Around one year ago, I started work on a proposal related to a HIV/AIDS related football tournament. Many factors contributed to the delay of the project implementation but yesterday, at long last, the project was completed.
Cheri and Travis came to Bormase in order to help with the process. On Friday, football teams from Bormase Huenya, Bormase, Sekesua and Agbeli Tsum arrived in Bormase for HIV/AIDS education. I had played with Bormase and against Sekesua but many of the 70 attendees were new acquaintances. Using several exercises and lessons from the GrassRoot Soccer curriculum, Cheri, Travis, Patrick the translator and I took these 15-30 year old young men through the day. The balance of note taking and field based drills helped the necessary repetition seem less obvious.
We covered statistics, preventative measures, basic facts and de-stigmatization during the 9am-3pm session. Of course, we were working on Ghana time so players started trickling in at 9 but the full group hadn't formed until nearly 11am. The players began the day in comfortable cliques and refused to share their thoughts. By the end, rival teams were integrating and laughing together while playing working through educational games. I was about as nervous for project as I was for the GMAT. I'll admit that I spent far more time preparing for the test but the number of potential obstacles and problems facing related to this project created a much different feel.
I scheduled to have a tro-tro meet us at the football field at 9am on Saturday morning. Any interested players would be shuttled to the clinic in Sekesua. The tro showed up at 10am and a full car was headed to the clinic by 11am. Unfortunately, the clinic only had 3 test kits and there are nearly twenty players waiting. I had been told that the clinic would be able to help but I made the error of expecting them to have the proper equipment. Using some remaining funds from the proposal, I added to the already high tro fare (it's strange suddenly have such an influx of funds that MUST be spent after a year and a half of shoestring living). A small group stayed in the tro while we drove 45 minutes to Asesewa, picked up 60 new tests and drove 45 minutes back. The tournament was scheduled to start at 2pm and we were arriving back at the clinic at around noon. Unfortunately, several players had come and gone by the time we arrived. At the end of the day, 45 very nervous young men knew for sure whether or not they were HIV positive.
The final shuttle of players arrived at the field at 2pm and few players were around. By 2:45, coaches from each of the four teams had shown up and drawn numbers to decide the schedule. Sekesua and Bormase (the two favorites) would play the first match while Bormase Huenya and Agbeli Tsum would play the second match. Due to the late start, the matches would have 35 minute halves and draws would be decided by penalty kicks with no overtime. All coaches agreed and the first match was underway by 3pm.
Fans trickled in as the game was beginning. Sekesua dominated possession early and after a Bormase defender blatantly tackled a Sekesua striker in the box, Sekesua took a 1-0 lead on perfectly placed penalty shot.
Bormase drew even early in the second half on an incredible individual effort. A Bormase striker reached a bounding ball just ahead of the Sekesua keeper and managed to head the ball through the keepers outstretched hands and into the net. Sekesua dominated possession for the remainder of the match and narrowly missed capitalizing on several opportunities. With time running down, Bormase had one last opportunity and from the corner of the 18 yard box, a near perfect strike narrowly missed the mark as it struck the corner where the bamboo post and bamboo crossbar met.
Both coaches and the referee approached me and told me that they had decided to play overtime and decide the winner. Again, I explained that there would be no overtime because of time constraints. It would go directly to a shootout.
Hundreds of spectators flooded the field and tightly gathered around the box as the shootout began. The first shooter from each team scored easily and received uproarious applause. The Sekesua goalkeeper saved Bormase's second attempt and Sekesua took a 2-1 lead. Bormase's young keeper stepped up the the challenge and saved the third shot from Sekesua's confident squad. A headlong dive to the lower left corner by the teen aged keeper resulted in a beautiful save and ensuing pandemonium. Bormase's fourth shooter blasted his shot over the crossbar, Sekesua's fifth followed with a composed and accurate effort that ended the match that many players and fans expected to see as Sunday's final match.
Bormase Huenya and Agbeli Tsum played through drizzles and approaching darkness to an uneventful 1-0 win. The skies opened up as the match came to an end and people scattered to any available zinc roof.
Sunday's matches were scheduled to begin at 2pm. As is to be expected but not appreciated, the first match got underway at 4pm. Two 20 minute halves gave Bormase and their St. Ignatius College Preparatory uniforms third place and allowed enough time for the final.
To the surprise of many, Agbeli Tsum took an early 1-0 lead. Sekesua dominated position and showed superior skills as they drew even before half-time. The score line for the second half was more indicative of the match-up and Sekesua walked away as champs with a 4-1 win.
