Enye eze. In Twi (pronounced ch-wee), this means “it is not easy” or something like that. Twi isn’t my family’s mother tongue so, meh! Lol. But I was so proud of myself for picking that up. I actually read it on a sign, apparently pronounced it correctly and everything. Yaaay Justine!
This post is coming to you straight from Accra, Ghana – which is thousands of miles and a few time zones away from good ol’ T.O. But I feel at home. The people, the culture, the attitudes, and OMG the food! I feel I can say that Ghana is one of very few places where I haven’t had inhibitions about being myself whole-heartedly. And that could be for some obvious reasons… But I’d rather say that it’s because in coming here I prepared myself pretty well. And have done a really active job of connecting to my Ghanaian cultural roots. (Says the Canadian, born and bred, city girl eh?) In all seriousness though, I’m being sincere when I say that I feel at home. Again to reference the title of my blog, simplicity can be the state of making do with what is available and it meeting all of your needs and desires in life. Maybe that doesn’t sound so simple (I’m kinda wordy) but it has a very simple and humble meaning. I have such a great appreciation for the lifestyle here and feel that all I need is easily accessible.
As for the group and our mandate, we’re en route. The overall itinerary is 2 weeks in Accra, 4 weeks in Lolito and then 2 weeks of winding down, doing some site-seeing and reflecting on the entire experience. And of course because I am only here for only half of the entire trip I will not be taking part of the wind down and seeing our finished work at the Smile Foundation. Since arriving last Tuesday, we’ve had full days. The first few days were spent running small errands to ensure we had what we needed for our stay at the hostel and registering with the Canadian Embassy. We’ve also had the opportunity to visit some landmarks including the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum, Tawala, Labadi and Sakumuno beaches. Going to Makola and Madina markets is a regular thing as they tend to have all what we need. In fact driving down the major roads, you can probably get all that you need from street vendors. The street vendors, aggressive drivers and half-constructed roads make the hours we spend in traffic somehow less difficult to bear or maybe it was the amazing music we listen to while in the car. (I’m only half serious on that point). On one trip we actually bought a side table while at a red traffic light. (Oh Ghana, lol) Any way on one occasion while in Makola, we ventured slightly off from the market to explore where some of the sellers get their items. Mainly we saw large cases of clothing being unloaded from trucks and then distributed to store owners. Apparently they receive items from all over the world: Korea, China, US, UK and Canada. This was interesting to see as it encouraged me to think about the items I use on a day-to-day basis and whether I know where they are coming from. In short I began wondering why am I so disconnected from the things I use. Prior to this it has never crossed my mind as to all the processes an article of clothing goes through before I actually put it on.
For work we’ve spent a few days at the factory of a local food processing company, called Selasie. Which I’ve actually taken a pretty keen interest. Initially the fact that I’ve never seen the inside of a factory was intriguing, but something else kept me going back. And in explaining this to some of the group I realized that I gain a lot from continued interactions with people. The interpersonal rapport that I’m building with the employees at Selasie is invaluable to me and as I described it today, I am learning about Ghanaian culture through casual conversations and by building a trusting relationship over an extended period of time with the same people. Therefore this is my way of fulfilling a fraction of the learning component to this entire experience. Next on the agenda we’ll be heading to a few villages in the Volta Region (Dabala, Adutor, Lolito, Sogakope) to attend a wedding (which is awesome, because weddings are always enjoyable). I always appreciate ceremonies like this that are so cultural and traditional as it highlights the essence of the occasion and not so much the material and superficial side of things. My dad's village is also in the Volta Region, however I won't have the chance to visit on this trip due to time constraints among other things. While there we plan to take some time to explore our work site for the duration of the time we are there and begin mapping out the specifics. Long story short we have our work cut out for us over the next few days. Once we return to Accra, we will get the additional supplies and materials we need and then back to Lolito for the remainder of my time in Ghana.
This just about takes me to today. Thanks for reading and all the distant support you’ve been sending me. It’s so appreciated and helps this experience mean that much more. Of course there will be challenges in any process of social change/justice and we as a group have encountered some obstacles already. But that isn't stopping us. We have good intentions and are here to provide service to a community that has invited and welcomed us to support in the creation of a sustainable resource for their children and for the Future of Africa. This experience will be what we make of it, collectively and on our own. And what people choose to see in a situation is usually what they will get from it, hence the saying "what you see is what you get". If in life we only focus on the negative things that will tend to be reflected in our attitudes and personalities overall. And likewise with the positive. That's where my head is at the moment, hope it's enough to keep me on track for the next few weeks.
