, I already see large differences in attitudes and approaches different AEAs take. I look forward to exploring this topic more over the upcoming months. Being the academic person I am, I would love to write a short article on this, but I won’t promise anything at this point …

It seems like I have just a little bit of work laid out ahead of me, and yet at the same time, I'm not sure how to go about doing it, or if there is even anything I can effectively do. However, I'm sure I'll figure things out, and do the best I can. Four months is an incredibly short time to make any sort of lasting impact. If I can bring away any knowledge or insights that can help shape the strategy of EWB's work going forward then I can perhaps feel like I have accomplished something.

My New Home

While I adjust to life in Ghana, and figure out Lawra,  I have decided to stay where the previous JF lived. We stayed there together for a couple of days and thus, I’m fairly comfortable with the people in the area and have figured out how to get by. All that said, living here is quite different than what I am used to, and sometimes quite a struggle. I do not have electricity or clean water. I share my space with Sam, the groceries, and anyone else who needs a place to put their goods. Chickens and goats wander around, sometimes greeting me in the “shower”. I do not have a toilet, or even a latrine, just maize fields and the forest. But I am adapting and getting along relatively ok. Some days are easier than others, but fortunately no day is an entirely bad day.

So, time for a little tour.

The Compound: I live in a single family compound, and at the moment, only two people live at home. However, the community is very open and there is always a stream of people in and out. I’m getting to know most of the faces, but there seems to always be someone new. Clockwise from top-left: (1) The pathway from the road to our compound (2) Looking in from the west side. The area in the middle is where the shower is. The wall to the fields is barely chest height so you need to be listening for footsteps while showering so you know when to squat and hide. Maybe this is something only the white lady is concerned about? (3) Looking across the courtyard from my room. (4) Looking at home through the maize field before a storm.

  

Not-so-modern Amenities: Bottom Left – In the background, you will see a small woods. This is my toilet facility. Some use the shower area for #1. I struggle with that idea as everyone can hear you, see your backside, and well, it’s right next to my bedroom. Bottom right – The well. There is no bore-hole nearby, there is no tap. We buy Pure Water for me to drink, but this water is what goes into the cooking and washing. When there is rain water, I’m happy to bathe in clear water. Otherwise, I’ve been bathing in murky water. My family is convinced that it is safe and clean, explaining to me that it is only murky because it is raining so much, otherwise it would be as clean as bore hole water. I’m skeptical, especially since the water table is so high, and well, the toilet facilities were already explained. I try not to think about it (too much) and am grateful for power of Dukoral and prayer. I think my water and sanitation situation at home is my biggest challenge and fear. I am actively looking for a place with better facilities, but there doesn’t seem to be much around. In town, most use the public latrines, which are quite a disease factory, or again, their showers. There also aren’t that many bushes to use if you can’t make it to the latrine in time.

My Quarters: I don’t actually have my own room, which is proving to be quite challenging. I am not used to having to share my space like I do here. In essence, I am sharing a room with Sam. He gave me his bed, and he uses his student mattress on the floor. Sometimes he sleeps outside if it is warm, other times he comes and sleeps on the floor of the bedroom. I find it particularly difficult in the mornings. Once the family is awake, I am awake too. Photos (clockwise from top left): (1) The “veranda”, which is actually a proper room, leading into the bedroom. This is where we take our meals and hang out in the evening. (2) The corner of the bedroom with the desk and the window. Room illuminated by flashlight and camera flash. (3) My bed, with the clothes closet/line in the foreground. (4) My stuff, living in boxes, on the floor.

Laundry Time: The first time I was quick enough to do my own laundry before any of the women figured out what I was doing. The second weekend Sam’s sister Diana insisted on doing it. After a small argument, I just gave in and let her do it. On the third weekend, I left my laundry for Sam’s mom. I felt bad doing so, but I really needed things washed and I was travelling and knew I wouldn’t have time. Do effectively do laundry, you need three containers: pre-soak, wash, and rinse. I prefer to use Sunlight soap over Key Soap, which seems to be the preference here, as it a smell that reminds me of home. And of course, the clothes line to dry. As much as I love clothes fresh out of the drier and the smell of Bounce, there is something to be said for sun-dried clothes. However, this being the rainy season, finding enough sun to dry the clothes is sometimes a challenge. (Note: The water in the black bucket on the left is straight from the well. I’m not entirely sure how effective washing your clothes in dirty water is, but it seems to get some of the visible dust and dirt out, I guess just leaving you with a silty residue).

