More Things

More Ghana fun in geek style bullets.

*) I went to see a palm oil farm. It was in the rain forest. First we did some four wheel driving to get there. Then I walked around on a path seeing all the amazing plants. When we got thirsty, my friends found a coconut tree and we had coconut water. It wasn't that far from a small village but I still felt like I was in Africa in the middle of nowhere surrounded by plants and animals. Ok so I didn't see any animals but they had to be there somehwere. It was mind blowing! At one point I said who planted that pineapple I'd like to eat it. My friends just laughed and said that it was a wild -- no one planted it and it wouldn't be ripe for another 3 months.

*) I also went tooling around the back roads in Steve's truck while Steve was back in the states. Johanna was driving on the dirt roads and it was amazingly green and beautiful. We saw acres and acres of pineapple farms.

*) In the "What a Small World" category Steve is an American working in Ghana. He is with Catholic missionaries in the Liberian Refugee camp. When we met he said he was coming back to the states to be the best man in his brother's wedding. His brother is getting married in Tucson, AZ!!!! So, on May 26th I will be attending a wedding as the date of the best man. I am old enough to be his mother and already married but when you're in Ghana looking for a date in Tucson who will buy her own ticket you can't be too damn choosy!! OK, so he wasn't looking for a date but we did meet and he did invite me and I am going to the wedding.

*) I went shopping with Brother Evans because Sylvia wasn't feeling well. I walked around with him instead of just sitting. When people see an Obruni, it's not unusual for them to ask for something. After all if you are an Obruni in Ghana you are very wealthy by Ghanaian standards and sometimes people will give something. There's no harm in asking. At first I ignored it, then it started to get on my nerves and piss me off a little. Luckily I got over that and I just had fun with it. Whenever anyone would ask me for some money I would multiply the amount by 10 and ask them for that instead. They were always shocked because Obrunis don't ask Ghanaians for money! I loved to see the looks on their faces followed by the laughter. Alot of time also the people ask for money as an opening to a conversation. The following is a discussion between me and a young woman while I was shopping with Evans.
Her: I need some money.
Me: I do too will you give me some? (I hold out my hand waiting for my money and she laughs).
Her: Will you give me 2,000 cedis (less than 25 cents US)?
Me: Will you give me 20,000 cedis to pay for my fish? (Evans is buying some small smoked fish that the children eat)
Her: How about if you give some fish to eat? (She is smiling enjoying the game and eating something as we speak)
Me: I can't this is for the children, what do you have for me to eat? (I can't help but laugh. Big old fat Obruni asking for food!)

She bursts out laughing and I laugh and we say good-bye time to go buy something else for the kids. The looks on our faces as well as the people around who could understand English was alot of fun. She was as big a ham as I was when it came to being watched and making everyone laugh.

*) Lucy and Wendie sent me money for material shopping and I had a blast looking and picking cloth. Two or three people I asked said they did not sell less than 6 yards of material (6 yards is the amount for a traditional Ghanaian ladies outfit and a wrap). Luckily, I found a woman who would cut in 1 yard lenghts. I couldn't decide what colors so I just said one yard of all that were made by Akosombo Textile Ltd. The man next to her had a few samples that she didn't have so I bought from him also. A woman asked what I was going to do with the material and offered to sew whatever I wanted. The idea that my friends were going to cut the material into small pieces to sew them back together for fun was a truly strange thought!

*) Kids are kids the world over. Beautiful, funny, smart, sweet, loving you name it the children are it. BUT one amazing difference about my Ghanaian children is how incredibly, incredibly strong they are! Susana, who is 6 years old, asked me to help her lift a pan up onto her head. The thing must have weighed 25 pounds. I said, "You can't carry that." She said, "Yes, I can." "Are you sure? It's really heavy." She just laughed and walked away carrying this on her head. It must have weighed at least half of her total body weight and she is only 6 years old!!! I was watching the children and saw Regina and Patricia lift a load but it was too heavy to get high enough up for Pat's head. So, they set it down. Together they lifted and put the biggest part on Patricia's head. She then squatted down. She did a deep knee squat with a load of weight on her head. Regina then placed the second part of the load on top and Patricia stood up balancing so nothing fell. This is just normal Saturday cleaning. Truly, truly amazing.

*) The kitchen is completed and painted! The bathroom has also been painted. They both look very nice. The kitchen also has a new table for working and shelves in progress.

*) The tables for the wash stands are done and painted purple. They look great. The water containers, the cups, the bowls, the soap have all been purchased. The platform is done and ready for the poly tank. As soon as the funds clear the bank, Evans will buy a poly tank and the school will have water!

*) Did I tell you about our trip to Dr. Kwame Nkrumah Memorial? If yes just skip the repeat. Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was the first president of Ghana. He declared independence from Britain in 1957. His statue is on the spot where he declared Ghana's independence. To get there we all walked from the village to the road (Kofi was on his mother's back). We then took a tro-tro into Accra. The kids were really excited about traveling to the capital! From Keneshie market (the tro-tro stop), we took 2 cabs to the memorial. We had lunch (a picnic the mothers had packed for everyone) and then started our tour. It was very interesting and educational also. We all enjoyed ourselves. I was the only one in our group who had ever been there before! Evans and Asari said most Ghanaians think of the memorial as a place for the tourists and don't go to it. But, they both enjoyed it. I was teasing them that as the only non-Ghanaian I had been here twice and none of the Ghanaians had been here at all.

*) I left the village on May 2nd. It was sad but not as bad as it could have been. I have hired a tutor to come and teach the children reading and writing. When I told them they were going to have more school after regular school in the afternoon they all CHEERED! I told them that we would write each other letters and that I would be coming back to Ghana. We all still cried but it wasn't the heart breaker that I was fearing. I will go back in 3-4 years when I get some money. I have written them my first letter.

*) I left Ghana on May 8th and am now at home. What I hadn't told the blog world until now is that I have started the Nyame Adom Foundation in Ghana. I would never have been able to do this without Evans, Tina and Peter. There are 5 people on the Board of Trustees Evans, Tina, Peter, Mark and Me. Mark may soon be replaced but is on the board for now because we needed to identify all 5 board members to get our certification. The purpose of this foundation is to create a self-sustaining orphanage. We will have an orphanage, a farm, and a vocational school. With the farm and the vocational school providing food, building maintenance, clothes and income from the items sold, the orphanage will be self-sufficient. Hopefully there will be enough money to support multiple orphanages. Nyame Adom Foundation (NAF) is a non-government organization (NGO) that is a non-profit. My job in the states is to develop the website for NAF and find the funding to get everything started. The big difference in NAF and the orphanage I was at in Nkwantanan is that every penny given to NAF will be spent on NAF and NAF alone. All donations, all records, all bank accounts, all meeting minutes everything will be made public for anyone to inspect at any time. When I have the website up, I'll email everyone so you can look at it and know how to help. If you want to help put together the website or offer any other assistance please let me know. If you're not sure if I have your email address, please post your email address to this blog. Don't worry I will not publish your address so I'll be the only one who will see it.