Just before dark, awards were given to each team. Unfortunately, the ball that Bormase was to win had been kicked into the bush during the final match and could not be found. In an on-the-fly decision, I decided that Bormase would take no prize and try to find the ball the following day. I could not send a visiting team away with nothing. Naturally, I received complaints last night and this morning from the team. Why did first place get this while we got nothing? Why did we not play overtime?
I explained the situation and after checking the bush, Bormase had it's prize but no fewer complaints. In the end, many people received much needed education while hundreds enjoyed an eventful weekend. The results of the program exceeded my expectations and I'm very pleased.
Next in line will be a massive harvest of flourishing Moringa farm. Coming soon will be the construction of a much needed Community Bead Center. Please take a look at the following link if you're interested in contributing.
https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.donors.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=641-263
Love to all!!
Ira
Monday, April 27, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
Just because you can doesn't mean that you should
I've grown so accustomed to trying new things and living in sub-standard conditions that I occasionally find myself coping with situations that should not be acceptable.
Living with a dog in a house in the bush makes housekeeping difficult. I've never been the biggest stickler in regards to the cleanliness of my personal space. In Bormase, when the wind blows, dust flies through my windows and into every corner of every room. Kua is constantly tracking dirt through the house. When I take my bucket bath and walk across the dirt courtyard in my shower shoes, I inevitably track more dirt into my living quarters. The mice in my ceiling and the spiders in the corners work ceaselessly in what seems to be an effort at diversifying my mess. Why should I sweep every day when the same amount of dirt will show up the very next morning?
In order to avoid GI issues and possible other ailments, it is highly advisable that I filter my drinking water. Of course I filter my drinking water. I don't think I'll ever get complacent in regards to stomach issues. My health has been mostly good while in Ghana. Those issues that I have run across have not been due to unclean water. However, since I use my water barrel as a water catchment system and am constantly filtering rain water, my filter gets very dirty in short order. In order to properly clean the filter, I have to remove the ceramic candle filter wands and submerse them in boiling water. I then have to scrub the slime and other filth from both candles before returning them to their home inside the blue plastic filter. As long as I filled the filter before bed and after making breakfast, I would normally have drinking water whenever I needed it.
This past weekend, I traveled north to Tamale in order to celebrate Cheri's birthday. Cheri set up the event in such a way that the group in attendance could hang out at a swimming pool during the day and eat dog meat for dinner. Unfortunately, the swimming pool was closed on the proposed day so we were left with dog as the main event. Five of us went to the "chop bar," or culinary establishment so we could order the food. We were all excited in theory. Many of our friends had eaten dog previously and raved about it. I ate cat in Accra and when it was handed to me in kebab form, I didn't think twice.
While waiting to place our order, we saw several dogs led into the establishment by chain leashes. We didn't see any of the dogs slaughtered or mistreated but the illusion of eating just any old meat was completely gone. If I had to see cows led to the slaughter before eating a steak or burger, the experience would be different from going through the drive-through but this was different. A man passed with a large metal bowl of meat balanced atop his head. In Ghana, this is anything but weird until you see paws and tails hanging over the lip of the bowl. I was beginning to lose my nerve.
The five of us each drank a calabash of pito before traveling to meet our other friends for the feast. I ate one small, unidentified piece and could barely hold it down. Pulling the skin from the meat and crunching bones between my teeth made my come to the brink of retching on my occasions.
Sure, I can live in a dirty house and wait ten hours while my water is filtered. I can eat bush rat, pigeon, cat and dog. I'm living in Africa so I might as well milk the experience for everything it's worth, right? Normally, I think that it's great to get the most out of an experience but once I cleaned my house, got a new filter and ate dog, I realized that balancing comfort and adventure can be very important. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, I will not eat dog again. It tasted great but made me want to puke. With my new filter, I can drink a full liter of water when thirsty and have more water within minutes. Also, while I won't buy a generator just so I can vacuum my house, I will definitely sweep more often. Sure it will get dirty again but for a short time, it'll be clean and I won't have to wear sandals inside.
That's all for now. Enjoy what you have!
Love to all!
Ira
Living with a dog in a house in the bush makes housekeeping difficult. I've never been the biggest stickler in regards to the cleanliness of my personal space. In Bormase, when the wind blows, dust flies through my windows and into every corner of every room. Kua is constantly tracking dirt through the house. When I take my bucket bath and walk across the dirt courtyard in my shower shoes, I inevitably track more dirt into my living quarters. The mice in my ceiling and the spiders in the corners work ceaselessly in what seems to be an effort at diversifying my mess. Why should I sweep every day when the same amount of dirt will show up the very next morning?
