Blogs from Northern, Ghana, Africa - page 8

Note: Freedom Thursdays is a weekly Human Rights program on our Radio Station Justice FM. Since I have arrived we have looked at a variety of topics including the efforts to eradicate Guinea Worm, Mental Illness and the stigma attached to it and the relationship between police and the community. This month we also focused on the phenomenon of the ‘kayayoo’. Ending Kayayoo in the North By Nichole Huck Kayayoo is the migration of school age girls from the rural areas in the north of Ghana to the South where they hope to find work. The girls find themselves in menial jobs, especially head portage. They can barely survive on their earnings and have no access to education. Some organizations in Tamale are trying to change this by providing self-employable skills training and education. Including an ... read more

Hello friends… Halloween came and went…Shawn and I marked the day with a papaya jack-o-lantern. Since my last update…Shawn and I have moved. We are now living in a house with another girl from Regina (Shawn Hughes) a Dutch guy, a girl from Denmark and one Ghanaian woman. It’s been really great to cook for ourselves - and as I type this…I’m listening to the prayers from the mosque next door. Five times a day (starting at 4 am sharp) the loudspeaker gets fired up to call everyone from the neighbourhood to the mosque to pray. Shawn has been involved with a group called Goal Ghana. The goal is to use football to educate young people about everything from human rights to HIV. The first day Shawn and I went we taught the children (all 60) ... read more

Hey Everyone… Sorry it has taken so long to send a proper update. My old standby Kodakgallery doesn't work from here so I'm hoping this will work as a way for me to stay in touch! I am now settling in at Justice FM in Tamale. I feel like I’m a newborn learning everything for the first time. I’m learning the culture, local language, food, as well as how different things are like politics and the media. I’m living with a family - it has been interesting. It has helped me learn about the food - and just some basics about the dynamics of a family and the roles everyone is expected to take on. My family is Muslim so I am learning a bit more about Islam. Here in the north - the majority of ... read more

This morning I woke up after a wonderful night’s rest, did some yoga with the girls, and had a light breakfast. Today was a travel day to get from the south coastal part of Ghana to the northern part. We arrived at the Accra airport, of which the domestic flight terminal was mmm much smaller than the international one. We checked in, I was handed my plane ticket (which had my name handwritten and misspelled), and we sat and waited until the plane was to take off. After following Thomas’ wonderful advice, we arrived a bit later than someone from the US would normally, since Thomas’ knew that it would be late. The plane was only a little bit late, and security to get on was no where near as intense as the US, or the ... 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