Training Complete

I’ve completed my training here at GNECC today. I’m so impressed with how eager the staff here are to learn. They’ve been so excited about all the things I’ve shown them and have been trying a slew of new techniques and working with me to perfect them. The training I completed with them was tailored to their needs so I think that they’ll see a huge positive impact on their work.

I went at lunch today to pick up the dresses I had custom made. I picked them up from the sister of the dressmaker who was my first point of contact. Apparently the dressmaker lost my measurements so she just made my dresses quite randomly. On top of that she attempted to increase the price after I already paid her. Her poor sister was very embarrassed, she went with me to another dressmaker to get them hopefully fixed a bit so I’ll go after work and pick them up.

This will likely be my last post from Ghana, as today is my last day at work and that is where I have my internet access. I leave on Friday to return to Canada.

 

Open Sourcing It

Last week I was asked to help someone who works at GNECC find accounting software. He has no budget so I helped him find suitable open source software called GnuCash. Last Friday after spending the week with it he was beside himself with excitement. He was completely amazed at the functionality of the software. He insisted on showing me all of the things it could do. When I explained to him again what open source is he was blown away. He got really excited about it and consequently everyone in the office now wants to know how to find open source software. I’m so thrilled to have been able to share this with the office, and hopefully begin the path of GNECC to open source software!

The Big Game!

This weekend was the big Ghana vs US game. What a great match! I went with my friends down to a bar downtown to watch it. We sat outside and watched it on a big wrinkly projector screen. It was amazing to be amidst a throng of cheering happy people when we scored and yelling “Away Away Away” whenever the US came close to our goal. Such group excitement and anticipation. I will unfortunately be getting on a plane as we play our quarter finals match, so I’m sad that I will miss that.

Saturday night my friend came to begin her three weeks here. It was so awesome to see her, and I am so excited for her! I got a chance to show her around Accra and get her set up with some essentials. It has been kind of a shock seeing her, as I’ve totally adjusted my way of life and I remembered that this is new and not just my normal life. I got my hair braided yesterday while my friend gawked in awe. My head feels so very cool now with the hair pulled off of it, and I’m really enjoying that although I’ll be happier when it loosens a bit and sleeping is easier!

Today I will run my tutorial sessions and hopefully explain some new ways to use the software they’re already using here. I’ll then be providing one on one support until my last day which is Wednesday.

Back in the Swing of Things

So, my cold has finally broken which I couldn’t be more relieved about! It also means I owe you a blog entry! I didn’t to to work yesterday as I was feeling very ill but I’m in today. It’s been raining hard and nonstop all morning, the water outside is ankle deep so I’ll be here for a while!

I went on Wednesday during lunch to a dressmaker who measured me for two dresses. I’m really excited to have some custom made dresses. She said they will be ready before I leave for home and I sure hope they will be. It’s all about networks here, there was no yellow pages to find her in. The woman who runs a chop bar by my work told us that her sister makes dresses, so she sent us in a shared cab to Medina market where her son found us and took us to the woman’s house. I would never have discovered it on my own!

There are no garbage cans here. None. People just throw their garbage into a gutter or onto the street. I discovered the garbage system here last weekend during my early morning foray to the bus station. Early in the morning the roads are swarming with cleanup crews made up of women who use handmade brooms to pick up or sweep the garbage to some undetermined location. Then, the process repeats. I guess, much like the people who put mud into potholes on the roads the labour is cheaper here than the infrastructure to put garbage cans on every corner and keep them there.

This weekend I’m hoping to get to Medina market and hopefully buy some of the beautiful Ghanaian fabric as well as avoiding the mass amount of pickpockets at Makola market, we will see!

Cape Coast

I went this weekend on a trip to Cape Coast. What a whirlwind! I was unable to reserve tickets in advance for the bus as you have to do it in person and they close at 5!. So to make sure I got a seat I left the hotel on Saturday at 6:00 am and took a taxi to the bus station. Once there I managed to find the ticket counter and buy a ticket. My ticket cost me roughly $3.00 for a 3 hour ride into Cape Coast. It took almost an hour to get out of Accra. Once out of Accra though it was absolutely beautiful, I was finally able to see the countryside which is very lush and green. There are little villages beside the road and often there are stalls along the sides of the road with the people of the village selling their wares. It was strange though, there would be ten identical stalls all selling the same thing out in a row.

I arrived at the Cape Coast bus terminal around 11:30. I dropped my things off at the hotel I reserved and headed to the castle. The castle was amazing to see. It was very chilling to stand in the door of no return where slaves were taken out to be put onto ships. Upon leaving the castle I was hounded by some men trying to sell me things,  get me to sponsor their soccer team, or just give them money. That was the most aggressive people have been so far about trying to get money from me but I was warned by the taxi driver dropping me off that they are drug boys and to be cautious. They stopped following me when I entered a restaurant for lunch and I exited a different way so as to not attract their attention again. I ate lunch at a beautiful restaurant right on the water. I sat with the wind in my hair watching the ocean and had a nice refreshing lunch. I then walked through part of cape coast looking at things and chatting with people. The game was on so I stopped and watched in different places. It was amazing to see when Ghana scored a goal how everyone flooded the streets and celebrated together. I was so glad I was out to see that. It was a really hot day so I arrived at my hotel and was happy to turn the air conditioning on and collapse. Upon waking up I went on a mothball hunt and removed 7 very smelly mothballs from my room. I didn’t go out that night as it’s not a good idea to be out after dark so I ate dinner at the hotel and relaxed there.

