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My office and Home
This is the place where I live and work in Accra. The white sign on the street is an advertisement for the Soka pump which EW markets.Life in Accra
I just thought I should introduce my working and living arrangements here in Ghana. For those who weren’t able to read through my last posting, I am working with an NGO called EnterpriseWorks(EW) in the capital city of Accra. The office is located on the outskirts of Accra in a small area called East Legon. EW has rented a compound house where most of it is composed of office space, while there are some smaller rooms in the back that probably once served as servants quarters. This is where I live. There is a second kitchen, bathroom and two smaller rooms. I use one and the full-time security guard, Gilbert, lives in the other. We share the kitchen and bathroom. We have running water, air-conditioning, a main telephone line and an inside toilet. Between the two sections of the compound there is a small courtyard with a water source where we can do our laundry. Laundry here is done in the following way: fill large bucket with water and some soap, make like a may-tag washing machine with your hands, let sit for awhile, rinse if you feel like it, and hang to dry. Probably not the
Local kids in Nyampala
Some of the kids I lived with in Nyampala, there are trying whatever they can to make an awesome pose for the camera! best method of getting your clothes clean, but it works!
Gilbert, the security guard, has become a great source of information, and also friendship. He often cooks food for me in the evenings and weekends and we share stories about life; our hopes, dreams and life in Ghana versus in Canada. He is currently studying at a technical school during the days and is paid to manage the office compound over the weekend and evenings. There are also two security guards who swap night and day shifts on a weekly basis; Frank and Steven, both friendly guys and each with their own unique characteristics. They have become very helpful in teaching me the local language of Twi. Slowly I am starting to pick up basic phrases and my ear for what they are saying is definitely better then when I first arrived. People are still surprised when I open my mouth and say something in Twi! Between all three of them I am well protected and they always like to ask me: Wo kaw han? Where are you going? I think part of it is a Ghanaian trait, but also they want to make sure they know where I
Making Fufu
Two woman prepare a local Ghanaian dish of Fufu, made of Cassava and plaintain and quite enjoyable, especially when you eat it with your fingers! am.
Let me explain a little about the area of East Legon. First, it’s quite rich. In fact the majority of my neighbours are large houses owned by Obruni’s (white people) or wealthy Ghanaians. I don’t see them very often unless they are exiting their compounds by car. As a result, I’ve befriended most of the other security guards and staff for these families. I know by saying security guards all the time you might be getting the impression that it’s quite a dangerous area. It’s not. In fact Ghana is extremely safe. The need for security guards is simply an employment issue. All offices and large houses have them as a source of employment for Ghanaians. Many of them are not originally from Accra but rather grew up in a village and decided to move to Accra where they could make a living. I think of it in the same way as the urbanization that occurred after the industrial revolution. If things seem better in the city, people want to move there. In fact, I can’t think of one person I’ve met so far who is native to Accra. All of them have a home village. Even Gilbert
Dancing in Fodome
Dancing at the welcoming ceremony we had on my weekend excursion to Fodome in the Volta Region is from the Volta region in the west part of Ghana. This is where their families have stayed, so they travel back when they can to visit or to help out when needed on the farm.
Another interesting thing about East Legon is that even though the majority of the houses are quite large, private compound style homes, you can still find the typical middle class shanty places or shops where people live and work in the same place. They will set up any kind of store selling any goods or services they can get their hands on by the road side and then live in behind. Most evenings I can pass by a family or group of people hanging out at their house over dinner while still maintaining their shop. It’s a different kind of dynamic and one that I wish I could become a bigger part of. However, it’s difficult to casually join in on the hang-out periods because I cause quite a sensation wherever I go. Obruni, white lady! Some people are more forward then others, in particular the guys. I’ve already had a few marriage proposals since I’ve arrived. I don’t quite know how serious they are but from what I’ve gathered they can be quite persistent. I also haven’t quite figured out the attraction in having a white wife, other then it’s a sort of status symbol.
For food I often eat with Gilbert, or I buy food from a street stand. Local woman make a living by preparing meals that they serve all day for people passing by. You can get beans and plaintain, many different types of rice, banku (which is a doughy substance made from fermented maize and cassava), kenke ( another doey mass from fermented corn but stickier and not very pleasant tasting) and many other Ghanaian staple meals. You have to be careful in choosing which food stall to buy from, or so I was told, so the best bet is to go to the stands where other local people are buying food. This way you know the food should be okay and won’t give you the dreaded travellers diarrhea. When I’m tired of the large starchy meals I can get amazing fruit…mango, pineapple, oranges, papaya.. yum! I don’t think these fruits will ever taste quite as good once I get back home! The thing about Accra though, is that it has been affected greatly by the western world and you can get almost anything you want if you have the money. Chinese, Indian, Pizza, hamburgers, fish and chips..and the list goes on and on. So far I’ve tried to stay away from the typically “white” foods; even if just to make a point to myself, plus I also really enjoy the Ghanaian dishes..starch and all!
