Blogs from Tamale, Northern, Ghana, Africa - page 7

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

Just a quick entry, we are so busy trying to fit in all the things we want to do before we leave. We came to the terrible realisation that we only have 8 days left and none of us are ready to leave. Life is difficult in many ways but for us as a family it has been really special. Anyway.... the dry season is really with us and the difference is amazing. We have not had any rain to speak of for about three weeks. That may not sound long but the effects are already very visible. The lush and green countryside has already turned brown with the only green being in the treetops. It is amazing how quickly everything has become dry. Though the worst is very definitely yet to come, everyone keeps saying ... read more

All of you who know Marc and huw will find the following entry entirely in keeping with their characters. Neewdless to say they are both having the time of their lives and enjoying a certain freedom and independence. Last week they deicded that they would truly embrace a Ghanaian lifestyle and have themselves a little livestock. Luckily they did stop short of buying a few sheep or goats but that is obviously what they would have liked to purchase. luckily mother and fathers displeasure was noted enough and so the livestock was initially confined to one rather pathetic looking hen. It was bought home on the bike and tied with a piece of string around its leg and attached to a tree in the garden. It appeared happy enough scratching around and enjoying its own freedom. ... read more

Well we have finally managed to prise ourselves away from the relative comfort of southern Ghana and are now residing in the hotter, dustier, less developed north of the country with our route on Sunday taking us east across the border into Togo. We made it here on the Yapei Queen, a ferry which for the last 40 years has been the only boat to undertake the journey from the south to the north of Lake Volta - the largest man-made lake in the world (Fact). Before we left we went on an educational trip to the hydroelectric dam responsible for providing power to Ghana, Togo and Benin but from our point of view more responsible for the very frequent 6 'till 6 power cuts which see us sweating at night as a result of the ... read more

At a meeting with the volunteers it was decided we would take the children from the home for a trip to the swimming pool. We were delighted to hear there was a swimming pool and my children were probably just as excited as the children from the home. We arrived at the Home at 1230 and collected the three children and set off for the pool. Marc had his friend Abdul, Huw had Joe and Sian was in charge of Assana, her little baby Fatimata was too small to come. The pool was a wonderful surprise. Clean and big with a slide in the deep end and a little paddling pool for the smaller children. Joe was not too impressed firstly with the taxi ride and then by the water. He is so gorgeous and needed ... read more