In order to avoid GI issues and possible other ailments, it is highly advisable that I filter my drinking water. Of course I filter my drinking water. I don't think I'll ever get complacent in regards to stomach issues. My health has been mostly good while in Ghana. Those issues that I have run across have not been due to unclean water. However, since I use my water barrel as a water catchment system and am constantly filtering rain water, my filter gets very dirty in short order. In order to properly clean the filter, I have to remove the ceramic candle filter wands and submerse them in boiling water. I then have to scrub the slime and other filth from both candles before returning them to their home inside the blue plastic filter. As long as I filled the filter before bed and after making breakfast, I would normally have drinking water whenever I needed it.
This past weekend, I traveled north to Tamale in order to celebrate Cheri's birthday. Cheri set up the event in such a way that the group in attendance could hang out at a swimming pool during the day and eat dog meat for dinner. Unfortunately, the swimming pool was closed on the proposed day so we were left with dog as the main event. Five of us went to the "chop bar," or culinary establishment so we could order the food. We were all excited in theory. Many of our friends had eaten dog previously and raved about it. I ate cat in Accra and when it was handed to me in kebab form, I didn't think twice.
While waiting to place our order, we saw several dogs led into the establishment by chain leashes. We didn't see any of the dogs slaughtered or mistreated but the illusion of eating just any old meat was completely gone. If I had to see cows led to the slaughter before eating a steak or burger, the experience would be different from going through the drive-through but this was different. A man passed with a large metal bowl of meat balanced atop his head. In Ghana, this is anything but weird until you see paws and tails hanging over the lip of the bowl. I was beginning to lose my nerve.
The five of us each drank a calabash of pito before traveling to meet our other friends for the feast. I ate one small, unidentified piece and could barely hold it down. Pulling the skin from the meat and crunching bones between my teeth made my come to the brink of retching on my occasions.
Sure, I can live in a dirty house and wait ten hours while my water is filtered. I can eat bush rat, pigeon, cat and dog. I'm living in Africa so I might as well milk the experience for everything it's worth, right? Normally, I think that it's great to get the most out of an experience but once I cleaned my house, got a new filter and ate dog, I realized that balancing comfort and adventure can be very important. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, I will not eat dog again. It tasted great but made me want to puke. With my new filter, I can drink a full liter of water when thirsty and have more water within minutes. Also, while I won't buy a generator just so I can vacuum my house, I will definitely sweep more often. Sure it will get dirty again but for a short time, it'll be clean and I won't have to wear sandals inside.
That's all for now. Enjoy what you have!
Love to all!
Ira
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Duct Taped Dog
With all of my attention going towards the GMAT, I failed to let everyone know about Kua. Two weeks ago, when I was away from site taking advantage of electricity, Kua was caught in a grasscutter trap!! Imagine the steal jaw style trap used for bears or wolves but far far smaller.
I suppose that Kua was running when it happened because her toes were caught in the trap rather than her ankle. Dorothy, Emmanuel and the rest of the family suspected that something was wrong when Kua wasn't growling for her dinner at 7pm. After a restless nights sleep, the family went looking through the bush until they found Kua still stuck in the trap. When I got home later in the day, I was greeting by the hobbling Kua. It looked like she had a dog style latex glove blown up to capacity in place of her paw. It looked awful!!!
Since then, the family and I have been treating the would whenever we can get close enough. It is slowly getting better but since Kua continually licks the wound in order to keep it clean, the wound won't close. Yesterday and today, I had to get creative and put a band-aid over the cut and wrap duct tape around her paw. It seems to be working. She was running around and keeping her paw clean yesterday and wasn't able to remove the makeshift dressing until the evening. She's as happy as ever but I just want to make sure she gets better!!
On an entirely different and no less important note, I spent most of Tuesday showing two Congressional Staffers around Koforidua and my site. Talk about a change of pace, I went from taking the GMAT on Monday to taking a private car with two members of the Committee on Foreign Relations on Tuesday to selling groundnuts and gari at a tiny shop in Bormase while Dorothy was away at market. I love my life!!
