Batik and Birthdays...

Week 10

This week, we have been sweating our little bottoms off digging more of the 15ft hole that will house the safety tank. Its flippin' hard work, but well worth it as we both feel stronger already - Team Areeba! My favourite 'weapons' are digging with the pickaxe and spade, and Caroline's choice is to transport the earth on her head.

The hours we are working are the hottest of the day, so its no wonder we end up looking filthy and pouring with sweat (not a pretty sight) and we are always joined by the lads from Abura to put us to shame with their strength and speed. (Just when we don't want anyone to see us looking so nasty!) Anyway. the toilet block is coming up a treat and we are bending rods again next week to make more towers to support the ceiling/floor.

The children have been lovely this week as well (don't understand why!) for example Priscilla has been stroking Caroline's arms a lot while giving a cute sideways look of 'Oh madam!' We had more rain as well on Thursday and Friday so we are now used to the manouvres involved. We have to peg it out in amongst the trees to bring our blackboard and benches into the nursery area.

Entertainment then comes in the form of me - acting like a 5 year old by tongue rolling, making animal noises and good old sing songs. I am getting used to the constant chatter in another language now, as the children don't seem to care that we don't understand a word they are saying and just spout all sorts of stories at us. The facial expressions are what counts and my favourite little 4 year old Francis Acqua is the best at those.

I am guessing that his converstaions go a little like this:

"And then Madam, I would run over and bop him on the head and karate kick him in the stomach, and there would be an explosion BOOM! and then I would make my escape in a helicopter..."

Caroline has fallen in love with a small boy called Anseku who kind of resembles a small giggling bull dog with bandy legs flailing and wonky eyes. He has fallen in love with Madame Caroline as well, she shares her ice cream, and he dribbles affectionately on her in return!

They are all gearing up towards exams before Easter. It will be their first ones ever and the whole thing is new to us too. We've been asked to write the exams! (How do you test 4 year olds on the alphabet?!?) We are nervous about how they will perform but have a few weeks to revise with them what then need to know so hopefully we can swing it so that they all pass and make us look like excellent teachers!!!

On Friday Debbi and Matt joined us so that we could get ready for our Evaluation meeting with Charles and Joseph from Africatrust Networks. We were all a bit unsure as to what was going to be brought up in the meeting, and wether it was an evaluation for us, or of us. But everything went well as we had to fill in a questionnaire neatly typed up by Joe and then add any other comments in a group discussion afterwards.

We have so much praise for CEJOCEP as our experiences have been almost entirely positive so far, but for Debbi and Matt things have not been going well at all and they have felt let down by the situations in Bawdia. This has made things hard for them, and when we meet we can tell the stresses they have been under (and most of it caused by the Government of Ghana) but we know that after spending a weekend with us by the sea it is a little R&R for them both.

----------------------------------

Saturday was Esther's Birthday - a night we have been looking forward to for ages! Originally the idea was to have a cocktail party for about 25 people under the trees where we usually teach, and a sound system would surely make an appearence, but this all got changed last minute to Tina Tavern with dinner being taken with us. (There are no problems with bringing your own food into spots here provided that you buy at least one drink from the bar!) Esther's cooking is always so good that it puts the food anywhere else to shame!

The night was great fun!

They gave us plenty of plastic tables and chairs, and we sat out to the side of the spot in front of a closed shop, so we had loads of room to ourselves! The beer flowed, the music thumped and we all spent a couple of hours laughing with each other and repeatedly singing Happy Birthday to Esther. Here they like to embarrass at every opportunity (with no real harm done) by adding a chant of 'How old are you now, how old are you now' in the same tune as 'Happy Birthday'!

Something else (part 1)

(18 minutes left of internet time is never enough!)

There are so many things I want to talk about that I haven't had the chance to mention...

This blog is constantly keeping me awake at night, where I write witty little one-liners (and then forget them by morning) but turns into a race aginst the clock when I am in front of a screen...

So this is nothing to do with time, and everything to do with the things I haven't spoken about yet but want to...

The Rain.

We have not experienced anything like the rain the Debbi and Matt have been caught in yet. But when it has rained here it has left its mark on everything. AND THERE IS PLENTY MORE TO COME!!! We have experienced a drizzle and a downpour so far. Both have interupted morning classes, and because we have been teaching outdoors we have been caught in it. The Children all sing 'Rain rain go away, come again another day' while all the adults clap their hands with happiness at the crops getting watered, the well filling up, and the temporary relief from heat with the coolness of the air.