 

Technology Withdrawl

Before I left Canada, I was acutely aware I had a serious addiction. I carried my netbook almost everywhere, and I go to bed with my iphone. Email, Google, news, weather. I was connected in some form, nearly every minute of my life. And now I have almost nothing. I have a very basic cell phone, akin to the first one I had in 2003. I've had to learn how to text again without a QWERTY keyboard. It has been challenging, and I still think it is a slow and painful process. Also, I've found people don't reply to texts as quickly here either. It is raining again right now, someone called me, but I realized I don't even know how to turn up the volume on my phone (Note: I've since figured that out since I wrote this initial blog). I had to tell them to call me back later. I'm also struggling with the concept of phone units. I know that many people still use pay-as-you-go, but I am missing my very large plan, and data. This is especially true since in the community where I live people look at me as the white person with money (little do they know), and therefore lots of phone units, and if I leave my phone out (read: anywhere but my pocket) they use it sans permission.

Now, for my computer. On Friday, my baby met water. For fear of rain, I travel with it in its neoprene wetsuit, and a plastic bag, but in the office, a water satchel broke and splashed over it. No damage was done to any drives. My SD Card reader even came back to life. But the keyboard still doesn't work properly. I sent it to Tamale for repair. Our director says they computer people in Tamale can fix anything, and so I pray. It was only a small amount of water, but then again, it is a small computer. I am going through separation anxiety and hope it will come back ok. I think this is part of what is making the transition and adaption to my life so hard, I am without my security blanket.

I will confess, however, I turned data roaming on my iphone a little bit, and have downloaded my mail a couple of times. I am scared to see what my bill will be, but for sanity purposes, this was something that I needed to do. (It helped reduce the trama level of my computer incident). So thanks to those who have sent messages and weekly updates along, they've helped me to feel partially connected to the world. I've also taken to reading the paper as much as possible. It has been a unique experience to once again have a physical newspaper in my hands. I still know what is going on in the world to some extent, and am enjoying reading Ghanaian perspectives on international events, even though I question the accuracy of some of the facts reported.

Anyway, here's another prayer my computer will be safely back in my hands next week. I miss it disparately!

Note 1: This post was originally written by hand, and has only just been typed up. That too, was a long and painful process. I have realized this week that my brain seems to be connected to my keyboard.

Note 2: (Aug 25) Computer is en route back to me ... but I won't have it until the weekend. By the time the techs got to it, it was apparently ok. I hope I find this to be true when I see it again myself. I guess I was just impatient in letting it dry out completely. However, I maintain that if I didn't send it away, it wouldn't have self-healed. That's just the way things go.

Note 3: Being unplugged and unconnected really isn't that bad at all.

Lessons from The Poisonwood Bible

Spencer, the previous JF in Lawra district left this morning. He is headed first back to Tamale for his post-placement debrief, and then will journey onwards towards Accra, then finally Canada. I almost wish that I was in his place. No, I totally wished that I was in his place this morning. Last night, in fact, I dreamed that I was at the Accra airport, and was headed to Canada (via Johannesburg, for some reason), on an incredibly advanced plane (Boeing should take note of the awesome design I dreamed up), but I digress. I came to Africa knowing that I would be taking myself far from my comfort zone, that I would be living in a place so different from what I was used to in Canada, that I would have to adapt, and quite frankly, just be strong and make it through. But I didn't realize that it would be so hard. Ok, so I've barely been here a week, and most of that week I was sheltered in guesthouses as I slowly made my way up to the Upper West, but nevertheless, I wake every morning asking myself "what have I done?". I've traveled to Egypt before, and while I was there under the pretense of a Western tourist, I thought that I fared quite well in adapting to the cultural differences. But this is different. I am not here for two weeks, I am here for four months. I can't shop at Carrefour. I don't have running water. In the grand scheme of things (especially if you look at it from a work timeline) four months is nothing, but right now it seems like eternity.

