Travel Blog Posts
February 15th 2008
Rain, Rain, Go away, and come back another day. Is not a song that is sung here. And for good reason. The interesting and most valuable lesson I have come to learn, has shown itself only through time. As the seasons changed from Rainy to Dry, from Dry to Rainy, I realized the most important lesson. Water is life. This may seem obvious, and is not a new concept or idea or breakthrough. But this realization is something that I can only hope to explain from my experiences in the Northern Region, Ghana. --------------------------- Around April I remember sitting in my house in Zabzugu, I looked outside and saw the black clouds rolling in over the Togo Mountains and the brightest stream of blue rain that I have only ever seen in Ghana. My aunt and ... read more
April 26th 2007
url='/Videos/2976.html' onclick='dialog("/Videos/2976.html?popped=1","tbvideo",600,600);return false;' Dancers in Singa "Kristy! It's been a long time." I greet Chief Zack, never has he approached me to greet me. He is a chief, and as tradition goes, he is supposed to be greeted first, normally lower then him with your hands closed. I don't really apply to these rules but try my best to show respect. He is one person that I trust and respect fully in Ghana. I admire him and his life. I only wish I had more time to learn from him. He tells me about an NGO that will be hosting a cultural dance of sorts. Red flags start popping up in my head, with visions of white people coming for a "village experience" as they travel to a different place everyday for 2 weeks, throwing a ... read more
March 21st 2007
To Benin and Back In Africa that is the way it is. I almost forgot. In an attempt to extend my Ghanaian Visa, I had to physically leave the country and return. I thought I was lucky to be so close to a border with some very spectacular mountains that I often daydream about looking out of my window. I was excited to get closer to them and maybe get a peak inside Togo - a place I knew relatively nothing about. I set out with a friend on the back of a motorbike to the border, on the way wondering if I would make the 30 minute ride without giving way to the freshly laid sand to improve this more than rough road. We flew to the border and I sore from the bike, stumble ... read more
November 30th 2006
School I never thought that a topic like education could be such a huge issue in development. I guess I had the assumption before I came that if there were more school facilities and teachers that anyone could learn and a country would be well on its way. I made some very simplistic assumptions, which I am learning the hard answers to now. At home in Canada, if I think back to my grade school days, I remember getting up and being walked to school by my mom or older school kids, I remember going to school and feeling like I wanted to know everything, I remember parent teacher meetings and report cards. I remember playing sports, recess and kissing boys behind the playground. I remember going home at night and doing homework, I remember being ... read more
November 10th 2006
It is one thing to be overseas in terms of actually over an ocean away from your home country, but the overseas I am talking about is just as out of reach, out of mind and out of sight. The “overseas” areas I am talking about are here, contained in Ghana, but for me specifically in East Gonja. There are no seas or oceans that run through Ghana, but when the rainy season hits Ghana it cuts off communities from their District Assembly (local government), and roads to market and hospital facilities. The rainy season is usually from May until July or August, and during this time the river levels rise, the low areas fill with water and communities are cut off. Then in East Gonja, there are areas that are divided literally by the ... read more
October 15th 2006
In the month of Ramadan, where Muslims observe fasting from daylight to sunset, the EWB volunteers in Tamale, Ghana decided why not try and hold our own Stand Up event, right here in Tamale. It was a challenge to organize and recruit people in Ghana to come to the event. Imagine handing out flyers and explaining to your friends, family and colleagues in Tamale about the event and why they should come. It was not an easy task, but definitely great for raising awareness and it forced me to answer some very difficult questions about the MDGs, my perspective on development, my beliefs about poverty and most importantly how will this event change anything. On Sunday October 15th, I started to get nervous as we set up the chairs, DJ and hung the banner. As ... read more
October 3rd 2006
Desiba! As I am getting into the “regular” routine of going to work, I know that I will be leaving the office and staying in a district in the Northern region. It will only be a couple weeks until I move for 3-4 months to the district of choice, commuting back to Tamale as required. I will be working with the Planning Officer and doing capacity building in the District, as well as documenting the current process and using it as a model or pilot district. “Northern Region Poverty Reduction Programme (NORPREP) seeks to improve the livelihoods and living conditions of poor rural communities with emphasis on woman and other vulnerable groups though deepening and broadening rural services, community and individual self-help capacity.” NORPREP is a program of the government at the Regional Level (only currently ... read more
August 25th 2006
Have you ever been to some place that is breathtaking? That you never imagined, that you had never seen before? I have been to many places and seen many breathtaking sights, but this feeling is different. Something that was beautiful, but only for a moment to me. For everyone it is a sight that is worrisome. Where did the water go? Where are the fish? What will happen in the dry season? How will these communities endure? My holiday is over. ... read more
August 10th 2006
That is right. I am in the vacation period of culture shock, and loving every minute of it. Is that bad? Well who cares I am having a great time! It does not help that I arrived in Zabzugu yesterday only to be surprised by the shape of blue mountains on the horizon, the green of the grass and the ever red of the dirt. I was promptly greeted at the District Assembly and placed at their guesthouse, my room across from where the President stays when he visits. Spoiled. And to top things off they bring my meals to me in my room. Free. All free. But I guess this partially comes from Ghanaian culture and working for the government. They are warm loving and friendly extroverted people. I know I am still on vacation ... read more
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