Back to Ahoto

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Once again, Ghana’s internet is proving something of a lightweight, not being able to stand up to the African heat. One of the excuses for the computers being down last year was that it was too hot! We tried a few times this visit to write a blog, but eventually gave up, this is being written in the less tropical surroundings of Catford, London.

Last year we spent nearly two months in Ghana, staying at a leprosy rehabilitation centre called Ahotokurom, meaning “Place of Serenity” in Fante, the local language. One of the nuns who runs the centre, Sister Pat, is a long term friend of Claire’s mum. We returned this year for just a couple of weeks to see how the friends that we’ve made are getting on, and to bring Janet, Claire’s mum, over for a visit she’s been promising Pat for over twenty years.

Another reason for us to re-visit Ahoto is to see how Joseph is getting on. Four years ago, Joseph lost his leg in an horrific accident, and since then has been hopping about with the help of crutches. We raised some money and arranged for him to go to an orthopaedic centre, where he stayed for three months being fitted with and learning to use an artificial leg.

We’ve written three blogs from Ahoto before, explaining the history of the centre and what it does, so won’t repeat it all here. Briefly, its been open since 1983 and provides a diverse range of services including accommodation for elderly leprosy patients, a childcare home currently housing 33 children, and education facilities for children and young adults with disabilities and learning difficulties - we believe the only such centre in Ghana.

Its run by Roman Catholic nuns from the order of Daughters of Mary and Joseph. It was initially set up by an American monk, but the Americans pulled out some time ago. They still provide some funding towards the $85,000 a year running costs, but much of the money has to be raised each year. The one remaining Franciscan, Father Giles, had been a priest covering Ahotokurom for nearly thirty years but we were present at his farewell mass last year as he finally left for America. So this visit, we were surprised and pleased to see his imposing figure getting out of a minibus at Ahoto, as he returned for a brief visit on his way to taking up a new position teaching in Kenya. After such a long time in Ghana it was obviously an emotional time for him and the Sisters, as well as for the children, many of whom have a very close bond with him. Fifteen year old Linda was as a toddler initially scared of him, but the ice was broken when Giles suddenly scooped her up and she found herself sitting six feet up on his shoulders. Since then they have been inseparable, and she was especially upset that he was leaving.

Having Janet with us opened our eyes to many of the sights that now we’ve done a bit of travelling are easy to not appreciate. Coconut trees on the beach for example, and the numerous lizards scampering about brought amazement to Janet, but we hardly notice them any more. In a way it is a shame that it seems that the more you travel the less you notice. Having Janet with us was the nearest we got to seeing Ghana through a child’s eyes!

Joseph is getting on fine with his new leg, coming running over to us at the airport. It seems funny to see him without his crutches. To be fair, he used to get around fairly ok, even playing football on them, but when I asked him if he found it easier walking on two legs or on one with crutches, he very clearly said that it was much easier now on two. Apart from just helping his mobility, getting his new leg has given some optimism to his life. He now says that he wants to be a Doctor when he is older, an ambition that although obviously won’t be easy to achieve, would have been absolutely impossible previously.

Joseph’s age came up in conversation and he said he was thirteen, surprising since last year he was only nine! Its something we’ve noticed in Ghana, also in India for that matter, that many people don’t know their ages, let alone when their birthdays are. On our last visit we saw a death announcement in a newspaper (called a homecoming announcement - because the spirit has been called home) for a 128 year old woman! Either fufu and shitto sauce (local delicacies…sort of!) have some sort of longevity properties or they’d simply lost track of how old she was years ago! We checked with Joseph parents who weren’t sure of his age either, but found all their children’s immunisation cards and established that Joseph was 11, Isaac was 8, Mary was 6 and Andrea was 3. In fact, that day was Isaac’s eight birthday, which he sat there on the bare floor completely unaware of. Imagine a child in the UK not knowing it was his eighth birthday. Although it brought tears to our eyes, the idea of celebrating a day just because it’s the anniversary of a birth isn’t something that occurs to them, why is that day any more special to any of the other 364 of the year?

We saw a fair bit of Joseph’s family this time. He lives in Kuful village, just ten minutes walk along a small track from Ahoto. He started coming to Ahoto after his accident because his parents knew that he would need assistance that they would find difficult to provide while also trying to work and tend their small “farm”, more like an allotment. So, he comes to Ahoto every day, but normally returns to the small hut that the six of them live in every night. Since our last visit, they have had an electric light fitted inside their house, or at least we had never seen it on before. Its only something like a 20 watt bulb so it doesn’t really give out a lot of light. Like all the other houses in the village, there is no water supply or toilet. Water comes from a communal pump across the village that everyone, even three year old Andrea, helps to carry. For a toilet they use the bushes.

Evans and Comfort, Joseph’s parents also came to Ahoto to see us. There is a fair bit of ritual still in the way people live here. We made a visit to their house to see them. Then the next day they made a visit to our house to see us. Then after the reciprocal greetings are over we were free to pop over any time. To thank us for the leg, they brought over a massive bowl of fruit, vegetables and eggs, carried over on Comfort’s head. It really was a very large gift, probably more than a weeks worth of food for their family, a gift that it would have been rude for us to have declined.