However, whenever I am out, whether I am walking to my bush-bathroom, walking through town, or going to work, I see crops planted on little mounds, rather than on a plane surface. This serves as a constant reminder for me that Africa isn't bad, it's just different. I think of The Poisonwood Bible (novel by Barbara Kingsolver) and how at first the father was adamanent that crops should be planted on a flat surface, but then the rains came and washed the seeds away. Eventually, he accepted this fact that Africa is different (at least in agriculture), and planted his seeds in mounds.

On a technical side note, I have learned that planting on mounds, especially for subterranean crops, such as ground nuts (peanuts), actually substantially improves yields, in addition to reducing washout during germination. Furthermore, when the mounds are tied together, it creates reservoirs of moisture and improves self-irrigation.

"Aid agencies, Western celebrities, rock stars and politicians cannot save Africa. Only Africans can develop Africa. Outsiders can help, but only if they understand it, and work with it."
- Richard Dowden

And so I will try to understand it. And I will work with what I have.

The Red Dirt Road

The process of buying bus tickets is also something quite interesting, and a very inefficient process. The day before, you must go and buy your ticket, but this is a two step process. The first is to go early in the morning and put your name on the list. I made it there for 7:40am, and it was “sold out” (I’ve been told some people camp out to get on the Tamale-Wa bus). After talking to the man for a little bit, I learn that he had blocked out some sections, and convinced him to give me the two seats I needed (for me and the in-country director). The next step was then to return later that afternoon to pay for and pick up the physical ticket. I returned at 1pm as told, but the conductor was not yet there. I was told to wait “small time” for him. Since the bus station is at the market, I went and bought a pair of runners (since I stupidly left mine in Canada). I was impressed that I was quickly able to find a pair of Adidas in my favorite model (which was discontinued in Canada about a year or two ago), and ended up paying 8 GH Cedis for them. (0.85 CDN=1 cedi). I think they were mostly new, it is hard to tell since it is just so dusty and dirty here, but they didn’t look worn at all. In any event, those are pretty darn cheap shoes, and my feet were super happy today. After the shoes were purchased I returned to the ticket booth yet again, and was told to wait another “small time” for him. Wayne (my coach) found a bench and proceeded to wait a “small time”, which really, was a long and inefficient time. Eventually though, he arrived and we were able to get the tickets.

The bus was scheduled to leave at 5 am this morning, and we were told to be there at 4 am. Understanding Ghanaian bus times, we arrive at 445, eventually get my bag onto the bus (which cost 3 GH cd), and into our seats. The bus left at 530, which is pretty darn “punctual” so I hear.

The road from Tamale to Wa is known as the worst road in Ghana. Indeed, I might say it is just that. While Tamale and Wa are two major cities, the “highway” between them is mostly dirt. Bathurst Street (Toronto) or (before it was fixed) Twelve Mile Coulee (Calgary) have got nothing on this road. Possibly parts of the Forestry Trunk Road might be on par with the better pieces. They grade the road twice a year, once before the rainy season starts, and once when it is completed. Seeing as we are nearing the end of the rainy season the road is characterized by ruts, crevasses, lakes, and lots of bumps. At some points the driver would drive in the ditch, through the brush, instead of on the road. Whenever we drove through a puddle, all I could think about was my bag in the underbelly of the bus.

We eventually reached Wa, two hours later than anticipated due to the slow speed we were forced to take. However, we arrived, I collected my bag which has now been christened in Ghanaian dirt and mud. Sarah and I met Spencer (the JF) I will be replacing, and Stacey (a summer JF who will be staying on until fall). Sarah and I then went to the Regional MoFA office to see if the director was there. He wasn’t when he arrived, but he arrived before we left. I had the opportunity to be introduced to him. Early tomorrow morning, Spencer and I will head back to the regional office to hitch a ride up to Lawra. MoFA has monthly (or sometimes just quarterly, depending on the funds available) regional reporting meetings, and in the Upper West, they host them in a different district each month. Tomorrow’s is in Lawra, and because we were fortunate to learn that last minute, we were offered a ride. I’m pretty excited to get to avoid another bus ride. I won’t be contributing to this meeting, but it will be a good opportunity to learn the current state of the Upper West.