Tuesday was a great day. I woke up and couldn't help chuckling to myself every time I thought about the GMAT. It feels as though I've pulled a fast one on everyone. It's as though I zoned out and came away with a much more competitive applicant profile. No complaints from me, especially because I NEVER have to take that test again! And I digress. At 10, I was driven to the US Embassy where I waited to meet Steve and Laura. The three of us got lunch from the cafeteria (a much bigger highlight for me than for either of them I'm sure) and got in the car where we joined Emmanuel, a Ghanaian health worker. We chatted about Peace Corps and possible plans for the future. It was very informal and comfortable conversation. We went to visit a school in Koforidua before getting to Bormase at around 4pm. We went to the borehole, saw Patrick as he made beads and talked about life in the village. As always, I loved looking at the faces of my visitors. Even Emmanuel was shocked by my living conditions. I'm used to it but still love to be reminded that it's far from normal. At the end of the visit, I felt as though my guests were rushed and I failed to show them my Moringa farm. I've taken pictures to post to the blog but as usual, something is wrong and I can't upload anything. What looked like as sparse field of sticks only a month ago is a dense, lush farm today. I love it!!
Love to all
Ira
I suppose that Kua was running when it happened because her toes were caught in the trap rather than her ankle. Dorothy, Emmanuel and the rest of the family suspected that something was wrong when Kua wasn't growling for her dinner at 7pm. After a restless nights sleep, the family went looking through the bush until they found Kua still stuck in the trap. When I got home later in the day, I was greeting by the hobbling Kua. It looked like she had a dog style latex glove blown up to capacity in place of her paw. It looked awful!!!
Since then, the family and I have been treating the would whenever we can get close enough. It is slowly getting better but since Kua continually licks the wound in order to keep it clean, the wound won't close. Yesterday and today, I had to get creative and put a band-aid over the cut and wrap duct tape around her paw. It seems to be working. She was running around and keeping her paw clean yesterday and wasn't able to remove the makeshift dressing until the evening. She's as happy as ever but I just want to make sure she gets better!!
On an entirely different and no less important note, I spent most of Tuesday showing two Congressional Staffers around Koforidua and my site. Talk about a change of pace, I went from taking the GMAT on Monday to taking a private car with two members of the Committee on Foreign Relations on Tuesday to selling groundnuts and gari at a tiny shop in Bormase while Dorothy was away at market. I love my life!!
Tuesday was a great day. I woke up and couldn't help chuckling to myself every time I thought about the GMAT. It feels as though I've pulled a fast one on everyone. It's as though I zoned out and came away with a much more competitive applicant profile. No complaints from me, especially because I NEVER have to take that test again! And I digress. At 10, I was driven to the US Embassy where I waited to meet Steve and Laura. The three of us got lunch from the cafeteria (a much bigger highlight for me than for either of them I'm sure) and got in the car where we joined Emmanuel, a Ghanaian health worker. We chatted about Peace Corps and possible plans for the future. It was very informal and comfortable conversation. We went to visit a school in Koforidua before getting to Bormase at around 4pm. We went to the borehole, saw Patrick as he made beads and talked about life in the village. As always, I loved looking at the faces of my visitors. Even Emmanuel was shocked by my living conditions. I'm used to it but still love to be reminded that it's far from normal. At the end of the visit, I felt as though my guests were rushed and I failed to show them my Moringa farm. I've taken pictures to post to the blog but as usual, something is wrong and I can't upload anything. What looked like as sparse field of sticks only a month ago is a dense, lush farm today. I love it!!
Love to all
Ira
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
740 isn't my credit score
I took the GMAT yesterday and I'm tired. I've posted the summary that I put on one of the GMAT prep sites. Enjoy!
My path leading up to GMAT glory is unique. I'm serving in the Peace Corps and have been in Ghana for just over 18 months. I live in a village with no running water or electricity. When I left the US, I didn't know what type of site assignment I would get so I brought a GMAT book (with CD) along since I expected to have a lot of free time.
I took the test yesterday morning in true Ghanaian style. I'm so used to living with electricity that each time I woke up during the night prior to the test, I saw light coming through the window and was ready to run out the door in panic. This happened at 2:30am, 3:30am, 5:30am and then finally at 6am. My test was at 9:30am and I wanted to splurge and eat a nice breakfast with coffee. Here's a good GMAT question for you: if a Peace Corps Volunteer earns 6.6 Ghana Cedis per day and spends 5 Cedis on breakfast and 2 Cedis on a Red Bull (HUGE treat), how much of his daily pay has been spent by 8am?
I tried not to think of my budget, thinking that a few extra Cedis today can honestly equate to tens of thousands of dollars at admission time. Anyway, I thought it would be nice to walk to the testing center. I went to check it out a few days prior so I knew I had time. I walked through traffic, past goats, and over open sewers as I let my blood get pumping.
