Blogs from Greater Accra, Ghana, Africa
The Road to Accra and the People we Meet
Published: March 3rd 2012Africa » Ghana » Greater Accra » Accra
February 29th 2012
The road from Tema to Accra is only 18 km, however, the traffic is so bad that it takes between 1.5-2 hours to get to the capital. The road is being widened; the Chinese have given money for infrastructure building in Ghana. But the project moves slowly, as much a product of corruption as it is limited resources. Tro-tros, pick up and drop off travelers along the way, a cheaper means of travel, and one we should have considered for this adventure had we known we would all be sitting in gridlock for as long as we are. A taxi didn't turn out to be the time saver we had expected. Sitting in our taxi, we move so slowly that our driver periodically turns the engine off to save gas. He pulls over and pees at ... read more
January 4th 2012
I can’t believe I’ve already been in Ghana for two weeks. It is a LOT different from home, but I am loving every minute of it. The flight over here was nerve-racking. I was so excited but nervous at the same time. I didn’t sleep at all so I had 10+ hours to think about the trip. I was so nervous that when I got off the plane I would be so overwhelmed that I wouldn’t be able to find the people I was staying with, but luckily they found me and then we left the airport for Abokobi. The drive to Abokobi was almost unreal. I felt like I was in a movie, and the heat was unbearable. For some reason it was exactly how I imagined it, but that’s probably because I’ve seen ... read more
Measuring Sustainability of Projects in Ghana: Pre-Departure
Published: December 24th 2011Africa » Ghana » Greater Accra » AbokobiDecember 22nd 2011
My name is Jenn Solomon and I am leaving for Ghana tomorrow night to volunteer for ELF. I have been volunteering with ELF for the past six months, and I cannot begin to describe how much my life has changed since I met Jaymie and started volunteering with her organization. Ever since I can remember I've wanted to travel. I wanted to see other parts of the world and learn about different cultures and ways of life. I always knew that there was a lack of education throughout the world, and I always wished there was a way I could do something about it. I have always told myself that one day I would try to make a difference and be a positive influence in someone else's life, and I believe ELF has given me the ... read more
Accra, Ghana and drive to Lome, Togo
Published: November 10th 2011Africa » Ghana » Greater Accra » Accra
November 4th 2011
When I flew into the airport in Accra, it was the normal type of chaos that I expected. Tons of people waiting at the belts for luggage, none of the bank machines worked and of course one of my pieces of luggage was half unzipped by the time I took it off the belt. I'd read before I travelled not to pack anything electronic, or worth stealing because it would be gone so I put all of my laptops and electronics in my carry on bags - a good thing apparently. I bought a sim card, exchanged some American money into Ghanian cedis and grabbed a taxi to my hotel. Initially Ghana looked like a typical Caribbean city - very hot, and very dry with terrible drivers. The one thing that made Ghana different were the ... read more
November 3rd 2011
It’s been a while since my last blog, mostly because I didn’t think I had anything that interesting to talk about. Now I think I do, because I’m in Africa. It’s always been my dream to come here but I never thought it would happen, and now it has. The journey even getting here was pretty interesting so I’ll start there. Because of the flood situation in Bangkok we got moved to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for about 5 days until things settled down. It’s quite interesting watching all of the news coverage, especially CNN because while it was somewhat accurate a lot of it was completely wrong. The flooding in northern Thailand was, and still is, very bad. Hundreds of people died and many more had their entire houses destroyed. The water was meters deep in ... read more
June 29th 2011
This week I think I will start off by talking about work, as it was slightly different this week and I guess I am out here to work after all. So besides the usual giving talks to schools, we also visited 3 HIV patients (and gave them each some money that Louise's friend donated) and did a radio broadcast to the local village. Visiting the HIV patients was very interesting. On the Thursday we visited 2 who lived in the same village - both very poor and living out of 1 room only. One of the patients had had the virus for 8 years and the other 5 and both were struggling to live with it. Neither of them were able to hold down jobs and both relied on children for support. Neither could afford health ... read more
I'm Ghana Have a Great Time
Published: June 19th 2011Africa » Ghana » Greater Accra » Accra » Korle BuJune 12th 2011
Arrived in Accra at 1am. Security took about an hour to get through. Then I went to arrivals and met the guy who was taking me to the school, a fella called Christian. He didnt speak great English, and was with 3 other people. We got in a car and headed off. Five minutes after we left the airport a bus in front of us went off the road and crashed into a barrier. It was going about 60mph at the time and the driver had almost gone through the windscreen, completely shattering it. Christian looked at me and said "Your first fatality in Ghana!" and started laughing. Brilliant. Then 10 minutes later we drive into a really busy market. It was like something from District 9. Big fires here and there, people banging on the ... read more
June 8th 2011
Hello, This weekend marked Christa's last weekend in Ghana before she leaves (which incidentally is later today,) so naturally we all met up to say goodbye. The original plan was to meet up in Kumasi on Friday to watch the Congo vs Ghana Africa Cup of Nations qualifier and then go down to Accra for the weekend. So, Louise and I went to buy tickets for the game on Thursday - although when we got there we were told that none were sold in advance (which is typical of Ghana really,) so one could call it a bit of a wasted trip. However, as we arrived the Ghana football team were also arriving at the stadium for a press conference. Chaos ensued. As soon as the gates into the stadium opened everybody in the crowd suddenly ... read more
May 24th 2011
Hello everyone, sorry it has been so long since my last entry but I haven't been on the internet for a while! First things first, the wedding reception, which I was about to go to last time I was writing. This was a rather interesting affair, although quite similar to an English one in many ways. It was held in a big hall at a University just on the outskirts of Accra and was a buffet meal with a high table and there were some speeches - so far very English. However, the start time was officially 3:30 and we were some of the first there at 5pm, with guests continually arriving throughout the night. The members who sat at the high table didn't actually know they would be sitting at it until they were called ... read more
Watch out for that goat…we are in Jurassic Park!
Published: May 22nd 2011Africa » Ghana » Greater Accra
May 22nd 2011
So today we met the chief of Larteh (where we are staying and doing our research). Meeting the chief is of course a very interesting affair. We drove into town, which was so beautiful. Larteh is located on a mountain so the temperature is about 10-15 degrees cooler than in Accra. Driving around and to the town was incredible, seeing all the vegetation on the mountain and in the valley. We got to the “Palace” and were seated. The chief’s men all came around first to shake all of our hands while sitting, all wearing their traditional outfits. We then got up and walked around and shook their hands. We then sat and listened for an hour or so. We then watched them open a bottle of schnapps (which is more like gin than our schnapps) ... read more