I’m still a little nervous about my actual work (not to mention what my final living conditions may be). However, I have to keep reminding myself that this is exactly how I feel each time I start a new consulting role. I always manage to figure it out, so hopefully this time will be no exception.

A Few More Pictures

Just a few more pictures for the visual people. No real stories attached to these, just sharing what I see …

Village at the side of the highway               Street in Tamale

 

Awesome avocadoes!                                Making dinner by candlelight

 

Laundry time (unfortunately not mine)      Vendors selling to a stopped bus

Down the Hole

I’ve been thinking about how to best share my African experience with you, and I’ve come to realize that one of the best ways will be to share stories with you. I’m thinking I’m going to have a lot of funny ones. Of course, I’ll share lots about the work I am doing here, since that is the real reason I am here. But, the white red-headed lady in Ghana will definitely have a few adventures along the way. I’ve entitled this one “Down the Hole”.

Now, one can associate holes with many sorts of things. Holes in socks. A hole in the bucket. A hole in one. Dry sockets after a tooth extraction could be considered holes too. This one involves a different kind of hole.

But before I get to the hole, we must first get to the restaurant. We walked down . I figured going for a walk would be ok, it was dark (it gets really really dark in Africa, especially on a cloudy night like tonight). But, I figured walking with Sarah Grant, our team director, who lives in and knows the area pretty well, should be ok. Well … it was really, really dark and she was talking, we miss the turn and subsequently add an additional kilometer (maybe? I don’t know, any dark road in Africa seems really long to me. I’m still really struggling with the dark thing. I even hate walking across the driveway at home in the dark). Anyway, we get to the restaurant and I realize I have to go to the bathroom. I spent the day drinking water in attempt to reduce the swelling/water retention in my feet, and well, it was time to go. I’ve been to other “outdoor” restaurants before in Cairo and Abu Dhabi, but things in Ghana are a little different. There they had inside parts, here, well, not so much. I spent some time thinking about what to do. There were bushes. There was a little building where some of the food prep took place. But, there were also close houses, and this being a restaurant, lots of tables and patrons. I had no choice but to ask.

I asked one of the waitresses, and she pointed me across the field. I couldn’t see anything out there, but she said to just walk and I would find it. I started walking, and she quickly came running after me, “Flashlight, flashlight”. Good idea! I turned and took it from her. No sooner than I turned around and took half a step while turning it on, my foot disappeared and I performed a brilliant tumbling act across the field. As I tumbled I felt my arm get wet. My only thought was of my pants. Did I just roll through mud? I had decided to break out a pair of clean, last washed in Canada, pants. I stood up, and realized I was sans shoe. I sort of jumped back to the hole, shone the light down, and sure enough, it was in the bottom. Fortunately, it wasn’t nearly as deep as I thought it had been, only about knee deep. So I reached down, grabbed it, and went on my merry way after reassuring the staff I was ok.

I started walking across the field, still not sure where to go, until I hit a fence. “Hmmm…” I looked around and then noticed a grass, hut-like structure to my left. “Well, I guess this is it”. I began. Then I realized that there was a table that wasn’t too far away. I could hear everything they were saying, could they hear me? I thought about stopping, but didn’t know when we would be back at the Guesthouse, or exactly how many water satchels I still had left in me. Well, this is Africa.

I got back the main area of the restaurant, and continued to reassure the women that I was not hurt. They gave me some soap and I washed up and filed “(significant) washroom adventure number 1” in the vault. From what I’ve heard, I’m confident this is only the beginning.

On a more positive note, I ate the most amazing burger for dinner. Not Ghanaian food I know, but I will get to that a little bit later on.

Read the Instructions

Ok, I’ll be honest, this story isn’t as exciting as the title alludes to. However, by reading the instructional pamphlet that came with my mosquito net, I was able to set my mind at ease about something else: bedbugs.

