Blogs from Greater Accra, Ghana, Africa - page 64

Hello folks, Given that I've got just over a week left and the only post I've made thus far is entitled "disclaimer" I figured it was about time for that second post. I've gotta confess that I really have no excuses now. As of last Friday the internet is actually working at the Telecentre Guesthouse where I'm staying, so I'm essentially living at an internet cafe. I thought I should give an explanation of what I'm actually doing over here and where I've ended up after my original site shut down. Before leaving Canada I likely gave you all the same line that I would be "screening for eye disease, coordinating surgeries with the local hospital and participating in community health education" as that was the info I had. In reality my usual work at Enyiresi ... read more

I had my orientation this morning, which consisted of me sitting in a room, surrounded by about 9 men from PCO (Population caring organisation). They introduced themselves and each represented a certain project which they explained and then tried to recruit me to. There was the leader of Peace Cells which focuses on Peace and reconciliation. Within the 12 zones of the camp, they have peace cells and every night they condect meetings, focusing on a certain topic, that changes monthly. Last night was my first meeting and the topis was reintegration. It was basically asking peoples opinion on people in the camp, that represent both sides of the War. Those who took part, and those who didn't. They asked whether they feel ok living together with those people, whether they think they should forgive them ... read more

After a 6 hour wait at Heathrow airport, I was finally on my way to Ghana, the flight was long and delayed, but arrived safely at Accra airport around 7pm to be met by one of the people from the camp. we walked around for an hour or so, trying to find the late night garage where the car was being fixed. the main road was amazing, there are no car lanes marked out so its just do as you please, they wind in and out of on coming traffic, and just keep the horn blaring constantly to warn pedestrians and other cars. on the side (and in the middle) there are people walking up and down with great bags of wheat, bowls of fruit etc balanced on their heads, trying to sell their product ... read more

Hi, friends! I am in a picture kind of mood today...so you can peruse or ignore:) I hope you are all well! Things are going great here...it's hard to believe I'll be coming back in just 8 days! I've been spending lots of time lately at the clinic, reading Nelson Mandela's autobiography (I highly recommend:), and spending time with friends. I will post more soon but here are some snippets of recent happenins:) Peace, Katie PS. Shanna, thanks for the phone call the other day!:) :) :)... read more

Greetings!! Hope you are all well! There is always so much to say about Ghana...it's difficult to fully express it over blogs, but I will try to capture some of my experiences as of late! Recently my experiences have reminded me of the cruel juxtaposition of poverty and wealth in this country (as in many places). Two weekends ago, I went to Mole National Park (more details below) and stayed in the hotel in the park. Almost everyone who stays there are tourists and I must say that it was nice to relax and meet people from all over the world. There was one experience, however, that definitely caused me to reflect....as I sat outside the nice swimming pool, it was surreal being surrounded by white people and by such luxury. At one point, I looked ... read more