I got to the test center at 8:10am with a sweat soaked shirt and waited in the air conditioning (another treat). I started the test a little after 9am and was feeling good. Leading up to the test, I got really tired while trying to take practice tests. Maybe a bit of brain drain, I'm not sure. On test day, adrenaline and caffeine combined made me feel up the the 4 hour challenge ahead. I worked through the essays with no real problem. My 10 minute break allowed time to use the bathroom (no running water) and stretch.
The quant section had me a bit nervous. I consider myself to be good at math but have a Psychology degree, no realy quant background. I didn't break a 42 raw score in practice. I was so nervous that it took me 25 questions to realize that I could move the keyboard and use the table for taking notes. By this time, I had ink smeared on both hands and on the legs of my trousers. Oops! During the real deal, I was convinced that I missed 2 of the first 5 questions. Big bummer! With 250 dollars invested, I had to go for it. The rest of the quant section was difficult, some questions I hadn't seen on any practice test. I took my time, made educated guesses when necessary and finished the last question as time ran out. I hoped to pull a 42.
Verbal went well. I hadn't taken a practice verbal section in about a month. Either my program wouldn't work or I'd visit a friend who had electricity and the lights would go out. I was nervous leading up to the test but again, took my time, finished with 5 minutes to spare I knew I did well. Maybe a 690 to match my best practice score?
My nerves really kicked in after the last question. I'm used to having my score pop up immediately following verbal question 41 but this time I had to wait a few minutes. When the score 740 popped up, I was ecstatic!! 48 (84%) quant and 44 (97%) verbal for 97% overall.
Unorthodox prep method.
Books-
Peterson's GMAT with CD
Barron's GMAT with CD (CD CATs give % not actual score)
GMAT 800 2005 (a previous volunteer left it behind)
Kaplan 2009 (broke the bank to get it sent)
Scores-
Peterson's CAT- 680 (60, 37) somehow the algorithm gave me a 60 in quant despite missing 7 questions. This gave me a false sense of security but got me to buckle down on verbal
Peterson's CAT- 650
MGMAT- 650 (40, 41)
Veritas- 610 (42,37)
GMAT Prep- 690 (41, 42)
The above scores were not great for predicting my actual test score. I can only get access to electricity and internet when at a main office or at an internet cafe. My 610 was thanks to 10 straight verbal questions missed when a bunch of volunteers entered the computer lounge.
My second GMAT Prep test wouldn't work due to a virus I picked up on my laptop. I only used the Kaplan CAT math sections and never broke 40 on the raw score.
To have my first 700+ score come on actual test day was beautiful. I hope you've enjoyed the rant. The next text is to apply from Ghana! Wish me luck!
Good luck all!!
My path leading up to GMAT glory is unique. I'm serving in the Peace Corps and have been in Ghana for just over 18 months. I live in a village with no running water or electricity. When I left the US, I didn't know what type of site assignment I would get so I brought a GMAT book (with CD) along since I expected to have a lot of free time.
I took the test yesterday morning in true Ghanaian style. I'm so used to living with electricity that each time I woke up during the night prior to the test, I saw light coming through the window and was ready to run out the door in panic. This happened at 2:30am, 3:30am, 5:30am and then finally at 6am. My test was at 9:30am and I wanted to splurge and eat a nice breakfast with coffee. Here's a good GMAT question for you: if a Peace Corps Volunteer earns 6.6 Ghana Cedis per day and spends 5 Cedis on breakfast and 2 Cedis on a Red Bull (HUGE treat), how much of his daily pay has been spent by 8am?
I tried not to think of my budget, thinking that a few extra Cedis today can honestly equate to tens of thousands of dollars at admission time. Anyway, I thought it would be nice to walk to the testing center. I went to check it out a few days prior so I knew I had time. I walked through traffic, past goats, and over open sewers as I let my blood get pumping.
I got to the test center at 8:10am with a sweat soaked shirt and waited in the air conditioning (another treat). I started the test a little after 9am and was feeling good. Leading up to the test, I got really tired while trying to take practice tests. Maybe a bit of brain drain, I'm not sure. On test day, adrenaline and caffeine combined made me feel up the the 4 hour challenge ahead. I worked through the essays with no real problem. My 10 minute break allowed time to use the bathroom (no running water) and stretch.
The quant section had me a bit nervous. I consider myself to be good at math but have a Psychology degree, no realy quant background. I didn't break a 42 raw score in practice. I was so nervous that it took me 25 questions to realize that I could move the keyboard and use the table for taking notes. By this time, I had ink smeared on both hands and on the legs of my trousers. Oops! During the real deal, I was convinced that I missed 2 of the first 5 questions. Big bummer! With 250 dollars invested, I had to go for it. The rest of the quant section was difficult, some questions I hadn't seen on any practice test. I took my time, made educated guesses when necessary and finished the last question as time ran out. I hoped to pull a 42.