The mattresses here … well, let’s just say they’re definitely not like my bed in Calgary. I’m sure the sheets in the guesthouse were washed before I came to sleep on them, but not with my favorite, Ultra Tide with Bleach, on extra hot. When I was tidying up my mess, I decided to read the pamphlet before just throwing it out. To be honest, since the title was “Travel choices to Prevent Malaria” (this was the capitalization pattern … a little weird, but I guess it works), it did seem a little more exciting than “How to Use Your Mosquito Net”.

Anyway … to summarize:

“Pyrethroid insecticides, originally obtained from chrysanthemum blooms, are biodegradable and relatively benign to humans. However, they are extremely toxic to the Anophleles mosquito […] And since pyrethroids kill a wide variety of insects other than mosquitoes – including bedbugs and cockroaches – wrapping your pillow or mattress with a treated net in the evening before you sleep can greatly reduce the number of unwanted creatures sharing your bed.”

I have a couple of questions regarding this, and would appreciate it if someone could send me some research. I should be focusing my internet time on more valuable things, but still have questions …

1) “relatively benign to humans” ? – ok, I’ve swam in Lake Ontario more than once, so my future children might already be jeopardized, but I would like to know more about the potential side effects. Don’t worry, I’ll still use my net, just want to be aware of the risks.

2) How are synthetic pyrethroids different from the once natural ones?

3) How big are the Anopheles mosquito? The mosquitoes I’ve seen are small, and I’m convinced they could fit through the screen if they tried. That said, however, I saw them in the day, and the Anopheles are mostly active between dusk and dawn, and also, mosquitoes are pretty lazy, and not like mice or bats who try to fit through small holes intentionally.

And, thinking towards the future, the pamphlet says:

“The nets should be renewed with insecticide after six months. Unfortunately, while Canadian regulations allow the sales of treated nets, they ban distribution of pyrethroid solutions [still really want to know what this does to my human cells!]. The best idea is to find someone who needs a net in the country you’re visiting and hand yours over to them when you head home.”

On second thought, I think I’ll take mine to the EWB house in Toronto and use it to kill the potential bedbugs there when I’m back in December.

(left) Pretending to be a mosquito while setting up the net. Probably not the best thing to be doing if I’m questioning pyrethoids so much.

         (below) My Calgary bed. I’m trying to not miss it too much, but look forward to being reunited in December.

        

(right) My bed in the EWB house. It’s the bunk on the bottom right. There were four sets of bunks in this room. Fun times!

In Ghana

After a long flight from Toronto to Frankfurt, some sub-quality napping in the airport, and then another long flight from Frankfurt to Accra. I was so tired on this flight I slept through most of it. At one point a flight attendant was asking my friends if they thought I wanted a drink for when I work up. They decided that they would get me orange juice since I had that on my previous flight. I “heard” all this conversation and was conscious enough to know that I actually wanted apple juice, but was too tired to talk or move. When I woke up a few hours later, I drank the orange juice. Once we started getting closer and closer to Accra, the flight became emotional, with tears welling as we touched down. All I could think about was the fact that I was here. I was in Africa. At 27, I was about to complete another one of my dreams. Amazing. I was also very pleased that we got to walk off the plane and across the tarmac, just like in the movies. (The little things really make me happy).

We made it to Accra, I met my friend Rachel who was in Ghana for the past two months with Canadian Lawyers abroad, albeit, briefly, at the airport. She gave me her cell phone and we went on our way to the Guesthouse we were staying at for the night. We headed out for a walk down towards Oxford Street in search of an ATM and some dinner. My first dinner in Ghana was a very large platter of chicken and rice. If that was what all the food was like, I’d be ok. I’ve since learned that there’s a lot of other things, a lot involving fish, so I’m still trying to figure things out.

Yesterday we set out on a very very long bus journey from Accra to Tamale. On average, most think the ride takes about 12 hours, but road construction (read: large potholes on a bumpy dirt road) and a bus break down turned our journey into one closer to 18 hours. The bus driver was strategic and found us a “village” to break down in (or stop when he knew the break down was imminent). So, we spent 6 hours playing with probably 50 very excited kids. While there were times I was really annoyed about being broken down in the middle of nowhere, in retrospect, I think it was a great cultural integration experience.