I actually got goosebumps for the first time since being here - it was lovely! The animals didn't seem too impressed by it though (wet cockerels look so funny!) and the mud afterwards was remeniscent of Glastonbury Festival, which made me think I should have packed my wellies!

Rainy season will be interesting at the house where we are staying as we have been told the roof leaks, and the entrance becomes flooded! It starts in late April, and ends in September so we are oly here for a bit of it, and no doubt I will write more about it when the time comes. Nevertheless, the sight of a humungous thick black cloud darkening the whole sky, and everything becoming drenched within seconds with thick heavy rain drops, has been an eye opening one, no matter how much rain I have seen at home.

-------------------------------------

Taxi's

The main transport systems here in Ghana are Tro-tro's (like minibuses) for medium distances and Taxi's for a short hop. There are more taxi's than any other vehicle and they provide a constant flow of customers with 'a lift down the road'.

I like getting taxi's since I know what to expect now, but at first we were sheltered from all this by our main man - Henry - the smiliest Taxi driver in the world.

Reasons to be a taxi driver in Ghana:

1. No apparent speed limit (although they are never in much of a hurry)

2. No need for seatbelts, or indeed any safety features other than a mini fire exstinguisher strapped to the window nearest the passenger (which luckily we have never seen being used yet.)

3. If you are a cheeky type, you can try upping your fare to any tourist that gets in. Just make up your own number and swear blind that it is normal! And then try proposing to them as well...

Driver - "Hellooo"
Me - "hello.."
Driver - "Where you from?" (not "where are you going" like most drivers would ask!)
Me - "England"
Driver - "Oh, fine fine, so I'll be marrying you then, and we can go back there together, isn't it."
Me - "That's a bit quick for me driver, I like to know someone's name first at least!"
(Turned out to be Gabriel, and then he charged me normal price, which was nice!)

4. You can take on board as many bodies as you can fit in.
(Except when there is a Police barrier further up the road)

The most I have counted so far is 9 people other than the taxi driver (4 of them were children but it was still a squash!) Great fun when you are with people you know, (me and Debbi on the front seat - lovely times!) not so much fun when its people you don't know and they smell!!! But who can blame anyone for sweating in this heat?!

5. You can honk your horn at potential customers, you can honk your horn to signal the car is full, to ask people to move out your way (no pavements in cape coast so constant pedestrian / vehicle fights!) you can honk your horn cos' you feel happy - i.e whatever, whenever and at whoever you like, you can just keep on pressing that horn!

6. Decoration is the key to success. Every taxi is individually decorated with sticky letters on the back windsreen, CD's and rosaries hanging from the rear view mirror and furry seat covers. Makes your favourite driver more noticable amongst the others and even starts competitions for who can write the silliest slogans.

---------------------------

Churches

In the old days, there were many Gods for the tribes to worship and worry about, but traditional values like these are being over-shadowed by Christianity and Islam - Ghana's main two faiths. The European missionaries came in from the coast and set up schools as well as huge lavish buildings, so the coast is mainly Christian and Islam travelled in from the north of Africa.

So far we have been invited to mostly Churches, but we did get the chance to go to the Mosque in Abura as well! There is also a Synagogue in Accra that all four of us are going to pay a visit to when we get a chance. As Caroline puts it "we're on a whistlestop tour of Religion!"

One thing I don't understand is why Christians have so many denominations, as they have been given more importance here than I have ever found before. Everybody is keen to know your religious background and especially the denomination...? The services we have visited for those that want to know are Pentecostal, Anglican, Roman Catholic, Methodist and Jehovah's Witness so far!

My favourite observation while living in Ghana is that you get used to African time (which doesn't involve any watches) and the Church is no different. The service will start with a half empty congregation and be full to overflowing after about an hour, which always makes the singing incredible because of the sheer amount of people. Most Churches have had their own choir, or a band at least, and although some sing old school hymns, most of them have beautiful Fante worship songs.

None of which Caroline and I know though!

In fact, every service has been in Fante. Which means we don't understand a word of it. So we get to spend a few hours daydreaming and thinking about all sorts of things as well as admiring the beautiful cloth that the ladies dress up in.

