Ghana2007

A friend of mine had a conversation with coyote in a project that he is working on. I thought that I would give it a try. Coyote is a mythological creature in West Coast Native American stories. If you want more information on him please go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coyote_%28mythology%29 . I thought it would be fun to share some thoughts with him about my African experience. Coyote is known for being somewhat of a trickster. A walk into the Savannah Cold Cold Cold I see Coyote walking through a marsh. I ask: “Shouldn’t you be in Canada” He replies: “Does an animal not roam free like ideas?” “Yes I guess that they do but how can an animal come so far?” With a smile coyote responds: “Shouldn’t you be asking yourself the same question? You are studying ... read more

I want to apologise for the delay in getting these last remaining blog entries up. I had written them but they were lost in cyberspace due to some sort of website malfunction. Now that it is holiday season, I have some time to dedicate to rewriting all that was lost. The majority of the coming entries were written in Africa but may have some current reflection. The prince and the pauper I am sitting and feeling the irony of the title of this blog. As you know, I live with members of the royal family of the chieftaincy of Saboba. I have been thinking about the story a lot and also the meaning of the story. Who is the prince and who is the pauper in this story? I am living in another part of the ... read more

I have been sick as of late but this has afforded some personal reading time. I finished the Sun also rises by Ernest Hemingway and there is one line in the novel that is poignant to my experience in Africa. Mike is asked how he became a bankrupt and his response is 'gradually then suddenly'. This quote applies to so much of what I am going through: my understanding of development, language and Ghana in general. I am slowly seeing myself change my perspective but it has been slow and upon reflection I see how much I have grown. I spent one week on in a rural village on a farm in one of the poorer districts. Despite all the hardships the farmer, Gmaden (pronounced Mada) is extremely successful. He has three wives and 27 children ... read more

This is the first opportunity I have had to update my blog. I have moved to the Northern district of Saboba/Chereponi. The environment is savanah with each rains resulting in a greener environment. I have had the opportunity to see some of the district and have thoroughly explored the town of Saboba which has a population of about 3000. The main language is Likipapong (Which I am slowly learning) and there is a mixture of other languages and also French and English widely being spoken. I have also moved in with a family. The head of the house hold's father had three wives and as such a large extended family with which I live. The housing is arranged with many small rooms leading to a central court yard. The family are also part of the Royal ... read more

Wow it is amazing how quickly the date for leaving is coming up. I will be flying out of Pearson and flying via Italy to Accra. From there we will head north to Tamale where I will meet the long-term volunteer for more specific training. The pre-departure learning is intense and am living with 26 people. I have learned so much and find myself reflecting on the many changes that I have made. As a group, I am noting how much our skills are growing. The issue of poverty is so complex and I am finding that some of the absolutes that I thought I had are far more ambiguous. We had Ghanian food last night for the first time. There were many items I really enjoyed and some that will take some getting used to. ... read more

Akwaaba! Welcome to my little corner of the cyberspace world. I will be spending the summer of 2007 working in Saboba in North-eastern Ghana with Engineers Without Borders. I will post more specific details as they become available. I leave for Ghana on May 6th after a thorough training in Toronto. Thank you all for sharing in this journey with me. Bio: My name is Dan and I am currently a biology student at McMaster University. I was born in the United Kingdom and have lived most of my life in Canada mostly in Edmonton, Alberta. I have also lived in Manitoba and Ontario. I graduated from the University of Alberta with a BA (honours) in anthropology in 2004. From there I went on to work at a constituency office for Rick Miller, the shadow critic ... read more