Other residents that we were pleased to catch up with include a set of 20 month old quads. Their mother had already three girls when they were born, and was hoping for a son. Thinking that she was expecting twins, surprised probably isn’t the word when four babies popped out! What’s the chances of that, naturally conceived quads? Its got to be millions to one. There is one boy, Kwame, and three girls - Rosie, Nellie and Onya. The mother really only wanted the boy and concentrated on feeding him. If the babies had not been taken into Ahoto, they would have not all survived. To feed one baby to the detriment of all the others probably seems wrong to our western minds, but realistically in a country with extremely limited health care and where over 50 out of 1000 children die as infants, the mother was faced with the choice of trying to give one sufficient food, or watching all four die. The quads are long term residents at Ahoto, and the Sisters are hoping to build a house where the entire family, mother, grandmother and seven children can live and receive assistance. So far, including baby milk, medical expenses and employing staff to care for them, the cost to Ahoto of looking after the quads has been worked out to be £27,000.

The quads are a tribute to Ahoto, the staff and the Sisters. They are very healthy and bright for their age, although as we left, Kwame was poorly with what sounds like might be malaria. In fact, the photos of the quads might be a bit misleading since they look so well and are so well dressed (in donated clothes from the UK) that they fail to convey the difficulties the quads have overcome in their short lives.

Kwame as the only boy in some way stands out, and laps up all the attention he receives. The three girls are all however developing their own unique personalities and we’re sure won’t let him get too big for his boots as he grows up. All four seemed to take to us, and quickly learned our names - Care, Telly and Nanna Jan!

One childcare resident that we were delighted to see was Kudjo (although that might be spelt wrong!). Kudjo is 15 and suffers from, we think, muscular dystrophy. He was quite ill and weak last year, really unable to do anything for himself. We would have not been surprised to have heard that he had died since we last saw him. In fact, he is now like a different boy, sitting up much better in his wheel chair and even well able to wheel himself about for short distances and to feed himself. He’s got a bit of a sweet tooth and cheekily asks several times a day for a “bik kit”. I took him for several long walks in his wheel chair, round Atonkwa and Kuful villages, and was amazed at how many people knew him and came over to speak to him.

There are too many other residents in childcare to mention all by name. There are a couple of four month old twins, one of whom was extremely weak and sick when they arrived, but who are both now healthy and doing well. An eight year old has turned up to live at Ahoto long term, after a four year spell in hospital with a Buruli ulcer which has left one hand paralysed. Kweku, who is four, has got over the arrival of the quads and the loss of his status as Ahoto’s youngest child. He’s been cheered up by a new boy, Vincent who is a year younger but actually quite a lot bigger, and they have become firm friends. One of the long term residents who has lived at Ahoto since a baby, has had a baby of her own, another Kudjo, who is now ten months. He is needing quite a lot of help looking after.

One Ahoto resident that we were pleased not to encounter this time was the snake that last year bit Claire’s ankle, we think a viper. I had a close shave though, when I opened the outer screen door to our room, and as I fumbled with the lock of the inner door was startled (ok, scared sh*tless) by a long bright green snake going absolutely berserk just a couple of inches from my face! I jumped back as it launched itself pretty much over my shoulder and disappeared. Looking in a snake book, I think it was a Boomslang, a tree snake (which fits I suppose climbing the door), and is potentially lethal although its back pointing fangs make it hard for it to bite a human, and is actually normally a docile, un-aggressive snake. I actually like and am fascinated by snakes, but it was a bit too close for me!

Most of our time was spent at Ahoto, but we took a few trips out to Cape Coast, the nearest large town. Being the start of the school year, we also accompanied some of the children to their boarding schools. All the children who live at Ahoto get sent to school, many are educated up to university level. Some go to a training centre about 6 hours drive away to the north, in Sunyani, where they learn a trade. They can choose between three year (soon to be increased to four) courses in agriculture, building, carpentry, computers, secretarial etc. This gives them an excellent start in life opening up much more opportunity to them than they would otherwise have had.

The two weeks passed too quickly, and it was soon time to go. Janet had enjoyed her time in Ghana, and having spent many years sending clothes and other items over to Ahoto was pleased to see the children who had benefited. At times she was quite affected by some of the sights, like when one of the leprosy patients who has pretty much no feet struggled up in mass to dance.

Thanks to everyone who have given us money towards Joseph’s leg, we’ve made it clear to his family that it is our friends who have given the money. My old work colleagues at First Capital Connect gave £260 towards Joseph’s leg, and have organised a naked calendar to raise money for Ahotokurom. Although we first tried to raise money specifically for Joseph, obviously he is just one child at Ahoto, as we have shown there are many other people who benefit from the centre. If anyone wants a calendar full of naked train drivers, it should apparently be available in HMV nearer Christmas!

Writing this at home, we’ve just heard from Sister Pat that Kwame has been confirmed as having malaria, and has spent the last two nights in hospital. He seems to be getting over this, talking a little more now, but also it seems that Nellie, another of the quads, is also coming down with it. Its so scary that the children can go down so quickly, only the day before we left they were running around apparently fine.

We’re back in the UK till the 16th Oct, then we’re off to Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand, hopefully for a full year. Then maybe we’ll return to Ahoto to see how everyone’s doing again.

Calendar in aid of Ahotokurom

To obtain a copy of the calendar "Drivers in the Buff 2008" follow this link.....

http://www.firstcapitalconnect.co.uk/Main.php?iCmsPageId=277

As seen on ITN news!!

The first £5000 raised will go to Ahoto, anything more than that will go to The Railway Children Charity that supports homeless children around the world.

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Photos

Father Giles
Father Giles has been in Ghana for over 20 years. He left last year, but returned for a visit this year before taking up a permanent posting in Kenya. This is his last mass at Ahoto.

The quads
Rosie, Onya, Nellie and Kwame

Joseph's kitten
Laying on charcoal for their stove

Outside mass
Tel, Joseph's sister Mary, and his cousin