It is lovely to see that the Christian and Muslim faiths can co-exist here so peacefully. The train of thought seems to be that if you love and serve God then that is the best way regardless of which faith helps you get there...

The best service we have been to was the one we stumbled across at night.
Picture this if you can...

Caroline and I had just gone for a quick drink and chill out at a spot in Kakumdo.
We were walking along the main path and heard the most faint sound of drums and something else. Getting closer we also heard singing. It was happening just behind a row of wooden stores.

We decided to go and investigate more.

There was about 40 men and women and there was a lot of Red cloth. There were candles in the ground as the only source of light and everyone formed a circle around them. The inner three people were jumping about excitedly. All this at the same time as the drums were making a constant crescendo with the bead shakers. The beads are draped over the gould on a kind of netting thing. Then the netting is yanked and shaken to make the beads rattle against the gould. (Does this make sense?) Anyway it provided the most beautiful and difficult to master instrument I have ever tried. You see, we came into sight (just passing don't you know) and got thrown right into the throng of it to join in.

The ladies began a song, it would rise and fall and the beat would get faster and faster, then some wailing (all in time perfectly.) They were offering up prayers, but we could not understand what about. Caroline and I having finished our trial of the bead shakers then stood on the side to watch and were encouraged to clap along until our hands wanted to fall off.

I could not stop smiling and feeling lucky to be watching it all. Still clueless but curious as to what we were watching happen, and who these people were. We found out they are from the Twelve Apostles, and then got invited to their service the following morning, a Friday. It seems they like odd times to meet, but as we were teaching we could not accept. If we hear the drums at night though, it makes us want to go and explore again... : )

(written by Lucie)

The Voice of CEJOCEP

Message To The Youth Worldwide.

1. All can be achieved through hard work.

2.Nothing comes on silver platter.

3. Failures are pillars of success.

4. Challenges are ingredient for successful life.

5. Endurance and perseverance are the keys of success.

6. Achievement is always possible.

7. Just get something started.

8. Be determined to achieve it.

9. Dedicate yourself solely to that.

10. Work deligently.

11. Never give up.

12. Success will surely crown you.


PHILOSOPHY OF CEJOCEP

*All great men were people who had SOMETHING (time, energy, wisdom, knowledge, etc) sacrificed."

*The time to test a true GENTLEMAN is to observe him when he is in contact with a RACE/BACKGROUND that is less fortunate than his own."

Thanks,
Lawrence & Co - CEJOCEP, Ghana.

Strange yet familiar...

Week 8

Monday was Independence Day in Ghana to mark the 49th anniversary of being free from British rule. The day is a public holiday and anyone who can, tries to make the most of it by going to watch the 6th March 'marching.' We were invited along to the main march for Cape Coast that took place at St Augustines College.

Along a palm tree lined road, right opposite the beach, St Augustines boasts a huge arena for the marching, and several hundred people had come along to watch and offer support. Every school, college and organisation like to represent themselves here and all the preparations have taken weeks. There was a brass band, several lines of cadets, soldiers and police, and all the marching is judged for performance.

It was quite frightening to watch children as young as 7 being carried off in stretchers due to fainting from the heat. We even saw a few soldiers keel over, but I am not surprised as the sun got to us after only being there for 10 minutes, and most of the marchers had been out all morning.

Overall though I have to say it was a fantastic experience and the pride of any of those who got selected to march for their country was wonderful. 6th March next year will be spectacular as it marks 50 years of Independence, and I am quite gutted that I will miss it.

After the march, Caroline, Ben and I walked the whole length of the beach from the marching to the Castle and then scaled the hights of the 'Lighthouse'. This is the extra fort they built on the highest hill near the Castle, as a lookout from land to sea. It is now privately rented to a rather large family, and kept in fairly good repair and we were extremely lucky to be allowed right to the top to take in the view.

The whole of Cape Coast was paved out below us, the random palm trees that line the coast, the hills and lagoon in the distance, the huge old churches that look so sturdy and expensive among the tiny tin roofed houses that fill the rest of the area. It's such a mixture of a town, and this bird's eye view seemed so privallaged that it will stay with me forever.

-------------------------

We have been lucky enough to meet a wonderful couple who live in Holland that began a project quite like CEJOCEP. It is called TACCO www.Africachild.net and has been set up to benefit the community of a small village near Kumasi in Central Ghana.