I got up early again to go to Kakum National Park on Sunday. I arrived at a bit before 9:00 just in time for the first canopy walk. On the way up to the walk I discovered that tiny ants can bite very hard and come in large packs that are hard to avoid. Even now, thinking back on getting onto that bridge I feel unsteady. The canopy walk consisted of wooden planks suspended from ropes with a net up to your chest around it. I believe them when they tell me it’s completely safe, but wow it was terrifying. It was very hard to balance and we were high up. It didn’t look too long though so I got on and gritted my teeth and walked across. It was absolutely stunning to see the rainforest from high above. When I got to the other side I discovered another bridge.. and then another… until I had done I think about 6 total. Completely a once in a lifetime experience… but only once!

On the way back to Cape Coast from Kakum I saw people on the road hauling mud and the taxi driver told me that they put mud into the huge potholes and people sometimes stop and give them money for helping. It seems a very interesting way of doing things and must need redoing a lot especially in the rainy season.

Once in Cape Coast I managed to catch an STC bus back to Accra. It rained the whole way back, the roads flooded, there was mud everywhere and the traffic didn’t slow down. We went past a number of traffic accidents and I was very glad to have taken the STC which is probably the safest mode of transport.

I apologize for not posting yesterday. In my whirlwind to Cape Coast I managed to catch a cold and couldn’t form coherent sentences yesterday! Luckily enough it’s very easy to get amazing oranges here!

My Ghana Sight

I decided to go for a long walk at lunch today. I walked as far as I could in my hour off and I discovered that my ability to comprehend the city has changed. When I first arrived I was really only able to put one foot infront of the other and dodge cars. The stimuli I encounter when walking are:

• Taxis on the road honk their horn as they drive by to let you know they are free to pick you up, and since I am an obruni(white person) they ALWAYS honk at me. I get honked at at least 100 times a day.
• Tro tro mates yell out their window where they are going or yell asking where I am going.
• Everyone shouts greetings to me and wants to know how I am or just to say hi.
• Vendors yell out what they are selling and how much it costs.
• The streets are filled with stalls of every description selling a huge variety of items.
• The streets are also filled with people walking with their wares on their head selling them.(It is amazing what a single person can carry on their head)
• People and cars intermingle along the side of the road and are everywhere.

Comparing how I was when I first got here and now is quite eye opening. I could simply not process all of the stalls when I first came. There were so many I couldn’t process them all and figure out what they were selling. Now I notice all sorts of neat stuff for sale and people doing interesting things. My sound filter’s getting pretty good too, I’m very used to the honking and I now can quickly process all of the sound inputs and quickly respond to shouts of Obruni! Obruni! All the while I manage to not get hit by a vehicle swerving around another. I think when I come home I will find walking quite boring for a while as everything is so full of life here, and there is no such thing as a quiet walk.

Work here is going well, I’ve met with all of the office staff and have an idea of what I’ll be training them in. They are all very nice and I’m happy to have met everyone as I feel much more oriented. It will be a challenge to do my training as there is no projector or even a spare monitor for me to use but I will do my best and prepare excellent manuals.

At first, I felt strange being called obruni by everyone here, but I’m realizing now that it is a name of affection from most people. One of the people who works here greeted me this morning with a jubilant “Obruni!” and I was happy to have someone so welcoming and happy to see me which really put it into perspective for me.

I’ve discovered that plantains are an excellent street meal. Vendors sell all sorts of things but most of it has been cooked by them on the street and is not really safe to eat. Unfortunately you need to be able to peel or cook the fruit and vegetables here to make them safe as well so most raw fruit is not a good idea. This makes plantains absolutely perfect, they are easy to peel and you can eat it without ever touching it! When I am on the street everyone wants to shake hands with me. So when I don’t know how clean my hands are I can peel open my plantain and never touch it. That being said, I’ll probably never eat them again after this!

I am off to Cape Coast very early in the morning tomorrow to visit the Cape Coast castle and to visit the Kakum park. I’ll post an update on Monday on how my trip goes.

Pictures!

Some cool trees

Still Alive!

So I’m at my placement now, I’ve got internet here but it’s terribly terribly slow. I’ve been trying to upload a picture for the last hour and let me tell you, that’s not gonna happen! I finished my orientation yesterday and went to the Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition office to start my placement. It looks like I will be doing exactly what I thought I would be doing. I’ll be assessing needs and efficiency and providing training and manuals for the staff here. I’ve asked to meet with the office staff separately and to shadow them throughout parts of their day. We’re on Ghanaian time though so that hasn’t begun yet.