Verbal went well. I hadn't taken a practice verbal section in about a month. Either my program wouldn't work or I'd visit a friend who had electricity and the lights would go out. I was nervous leading up to the test but again, took my time, finished with 5 minutes to spare I knew I did well. Maybe a 690 to match my best practice score?
My nerves really kicked in after the last question. I'm used to having my score pop up immediately following verbal question 41 but this time I had to wait a few minutes. When the score 740 popped up, I was ecstatic!! 48 (84%) quant and 44 (97%) verbal for 97% overall.
Unorthodox prep method.
Books-
Peterson's GMAT with CD
Barron's GMAT with CD (CD CATs give % not actual score)
GMAT 800 2005 (a previous volunteer left it behind)
Kaplan 2009 (broke the bank to get it sent)
Scores-
Peterson's CAT- 680 (60, 37) somehow the algorithm gave me a 60 in quant despite missing 7 questions. This gave me a false sense of security but got me to buckle down on verbal
Peterson's CAT- 650
MGMAT- 650 (40, 41)
Veritas- 610 (42,37)
GMAT Prep- 690 (41, 42)
The above scores were not great for predicting my actual test score. I can only get access to electricity and internet when at a main office or at an internet cafe. My 610 was thanks to 10 straight verbal questions missed when a bunch of volunteers entered the computer lounge.
My second GMAT Prep test wouldn't work due to a virus I picked up on my laptop. I only used the Kaplan CAT math sections and never broke 40 on the raw score.
To have my first 700+ score come on actual test day was beautiful. I hope you've enjoyed the rant. The next text is to apply from Ghana! Wish me luck!
Good luck all!!
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Bamboo and beads in Abompe
Volunteers all around Ghana recently convened in various locations for regional VAC meetings. This was my first chance to run a meeting as a VAC (volunteer action committee) representative. Since the Greater Accra region only houses two volunteers, we have adopted those volunteers as honorary Eastern Regioners.
Due to budget restrictions, VAC meetings had to be held either at existing Peace Corps facilities (Accra, Kumasi, Kukurantumi or Tamale offices) or at the site of a volunteer. Thanks to the generosity of a fellow volunteer, we had our meeting in beautiful Abompe. I went to visit Abompe only a few days after arriving in Ghana. This site was one of the many stops made during my Vision Quest. To this day, I'm not sure if I've seen a nicer Peace Corps house. The fifteen volunteers in attendance all sat comfortably during our meeting and at the end of the night, only a few had to unfold mats for sleeping. Granted, many of the more seasoned volunteers are more comfortable sleeping 4 to a bed than when we first arrived but regardless, this place was nice. Her two showers, four beds and two fridges put my saggy mattress, outdoor bucket bath box and state of the art insta-mold kitchen to shame.
Before we got down to business, the volunteers split into two groups. The first group went on what our host warned would be a very taxing hike. The second group (my flip flops and I joined this group) would tour Abompe and see some of the current projects.
Abompe was recently selected to help promote a bamboo bicycle project. A world renowned bicycle designer has been making bamboo frames for competitive cyclists for a while and is now working on a way to expand the project while working towards providing affordable frames (some sell for several thousand dollars in the states). In addition to the main work site for the bamboo bikes, we visited several bauxite bead makers. Bauxite is the mineral that is used to produce aluminum. In Abompe, bauxite is also mined and used to produce beautiful beads. Many styles are made but the waist beads were the most impressive. A small stick with a pin at the end is used along with a bow (like how fire can be made) to create enough friction to bore a hole through the stone. I got to try my hands at this process and was pleased with my ability to bore one hole in a reasonably short time. I'm used to seeing jobs in Ghana that require long hours of intensive work for minimal reward but this ranks as one of the worst.
Our two groups met in the early evening, enjoyed stew and beer while airing our respective frustrations about life in the Peace Corps. As usual, some more tenured volunteers were frighteningly jaded while some newbies were still shell shocked and sporting incredibly lofty goals (I agree with this approach but know that not all of those goals will be met).
The meeting went well and I got to follow it up by winning a game of poker. I've really missed playing poker and definitely got my fix for now. It always helps when you win.
That'll be all for now.