The couple are called Afia (Ghanaian) and Jan (Dutch). We met them at our local - Tina. Jan was smoking Rolling tobacco (which Caroline and I are missing very much!) and we were cheeky enough to think we could ask for a roll up each from the Obruni! It paid off and once a conversation had been struck, we began to chat about their project and about the role of Africatrust in Ghana. Several drinks later, Jan was likening Caroline to his daughter and we were talking politics as well as exchanging rude jokes!

These two are truly a lovely pair and compliment each other very well. It was really nice to meet other people with a similar vision and they were so complimentary of our work that we both couldn't stop talking about them the whole way home! (And the fact it had all started from the cheekiness of being a smoker is the only reason I am glad I haven't given up yet! I will one day I promise.)

------------------------------

I missed telling you before but I made Pancakes on my own to celebrate Pancake day! Anyone who knows me will realise that is a real feat, as I have no cooking skills, only eating skills!!!
I was very proud, and shared them out between the workers in the afternoon between digging foundations. There was no lemon though, so we improvised and used a lime. I recommend it for next pancake day! Very nice!

We also went to Wiomwa on Tuesday to check out a Junior school which has been up and running for over 50 years. It was after an invitation from Irene, their administrator/ headmistress. (She lives near us, and has helped us with some hints on teaching.) It was really encouraging to see that some of the methods we have been using to teach the alphabet and songs etc are also used at the Wiomwa school. We are also going to copy one of their popular tricks - using the lids from drinks as counters. After a few nights out I am sure Caroline and I can gather a whole bunch! Ace.

-------------------------------

On Friday we were invited to the Mosque in Abura with Amponsah, and both of us couldn't wait to go, mainly out of curiosity as to what it is like inside! We both hear the calling to early morning prayers from our house. (Not sure if it is in Fante or Arabic!) So at midday we walked to Abura, after changing to cover our bodies sufficiently.

When we got to Abura, Amponsah asked us to learn the positions we will need to adopt as we will not be able to accompany him, and instead will be going upstairs. We then recieved cloth to cover our head.

Once inside, we were in awe of all the beautiful women on the upper floor. There are no seats, so everyone gets comfy on the floor and some of the ladies begin their prayers. At a set time we joined in the prayer positions with everyone else, and I must admit I think I did it a bit wrong, but no-one noticed. The chanting was beautiful and the whole thing quite humbling!

(written by Lucie)

You're watching us, while we watch you...

Week 7

The work this week has been a bit more exciting as we have been making huge iron rods into towers that will support the window frames. They will be surrounded by concrete once put into place, and have involved lots of wire bending and shaping.

We haven't missed out on the digging either as the Toilet block is on its way up. There are going to be four ladies on the bottom level and four gents on the top level. We are carving out foundations at the moment, but we have been assured it won't be long until the bricks are laid, and the whole thing is complete!

-------------------------------------

The evenings have turned into a mixture of films or books, and to date I have read about 4 books, and watched maybe 15 films! A complete mixture of western action, fiction and comedy films, and a whole new sector for me - Nigerian movies.

The house we are living in has a VCD player (Video CD) which is identical to a DVD except most films come on two disks. (We have only watched half of Desperado with Antonio Banderas as Disk 2 is missing... what happens next??)

The Nigerian films are great fun and not too hard to follow, as the bad guys are blatent and the end always has a definite moral to the story. The funniest one I have seen so far is 'Valentino' basically the story of a love rat! He's worse than one of the characters on Eastenders. Living with his 'Sugar Mummy' and secretly dating her daughter, he also ends up with plenty of other girls in tow, from the advice of 'Prof in Human Affairs' his best mate. (Are you still following?)

-------------------------------------

We have become accustomed to the fact that we stand out like a sore thumb here because of our colour, it's obvious when you step off the plane really, but the children of Ghana seem to find it so fascinating to see us 'Obrunis' (white people) that it never wears off completely.
The nice thing about seeing people regularly is they tend to regard you as less of a novelty, but if we go anywhere new, we quite often get the fresh chant of "Obruni, how are you, I'm fine, thank you, and you..." and from the nursery behind our house this chant takes place every morning. They never get tired of it!! haha!