There is so much more to write and share about my first 48 hours in Ghana, but I still struggling to find the words to express what I see and what I am feeling. So, in the meantime, just a few pictures …

Somewhere just outside Accra. The roadside village where our bus “broke”

The kids just loved having there picture taken. As soon as they saw a camera, everyone wanted to be in the front. Their mothers just stood at the side laughing and laughing, and then when it got to be too much, they would yell at them, something which I am assuming was along the lines of “be quiet, settle down, don’t scare the white ladies”, because they would back off … for about 10 seconds.

These two girls were some of the older ones in the group, probably about 13 or 14. They were intrigued with the games we were playing with the kids, but kept their distance, in order to retain their “grown-up-ness”. The girl on the left had recently gotten this purple weave, and kept wanting to have pictures taken to see it. She was quite proud of it, and at the same time was equally interested in my red hair.

And one last, very enlarged (hence poor quality) picture. I was so happy, and unusually comforted, to see this familiar sign (top of photo, middle), even though I have no idea where it was. I was impressed I was able to whip out my camera fast enough to capture it as we drove past.

(For those who don't recognize the sign, don't worry. For those that do, you'll know what this meant to me).

I will be in Tamale for the next two days for my EWB Sector Strategy and country training, and then I will head up to Lawra to officially begin my position with MoFA.

No Turning Back

I guess the title of this post is a little deceptive, I’ve never actually thought about turning back (well, at least not for the last couple of days anyway). Rather, my anxiousness and (few) tears were more related to the fact that I have a lot of unknowns in front of me. There are the logistical and physical unknowns: Where will I live? What will my latrine look like? Will the bore hole in my town be working? Will my digestive system be ok? There are the emotional unknowns: Will I be able to leave the emotional challenges I faced in Canada behind me? Will I be able to build relationships with the people in my village? Will I miss my family and friends too much or will I be able to live and experience what is in front of me? There are the occupational unknowns: Will I be able to me successful in my work place? Will I understand want I need to do? Will I be able to accomplish what EWB wants me to? Will I create positive change and impact? And there is the unknown of the future and the bigger picture. Working in Development in Africa was something I had always thought about, but it was always something that was in the future. The future is now. In 12 hours I will be standing in Accra. At this point I can’t tell you what the next 4.5 months will be like, but I know that they are the next 4.5 months that I need right now. I’ve been feeling like there was something “next” for me in life. This is it, but it is also only the beginning of what I think will be an incredible journey.

The Learning Zone (Pre-Departure Training)

I’m not entirely sure what I expected of my Pre-Departure Training in Toronto. I think that I wanted a nicely packaged toolkit on how to be a successful development worker, or something along that lines. However, that was not what the three days were about. We spent time reflecting on what brought us to this role and exploring our hopes, fears and expectations of our placement. We explored our learning styles and personality types, and worked on building relationships. We read, discussed and analyzed and re-analyzed and discussed some more several development case studies. We had a session to explore the root causes of poverty and to further develop our “systems” thinking approach. We also explored the concept of Participatory Rural Appraisal methods.

After learning about PRA, we were given an assignment to 1) help us put our new understanding to action, and 2) push is into our learning zone, bordering on the danger zone.

The theory is that you learn better when outside of your comfort zone (the green circle), and by giving us a challenging assignment, which would likely border on our danger zone (ultimate level of discomfort), our green zone would increase, thereby making us more effective development workers in a foreign country. And so we were given the question: “Why are people homeless in Toronto?”, a team and an hour and half to find the answer. To help those who are not familiar with Toronto, our facilitator suggested some areas which may be useful for our “research”: “Queen and Bathurst”, “Queen between Jarvis and Parliament” … areas I actively avoided while living in Toronto. My partner and I decided we wanted to talk to a few homeless people, but wanted to do so in the security of a shelter. We pulled out my phone and asked Mr. Google for the location of some shelters in downtown Toronto. I quickly chose The Covenant House, because I felt I might be more comfortable with youth than with potentially old men. As we talked about our approach I realized that I had an assumption that many people in Toronto were homeless because they chose to be. I’m not sure where this came from, perhaps previous conversations or reports I’d read. Part of this assignment was to challenge our assumptions, and so we decided we should just start talking to some of the homeless we passed, if only to at least get our heads wrapped around this assignment and help us develop a better approach. And so we approached one gentleman, who answered our questions, but primarily served as a guinea pig for our question asking abilities.