So my life on a day to day basis? I get up around 5:45 in order to go for a jog before it gets too hot. And, if I go at any other time of the day there are way too many people out on the street and I cause quite the commotion! It’s also more common for the Ghanaians who jog to go early, in order that they can get home to eat breakfast and leave for work. It starts to get light around 5:30 here, so even going around 6 am means I will be passing many people as they start their day. I get back around 6:30 to shower, eat something and head into the office. I sometimes do some work on the secretary’s computer before she arrives at 8 am. That is the official start time, but often people will come in early or even late depending on their schedules. I will work on whatever project for the day, or sometimes switch between projects. Today for example, I was out with Felix, the project manager of the Plastic Waste project. We were testing out a questionnaire that we have put together for the general public regarding the issues of plastic waste in Accra, particularly with the plastic sachet water bags which I mentioned in my last entry. We usually go out in the company pick-up trucks with a driver to take us places. These drivers have interesting jobs. They basically just drive people around when they need to go places and sit and wait for them to finish and then drive them back. I’ve been wondering since I arrived why they are needed, but it’s very similar to the security guards in that it creates jobs. All NGO’s have them and many other organizations and even wealthy families as well. Part of the reasoning behind it, is that if you have to drive yourself a long distance to do some job, once you get there you will be tired from driving and not as productive. As a result, the driver drives you and you can rest along the way.
Back to my daytime routine, once I’m back in the office I might just hang out with the secretary if nothing else is going on. This happens frequently, particularly when the boss if out of the office, or if the electricity has gone out for one reason or another. Sometimes the rains cause the power to go off, and the phone lines to be disconnected, but sometimes the power just surges and the next thing you know: no lights, no computers, no air conditioning and so no work. Ghanaian work pace is much slower then in Canada and took awhile to get used to. Taking frequent breaks is common, particularly after eating. It’s good for me though in having a social way of getting to know people better.
People start leaving the office around 5 pm. At this point I’ll either do some work on the computer or else chat with the security guards out in the lane. It’s their local hang out spot. Two white plastic chairs set-up on the road side across the lane from our gate. I’ve spent quite a fair amount of time there, sometimes sitting and simply enjoying each other’s company, other times learning Twi, other times laughing because I don’t know what I’m saying and they think I’m hilarious when I try! At some point in the evening I’ll get some food, either something small for the local food shop or if Gilbert has made a meal or whatever I have left from what I bought at the market.
Some evenings I might try and go into town just to experience a different atmosphere, meet different people, or eat different food, but it starts getting dark around 5:45 and is completely pitch black by 6:30 so I don’t have that much motivation to venture out on my own all the time. I might meet up with some friends to go to a local venue on Wednesday evening where they have live music. I usually try and go when they have some traditional music and dancing. It all depends on my mood and level of energy. Last week I went out more because I was suffering a little from culture shock. Yes, the Ghanaians and their constant attention was beginning to frustrate me and I just needed to get away. I managed to find an Irish Pub, yes there is one in Accra. It’s in an area that caters to all Obruni needs. Most foreign goods can be found in the Koala supermarket there, and many of the foreign restaurants, shops etc are located in this area called Ossu. I don’t usually like to be the typical white person and go there, but on that evening I was quite glad it existed!
Fortunately, I seem to have overcome the feeling of intense frustration with the cultural differences and I’m beginning to appreciate them again. The language is getting easier to understand and I’ve been given the Ghanaian name of ObaYaa. It means lady Thursday born. People are named by the days of the week on which they are born and then given a special addition either before or after to personalize it a bit more. I’m also called Yaabode, but I have yet to receive a clear definition of bode! (Yaa means Thursday born in case you were confused!)
So that is just a little insight in to my daily habits. On weekends I’ve been quite busy and have been invited many places. I attended a Ghanaian wedding the weekend before last. The wedding spans both days; the engagement or meeting of the families occurs on the Saturday and the wedding which is very similar to our North American white dress in a church affair occurs on the Sunday. The weekend before that I traveled to the eastern part of Ghana to the volta region where I stayed in a village called Fodome. Two other engineers without borders volunteers are working there for the summer and they had a special welcoming celebration for us as the first Canadians to come to their village. It was quite a special weekend and I’m planning on writing a journal entry specifically about my experiences there so you can look forward to that. This weekend it poured rain the whole time so things went quite slowly but it was relaxing. On Friday night the girls from work took me out to dinner at a restaurant by the ocean. Then Saturday I went to install a solar panel at a mango farmers’ plantation. He will be the one receiving the wind turbine in the future, but for the mean time Wisdom, who is in charge of the Turbine project, had a spare solar cell he lent him for testing purposes. This farmer lives in an area where electricity poles pass by him but there is no way for him to tap into the power source without paying hundreds of thousands of dollars; something he can’t afford. He and his family have just moved to Ghana from Sierra Leone, (I believe they were escaping some devastating losses because of the war,) and they are starting a mango plantation. They are living very simply and are trying to be completely self-sustaining. The wife even makes her own soap! I quite admire their mentality and I received much pleasure out of setting up a solar panel and wiring their makeshift house for basic lighting! I’m sure more details will follow with this farmer and his family because we will be going again to install the wind turbine sometime within this month. So yes, then Sunday I stayed home. It poured rain all morning, and I lost phone service but not electricity which was nice. I took a long walk in the afternoon around the neighbourhood and found a good internet café where I’ve managed to upload these journals. Finally! In the afternoon I watched the Ghana versus Burkino Faso world cup qualifying soccer match with Gilbert and his cousin. Then Gilberts’ friend Patience, who spends weekends with us, made some local dishes for supper. It was all really pleasant and quite peaceful, very unlike the typical view of life in Africa.
That’s it for today. Again, please feel free to comment on anything I’ve said and to ask more questions. It helps me remember things that are important to write about!
Hope all is well. Blessings from Ghana!
Obayaa (Lindsay)
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Skindraya
Lucy Elbeheri
greetings from Kuwait
Hi Lindsay, I came across your entries when doing some reasearch about Ghana. I just wanted to say Im really enjoying your entries, very much. I am English but emigrated to Kuwait 9 weeks ago. Im also trying to adapt to the massive culture shock. Still... great journals lindsay, keep them coming... Lucy x