The afternoons are definitely my favourite time as loads of kids come to the site of the school building to help us out. (Something never encouraged in such a health and safety conscious environment of the average building site back home!)

These boys range from 7 - 15 and are so enthusiatic to help and strong too! They don't care about our colour any more, they are more worried about taking the pick-axe from each other or carrying a heavier load of earth, which is funny to watch as there is a definite pecking order - namely all young boys are called 'small boys' and if one boy is even a fracton taller or stronger he will order all the littler ones around.
(And because there is no teaching involved in the afternoons, I get to pull silly faces at them all and act 9 again! Hooray!)

------------------------------------

This week was also Jeffrey's Birthday, and as his family are all away, we took him out for a drink at the local spot. Everything is served in its bottle - no pulling of pints in these places, and if you're looking for a cold version of Ovaltine, try 'Malta!' the non alcoholic Guiness drink.

(written by Lucie)

Hopping and other things...

Week 6

This week has been one for lovers with Valentine's Day on Tuesday, (Happy Valentine's to you all!) a tradition which Ghana seems to embrace as if they began it!

The easiest way to explain it is that the popular music in Ghana is called High-Life, and about 90% of the songs are in fact Love Songs!! They are also big fans of Westlife, Celine Dion, Elton John and Dolly Parton ??!! I have had some of the High-Life songs translated for me and the favourite so far is a guy saying to a sexy lady to 'Shut your legs love, I'm married!' Hahaha!!!

The tradition is to wear red, and to give some flowers or a soppy card to your loved one. Some people choose to go a bit overboard and wear red from top to toe, and tell every woman they see that "you are my sweetie treasure, light of my life, I love you, I miss you" etc etc (yuck!)

--------------------------------------

Caroline and I are not the type to enjoy the croonings and slobberings of this romantic day, but we got invited by several of the CEJOCEP Culture Group boys to the local bar (or 'spot') to watch the festivities unfold. Plenty of dancing, couples having fun in dark corners and one resemblence of a fight later, we realised it was past midnight and headed for home.

(The 'nearly' fight was quite funny, as Ghana is such a peace loving place, the DJ stopped the music before it happened to announce that if any blows were struck the night would be over. This prompted everyone else to seperate the two quarellers and sheild any lady in sight!! That was the very short end of the matter.)

-----------------------------------------

The Culture Group have been very good to us since we got here, made up of about 10 guys and 3 girls, they meet up on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays to practice their drumming, cultural dances and freestyle. In particular we have been be-friended by about 5 of the boys, who now insist on accompanying us anytime we go to the next town (Abura) or to events in Cape Coast.

The rest of the group have been helping me to learn dances and both of us have been practicing drumming. Its usually better to watch them rehearse though, as we both feel a bit self-conscious when we are involved - but that's down to years of social conditioning I have been told!!!

The traditional songs are beautiful, and we have mastered a few, we are just hoping that they are not going to ask us to spring a rendition at some awkward moment in front of a crowd!

----------------------------------------

Our favourite drinking 'spot' so far has to be Tina Tavern in Abura. It has been the location for Valentines evening, and also became our home on Friday night, which was (and always is) Ladies night in the region. We did try to go to Cape Coast Hotel for Ladies night with Esther, but the bouncer wouldn't let her in because of her shoes... (Are bouncers the same all over the world?!)

-----------------------------------------

We are trying to encorporate some more fun into our lessons with the children at the moment. It's definitely a hard job, and even the fun things are met with either blank faces or bored looks! The one thing they do love though is Incy Wincy spider. Its a sure fire hit to get them off their wobbly bench and making shapes with their tiny hands.

We now lack any form of tables as they were broken last week, so any written work is done on their laps or on the floor with a stick in the dust. It's a crazy situation, but until the school has a roof there is no way they can start using the money to buy anything else.

If the school is finished in time it will open in September, so during the Rainy season (May - September) the members of CEJOCEP will be harvesting the Casava plants they have been growing. This is then processed into 'Gari' which is one of the favourite foods to add to meals in Ghana. Its nice with evapourated milk and sugar added (kind of tastes like sweet bits of cereal) and also nice as a savoury dish with stew and sauce.

The Casava that is harvested, and the Gari that is made will be sold to make a profit for the organisation. This is how they have funded some of the former projects, and could be the way forward for some proper tables and chairs.

(written by Lucie)