The infection in my mouth that I developed after I arrived is almost gone which is a relief as it’s good to be able to eat again. Although speaking of eating there are almost no vegetarian main courses here but the plantains and corn are delicious. The vegetarians I have met who are here long term have modified their definition of vegetarian to include the foods that include less meat.

On Tuesday I went to Makola market. It is huge! blocks and blocks and blocks! People sell all kinds of things from super glue to underwear hanging on poles on the street to meat kebobs. While I was there my pockets were picked at least four times! I of course keep nothing in my pockets but every time I checked the buttons on my back pockets were undone. Some thieves managed to do it without me even noticing but most I felt them do it. One of women I went with even saw someone reach in but man do they move really fast, he was gone in an instant. We took the tro tro there and back. A tro tro is a privately run minibus that runs throughout the city. They run on recognized routes(to the Ghanaians at least). There is a driver and a mate in every tro tro. As the tro tro drives by the mate yells out the window something like Cicciccicic(Circle circle circle) or Acaacaacather-sey(Accra Accra Accra 37) and if it’s the tro tro you want you can just flag them down and cram yourself in. You then pay around 25 cents and get off at a stop close to your destination. We left to go home around 5:30 which is rush hour which meant waiting in a 1 hour tro tro line and then an almost two hour ride through terrible traffic. It gets dark at 6:00 after which we have been told it’s a bad idea to be out but if we work until 5:00 I don’t see how it’s possible to get in before 6:00 with such traffic.

Yesterday we were invited to a musical at the National Theatre. They had taken parts of Cinderella and named the musical Cinderama. It was absolutely phenomenal to see the cultural spin on the story and to watch the actors sing and dance so very well. I am so glad that I had the chance to watch such superb Ghanaian artistry.

I’ve made plans to visit Cape Coast this weekend. I think and hope that I have made a reservation at a guest house. I’m planning on leaving early Saturday morning and hopefully getting on an STC bus. Hopefully that will pan out as I’d rather not take a tro tro, they drive really insanely.

Hopefully there will be more blog entries soon as I now have stable access to internet!

Made it to Ghana

It’s Monday afternoon now and I’ve finally got internet so I’m posting this from the WUSC office. It’s taken me 40 minutes to get this far though so I’ll try to put up pictures if I get a better connection later.

Akwaaba from Ghana!

It’s been a crazy few days. I flew out Thursday night and arrived in Accra Friday evening.  We’ve been out and about since Saturday morning. We’ve been shopping, walking around near our guest house and to the botanical gardens. The composition of Accra is very interesting. This huge city from what I have seen of it is comprised of main streets and little side streets with houses on them. On every main street I have been on there are stalls covering the sides of the road. People run alongside cars selling things. You can get anything and everything, just not all in one place.  It is totally overwhelming with so many people out and about. It is also very hard to navigate because there are not many street names and there are so many similar stalls everything looks the same to me so far. We had real problems getting back to our hotel yesterday because we just couldn’t tell the difference and none of the cab drivers know where it is. I’ve got a system for it now though.

It’s really helped to getting used to here that we’ve met up with someone who’s been here for a while. She went with us to get cell phones and helped explain how navigation works here. She also gave us a whole bunch of safety tips and well. It looks like I won’t be leaving my guest house at night, or carrying any valuables at any time of the day.

I’ve got some kind of strange mouth infection going on which is making life difficult but I’ve bought some Listerine which burns like fire but makes it hurt less for a while.

I’m writing this from my hotel room on Sunday night. I’ve yet to have internet access so I’m hoping to post it maybe tomorrow if there’s internet at my training?

Tomorrow I start my orientation with the WUSC office. This will last 3 days and on Wednesday afternoon I believe I will start my placement at GNECC but nothing is very clear here. I’m just going with the flow and being as ever over-prepared.

About To Embark

Welcome to my travel blog.  I’m about to embark on a three week long visit to Accra, Ghana to work with the Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition as an ICT Training Needs Advisor.

For those of you who are interested my job description is as follows:

The Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition (GNECC) is an education sector social movement made up of civil society organizations, NGOs, professional groups, academic/research institutions and other educational practicioners who have come together to spearhead the Education for All communities in Ghana.  GNECC is therefore promoting the conceptualization of international conventions into pragmatic activities for the attainment of quality and free universal basic education.  Formed in 1999, the coalition currently has thirty-three member organizations.  The volunteer will support GNECC staff and other volunteers to provide technical assistance to GNECC in the ICT sector and will be expected to participate in all capacity building activities of GNECC.

The volunteer will be expected to: Review computer programmes required at the GNECC office. Assess the competencies of staff in the use of computer programmes and efficiency at work. Design a training and capacity improvement programme for GNECC.

I’ve been warned that descriptions change drastically when you get there so I’m excited to see what I will be doing and hopefully, internet willing I’ll be posting updates on what I’m doing.