Love to all
Ira
Due to budget restrictions, VAC meetings had to be held either at existing Peace Corps facilities (Accra, Kumasi, Kukurantumi or Tamale offices) or at the site of a volunteer. Thanks to the generosity of a fellow volunteer, we had our meeting in beautiful Abompe. I went to visit Abompe only a few days after arriving in Ghana. This site was one of the many stops made during my Vision Quest. To this day, I'm not sure if I've seen a nicer Peace Corps house. The fifteen volunteers in attendance all sat comfortably during our meeting and at the end of the night, only a few had to unfold mats for sleeping. Granted, many of the more seasoned volunteers are more comfortable sleeping 4 to a bed than when we first arrived but regardless, this place was nice. Her two showers, four beds and two fridges put my saggy mattress, outdoor bucket bath box and state of the art insta-mold kitchen to shame.
Before we got down to business, the volunteers split into two groups. The first group went on what our host warned would be a very taxing hike. The second group (my flip flops and I joined this group) would tour Abompe and see some of the current projects.
Abompe was recently selected to help promote a bamboo bicycle project. A world renowned bicycle designer has been making bamboo frames for competitive cyclists for a while and is now working on a way to expand the project while working towards providing affordable frames (some sell for several thousand dollars in the states). In addition to the main work site for the bamboo bikes, we visited several bauxite bead makers. Bauxite is the mineral that is used to produce aluminum. In Abompe, bauxite is also mined and used to produce beautiful beads. Many styles are made but the waist beads were the most impressive. A small stick with a pin at the end is used along with a bow (like how fire can be made) to create enough friction to bore a hole through the stone. I got to try my hands at this process and was pleased with my ability to bore one hole in a reasonably short time. I'm used to seeing jobs in Ghana that require long hours of intensive work for minimal reward but this ranks as one of the worst.
Our two groups met in the early evening, enjoyed stew and beer while airing our respective frustrations about life in the Peace Corps. As usual, some more tenured volunteers were frighteningly jaded while some newbies were still shell shocked and sporting incredibly lofty goals (I agree with this approach but know that not all of those goals will be met).
The meeting went well and I got to follow it up by winning a game of poker. I've really missed playing poker and definitely got my fix for now. It always helps when you win.
That'll be all for now.
Love to all
Ira
Thursday, March 12, 2009
I got my B's
Stephen has recently moved to our District Capital, Asesewa. While I will miss having him in Bormase, I understand that it's time for him to pursue a life of his own. Rather than being the family workhorse while earning no money, he will now pursue employment either at the District Assembly or as a teacher.
When Stephen made this decision, it was as a stopgap while waiting for the results of his February exams. Having fallen short of the necessary marks when taking the exam while a Secondary School student, Stephen re-took a few subject exams with the goal of qualifying for either University or technical college.
As it is, Stephen can work as a teacher. With a Secondary School education, he can earn 80 Ghana Cedis per month. Unfortunately, to discourage new employees from quitting a few months into the job, Ghana Education Services do not pay teachers for the first six months. Once the six month trial period is completed, new employees receive six months of salary in one lump sum.
I spoke with Stephen last week and he told me "I got my B's." I'm not sure if he meant that he qualified for University or for Training College. Either way, he can pursue teaching as a career at a higher base salary (200-400 Ghana Cedis per month)depending on the qualification. He and I haven't had a chance to talk about his plans since he received the scores but I'm very proud of him. I don't know if our study sessions helped him reach his goal but either way, he did it.
In other news, Hannah has started her popcorn making endeavor and is doing well. She made small batches on consecutive days and sold out in short order on each occasion. She has given me her earnings so that we can sit down and discuss how much profit she made and how she might be able to do better in the future. The logic behind her work ethic still escapes me but progress is being made.
A huge bush fire cleared all of the brush around my Moringa farm. The leaves on many of the trees were fried but the hours of work it saved made the small loss well worth it. Many of the trees still look like sticks but with the recent increase in rain, I expect a beautiful transformation any day now.
There is more in the works but that can wait.
Love to all,
Ira
When Stephen made this decision, it was as a stopgap while waiting for the results of his February exams. Having fallen short of the necessary marks when taking the exam while a Secondary School student, Stephen re-took a few subject exams with the goal of qualifying for either University or technical college.
As it is, Stephen can work as a teacher. With a Secondary School education, he can earn 80 Ghana Cedis per month. Unfortunately, to discourage new employees from quitting a few months into the job, Ghana Education Services do not pay teachers for the first six months. Once the six month trial period is completed, new employees receive six months of salary in one lump sum.
I spoke with Stephen last week and he told me "I got my B's." I'm not sure if he meant that he qualified for University or for Training College. Either way, he can pursue teaching as a career at a higher base salary (200-400 Ghana Cedis per month)depending on the qualification. He and I haven't had a chance to talk about his plans since he received the scores but I'm very proud of him. I don't know if our study sessions helped him reach his goal but either way, he did it.
