Ghana Top Ten By Nichole Huck Tamale, Northern Ghana My time in Ghana is drawing to a close and now it’s a time of reflection. I know that the mark Africa has left on me is far greater than the mark I have left on her. I have learned a lot about journalism, relationships, hardship, religion, generosity, and myself. There are some things I’m happy to leave but there are far more things that I will miss. TOP TEN THINGS I WILL MISS MOST ABOUT GHANA 1) “You are welcome” “Akwaba”, “Amaraba”. You hear this greeting when you enter a restaurant, [View Full Entry]

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In my first days in Ghana I was exposed to the staples of the diet. Fufu, Banku, and TZ. They are all starches shaped into balls and dipped into a soup or sauce. They all take a lot of hard work to prepare -- all so that the food will slip down your throat without the hassle of chewing. Imagine the surprise of my co-worker Jamilla when she discovered that in 8 months I had never actually prepared fufu. We had to do something about that stat! Here is a photo essay of how to make fufu. Enjoy! [View Full Entry]

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Paying it Forward By Nichole Huck Everyone needs a little help sometimes. Friends, family, churches, even benevolent strangers came together to help get me to Africa. It is truly amazing to know that people would selflessly give to you without expecting anything in return. I know I will never be able to pay these people back for their kindness - I can only hope to pay it forward. In my eight months in Ghana I have met a lot of really bright, incredibly motivated young people. Two girls from a school near my radio station were guests on a program about [View Full Entry]

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Work Like You Don’t Need the Money: Volunteering in Ghana Ghana is full of volunteers. Some come from other countries, mostly large packs of girls fresh out of high school looking for a meaningful travel experience before starting University. They fill the orphanages in the mornings and fill the internet cafes and swimming pool in the afternoon. These volunteers are completely unpaid, some even pay thousands of dollars to come here for a few weeks or months. Others, like me, are filling volunteer positions through development agencies in our countries. We flood NGO offices in the daytime and drinking spots at [View Full Entry]

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When one hears the word ‘safari’ we get excited. We imagine close encounters with dangerous animals, lush tropical plants, and safari hats. Well --- one out of three ain’t bad. A group of friends and I boarded the morning bus to Mole. It was full so we were crammed into the aisle. I was sandwiched between two men and had a baby at my back. The hours passed quickly and by 9:00 am we arrived at Mole National Park. Time at Mole is spent watching animals at the watering hole and watching people at the watering hole. We took a morning [View Full Entry]

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This is a series of stories I wrote for the JHR website (www.jhr.ca). They are exploring the relationship between sex and power. They are about sexual harrassment in the workplace and sugar daddies. -Nichole When No doesn’t mean No. By Nichole Huck Growing up, I was taught that ‘no’ means ‘no’. In junior high the boys would snap our bras or make comments about the girls lucky enough to have developed breasts first. Our teachers repeatedly told us this was inappropriate, we were taught about sexual harassment and told as young women that we didn’t have to put up with it. [View Full Entry]

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I’m sitting in an internet Cafe in Tamale - less than 12 hours after arriving on the STC bus. In the few hours I’ve been back my skin has managed to break into a heat rash - I believe it is protesting my leaving the beaches of Ghana for the dry and dusty Savannah that I now call home. For Easter a group of us volunteer types from Tamale made a break for the coast. After a series of long bus rides and tro-tro connections we were diving into the ocean. The ocean never ceases to amaze, astound, and scare the [View Full Entry]

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Are Old Folks Homes the Witch Camps of Canada? By Nichole Huck “Would you send your mother to a witch camp?” That’s the question I righteously asked a caller on a human rights call in show who said ‘the whites are just trying to destroy African culture by bringing in ideas about human rights.’ A reporter from Radio Justice and I recently returned from visiting three witch camps in Ghana’s Northern Region. We shared what we learned on our weekly human rights show, Freedom Thursday. We told the listeners about the deplorable living conditions in two of the camps. We spoke [View Full Entry]

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Life in a Witch Camp: The Exile of Women in Northern Ghana Tamale, Northern Ghana By Nichole Huck We fear what we don’t understand. A child falls sick and dies without reason. Who do we blame? Is it God’s will, or is there some other force at work? Most people feel better having something or someone to blame for life’s misfortunes - and in Northern Ghana that blame often falls on elderly women believed to be witches. There are six witch camps scattered around Northern Ghana. Ad Hoc communities of those cast out of society, chased away by accusations, threats, and [View Full Entry]

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Note from Nichole: Water has been on my mind a lot lately, It’s the dry season and it hasn’t rained for five months. The earth and trees are scorched and I’m told that it’s only going to get worse before it gets better. I don't want to leave you with a terrible impression. In my short time here I have seen countless projects instigated by development agencies. Some of the money is wasted or misused - but infrastructure for water projects seems like one of the things that makes an immediate and tangible difference. It's amazing to see how people's lives [View Full Entry]

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