The second person was a woman from El Salvador, Anna. She had lived in Montreal before coming to Toronto, did not have any friends or family in Toronto, and considered the shelters her home. We decided that an alternative to asking our interviewees why they were still on the street or didn’t get a job, that we would ask them “If you could change one thing about Toronto to help yourself, what would it be?” Anna didn’t want to change anything. She was happy, and so we thanked her for her time.

We turned around and saw a hand holding a Tim Horton’s cup poking out from a mailbox across the street, so we darted across Yonge Street to reach him. Ahmed was from Morocco, and had spent sometime living in Ottawa, Hull and Montreal, in between various stints in Toronto. As he switched back and forth between French and English, we learned that he had once held a job, but because of his health, he could no longer work, and as a result has found himself on the street. When asked “If you could change one thing about Toronto to help yourself, what would it be?” he responded that he’s never seen a social program or institution that was effective, rather, if he wanted to change his situation, he needed to change himself.

Carissa and I went on to speak to two police officers, and then started randomly polling individuals in and around the Eaton’s Centre as to what they thought was the primary reason individuals ended up on the streets in Toronto. The contrast in the answers was interesting, the police officers suggested that the primary reasons for homelessness were addictions, mental illness, and that people remained in this state because in Toronto, it was very easy to. They shared that people in Toronto were often too generous and protective of the homeless, which made their job as a law enforcement officer more difficult. The top reasons cited by the average public were scarcity of well-paying jobs, the high cost of living and lack of affordable housing.

I know we didn't answer the question posed to us. Can you really understand anything in an hour and a half? But, I will say that this exercise helped emphasize the importance of humility, and helped to bring us together as a group of volunteers.

And so it begins

August 1, 5:30pm

After yet another Calgary-Toronto flight completed, I am now at the EWB House in Toronto. The house is reminiscent of the days I spent living in the Queens Ghetto. I feel like I have a fairly good understanding of where I'm going, and know that what I have right now is eons above anything anyone will have in my town. The difference is, I'm in Toronto, where I've lived for the last 5 years, and can't shake the feeling of what I'm "supposed" to have while living in Toronto.

Once the other JFs arrive, we’ll kick our pre-departure training off with a welcome and intro session this evening, and then the “fun” will officially begin tomorrow morning. From the schedule I’ve seen so far, it looks like we have sessions on understanding poverty, EWB strategy and methods, some agricultural case studies, and lots of reading. Wednesday afternoon we will head out on our trans-Atlantic flights.

I’ve received a few more details of my actual placement with MoFA. I won’t be working with the AAB Program as I previously thought (although several of my colleagues will still be). Instead, I will supporting the Farmers Innovation Challenge in the Upper West Region. And by Upper West, they really do mean the Upper West. I will be based out of the Lawra District, which is as far up and west as you can go before leaving Ghana.

Upper West Region, Ghana. The green district in the top left corner is officially my district now.

In one sentence, the Farmer Innovation Challenge is a way for farmers to share new technologies and best practices with each other, and gain both financial and methodology support from MoFA.

August 1, 9:00 pm

I have my passport back now, with a Ghanaian Visa pasted in, and people were talking about plane tickets this evening too. I guess this means I’m really going.

August 2, 8:00 am

As soon as everyone is ready, we’ll be heading over to the U of Toronto campus for today’s learning sessions. The sky’s look like they’re ready to rain on us, but I hope it holds off so we can get there dry. It seems weird to be back in Toronto without my car but I guess living without one is something I’m going to have to get used to.

And so it all begins …