In other news, Hannah has started her popcorn making endeavor and is doing well. She made small batches on consecutive days and sold out in short order on each occasion. She has given me her earnings so that we can sit down and discuss how much profit she made and how she might be able to do better in the future. The logic behind her work ethic still escapes me but progress is being made.
A huge bush fire cleared all of the brush around my Moringa farm. The leaves on many of the trees were fried but the hours of work it saved made the small loss well worth it. Many of the trees still look like sticks but with the recent increase in rain, I expect a beautiful transformation any day now.
There is more in the works but that can wait.
Love to all,
Ira
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Development
While I know that one of my goals is to work towards sustainable development, I can't help but focus much of my attention of individual development.
Maybe it's my Psychology background or maybe my interest in individual development and my decision to pursue a Psychology degree come from the same place. Oops, maybe I'm over analyzing.
I'm the youngest of three children so I've never really had the opportunity to watch a child learn and change on a day by day basis. In the last year, I've gotten to see so much change in Bormase. The tiny, wrinkly newborns that were perpetually strapped to their mothers' backs when I first arrived are now starting to walk around. Toddlers like Atta and Lahweh are running around and talking up a storm. I've seen school age children go from having a mouth full of tiny baby teeth to proudly sporting tongue sized gaps between their canines to having what appear to be far over sized adult teeth (this is a real moment of truth since orthodontics and dentistry aren't real options). On a less endearing note, some young girls have gone from primary school uniforms to maternity clothes and are now sitting at home with newborns of their own.
In addition to seeing the physical changes, I've had a chance to see the different ways that these children play. When I shared a compound with the twins, I could watch them play at washing clothes, washing dishes, drumming and pounding fufu. It wasn't uncommon to see Lahweh flip over his little stool, fill it with rocks and leaves and pretend to drive around like a local lorry driver with a fully loaded car. I occasionally get weird looks when I sit in the dirt and play hand slapping games or catch. When hanging out at the borehole, I'll kick a small plastic ball around with a 6 year old or I'll throw a spherical seed pod as high into the air as I can only to watch children of all ages circle beneath it and make stabs to catch it. Being a white man makes me different already so why not be the only adult male to play games with the small boys and small girls? I'm still the coolest and craziest white dude around. No harm done.
Hannah moved her twin two year olds Atta and Lahweh to a neighboring compound in order to live with the twins' father and escape Dorothy's instruction. The house is between my house and the Moringa farm so I'll try to stop by to say hello on my way to weeding. Since the bushy growth in front of the house was recently prepared for planting (a nice way to say slashed and burned), the children can see me walking up the road and will greet me with repeated entreaties of "Kweku ba!! Kweku ba!!," Kweku is my local name and "ba" means come. I'll enter the compound and join Atta, Lahweh, Teye (the massive 22 month old cousin) and Tetteh (4 or 5 year old cousin) in whatever game they're playing. Recently I've had them take turns hanging on to my index fingers so that I can lift them up and allow them to pull leaves from the Cassia tree (like Ghanaians need help working on their strength).
Though I love playing with these kids, I see Hannah frying Gari with a 16 year old nursing mother and her 14 year old pregnant sister. 22 month old Teye is actually the uncle of the 3 year old twins.
I've recently been working with Hannah, trying to get her to take work more seriously. Seeing that nobody in Bormase sells Popcorn while everybody loves to eat popcorn, I taught Hannah how to make it. I made a loan of three ghana cedis and fifty pesewas (a little more than three dollars) in order to purchase the first supply of kernels. Hannah and I sat down and figured out how many bags of popcorn she would have to sell and at what price if she wanted to make a profit.
After our introductory lesson, Hannah told me that she'd be back in the afternoon and we'd make the popcorn. She didn't come back. I had to track her down in order to set up a time for her to get to work. Sekesua market day came and went with no popcorn made. Dorothy came and asked me if I could get popcorn so that she could start selling it in her store. When I told her that Hannah was planning to make popcorn to sell and that I was trying to help support the twins, Dorothy told me of past business ventures that were unsuccessfully attempted with Hannah. Dorothy and Stephen each assured me (with limited excitement) that they would surely end up supporting the twins. I still have hope that Hannah will get her act together. As it is, she spends most of her time walking around town her pregnant, teen-aged sister in law.
As great as it has been to watch children grow and develop, it's very disconcerting to see the sheer number of children trying to develop. At least the children don't seem worried about it.
Love to all,
Kweku
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