On Thursday, the entire office packed up and headed into the MVP cluster for a dedication ceremony of two new ambulances and two new work trucks into the clus
ter community. Now when I say ambulance, I am not referring to the huge top heavy box I drove around as an EMT in Chapel Hill, but I am talking about a Toyota Landcruiser that has been outfitted to serve as an ambulance and can actually navigate the horrendous roads. This is a huge deal for a community of 30 villages that only has 5 small functioning health clinics, one area "hospital", and a grand total of 2 doctors. It obviously can take a long time for the villagers to reach health care, and if it is an emergency there was virtually little hope of reaching the hospital and doctors in time.
ter community. Now when I say ambulance, I am not referring to the huge top heavy box I drove around as an EMT in Chapel Hill, but I am talking about a Toyota Landcruiser that has been outfitted to serve as an ambulance and can actually navigate the horrendous roads. This is a huge deal for a community of 30 villages that only has 5 small functioning health clinics, one area "hospital", and a grand total of 2 doctors. It obviously can take a long time for the villagers to reach health care, and if it is an emergency there was virtually little hope of reaching the hospital and doctors in time. I would say 300 or so people showed up for the 4 hour ceremony. There was a lively band, dancing, and lots of talking. Did I mention the entire 4 hours was in Twi, and it was probably the hottest and most humid day since I've been here? I admit, the actual ce
remony was a bit miserable for myself and the other two Broni's (Galit, another student who just arrived from Columbia, and Leonnor), but it was really neat to witness such a monumental achievement for MVP and these communities. The ambulances will undoubtedly save many lives. Plus, my favorite part, the children, were in full swing. All three of us had multiple children holding each hand at a time and were followed around everywhere by a mass cluster of children. During the ceremony they slowly crept closer and closer to where we were sitting until one of the locals forced them to back up.
remony was a bit miserable for myself and the other two Broni's (Galit, another student who just arrived from Columbia, and Leonnor), but it was really neat to witness such a monumental achievement for MVP and these communities. The ambulances will undoubtedly save many lives. Plus, my favorite part, the children, were in full swing. All three of us had multiple children holding each hand at a time and were followed around everywhere by a mass cluster of children. During the ceremony they slowly crept closer and closer to where we were sitting until one of the locals forced them to back up.So back to the topic of this past weekend at Cape Coast. Galit and I worked a half day on Friday in the office and then followed along with one of the staff members who is from Cape Coast. It takes a total of about 5 hours from Manso Nkwanta to reach the coast. The hour ride to Kumasi was pleasant enough in the MVP truck, but then in Kumasi we switched to a TroTro (a jam packed van). The TroTros do not go anywhere until they are completely full (to get the maximum fair possible), so we waited for over an hour before we left. Then it was a 4 hour ride in the dark on roads half paved and sitting crammed next to one another on the hardest car seats I've ever seen. I was saying a prayer of thanks when we arrived safely.
Even though we arrived at the hotel late, it was worth it. It had hot water and AC!! The first hot shower I've had since leaving NYC felt great, even if the water pressure was only a trickle. And for the rest of th
e weekend we ate real breakfasts and dinners in the hotel restaurant, which was also a welcome change to Cliff bars and canned tomato paste (you would be suprised with the number of uses for canned tomato paste!).
e weekend we ate real breakfasts and dinners in the hotel restaurant, which was also a welcome change to Cliff bars and canned tomato paste (you would be suprised with the number of uses for canned tomato paste!). On Saturday we made the hour trip from Cape Coast to Kakum National Park, which is Ghana's largest section of Rain Forest. USAID built a suspension Tree Top Walk back in 1994 in an effort to boost the tourism economy, so we of course did that. It swayed a good bit, and there were definitely some nervous people, but I felt completely safe. Unfortunately because of a large, loud school group we were unable to see any of the monkeys or birds that often frequent the area. We also took a guided hike around the bottom of the rain forest with Prince, who told us all about the local trees. There is even one tree that grows these spike like things on its bark to protect itself from Elephants who may attempt to use it as a scratching post (the roots are not strong enough to withstand this pressure and it would tumble). I still want to see an elephant in the wild though!
After the rain forest, we headed back to Cape Coast. Now let me explain the history here for those of you who may not know, and you will see why the connotation is so different. The country of Ghana is 
what was formerly known as the Gold Coast, where much of the African gold trade originated, and where subsequently all of the Trans-Atlantic Slave trade took place. Many castles and forts that were previously used as European trading posts dot Ghana's coast. One of the most famous, and the headquarters of the Slave Trade for a time is Cape Coast Castle. Galit and I went to tour what is now a museum. We had a very enthusiastic guide who made the history very personal by referring to "his people" and "his ancestors". Being in the dungeons was the most chilling part. Of course they were dark and stuffy, and held 1,000 men and 100 women at a time. It was basically impossible to truly imagine the torture that went on there, and what each man and woman must have thought as the passed through the "Door of No Return", which led from the castle to the beach shore where they were put on boats. Since the abolition of the slave trade, the underground path that led to this door has been sealed and their is a sign on the outside of the door that now reads "Door of Return." Galit was not sure she originally wanted to visit this sight, but I do not see how you can come within the vacinity and not - after all, we study history for a reason.
what was formerly known as the Gold Coast, where much of the African gold trade originated, and where subsequently all of the Trans-Atlantic Slave trade took place. Many castles and forts that were previously used as European trading posts dot Ghana's coast. One of the most famous, and the headquarters of the Slave Trade for a time is Cape Coast Castle. Galit and I went to tour what is now a museum. We had a very enthusiastic guide who made the history very personal by referring to "his people" and "his ancestors". Being in the dungeons was the most chilling part. Of course they were dark and stuffy, and held 1,000 men and 100 women at a time. It was basically impossible to truly imagine the torture that went on there, and what each man and woman must have thought as the passed through the "Door of No Return", which led from the castle to the beach shore where they were put on boats. Since the abolition of the slave trade, the underground path that led to this door has been sealed and their is a sign on the outside of the door that now reads "Door of Return." Galit was not sure she originally wanted to visit this sight, but I do not see how you can come within the vacinity and not - after all, we study history for a reason.On Sunday we wanted to go see another near by fishing town, which is where the oldest trading fort, Elmina,
stands. I had read somewhere that you could take a boat from Cape Coast to Elmina, and most of you know I love the water so I was all about finding this company. Galit, on the other hand, does NOT like being on the water so she said she would meet me by taxi in Elmina. When we went searching for the boat company it turned out that they no longer did trips. Galit and I figured there were lots of fishermen around who would probably like to make some extra money so we went to the harbor and decided to ask some random fishermen if they would be willing to take us for a ride. Of course they jumped at the chance to take a white girl on their boat, and after some short negotiating we settled on a price. At some point during all of the negotiating Galit also decided this was an opportunity she could not pass up and changed her mind to come along. So Galit and I set off in a canoe with three fishermen on an hour ride to Elmina Castle. This turned out to be my favorite thing I've done yet in Ghana. At the end we tried to talk the guys into starting a business of taking tourists back and forth from Elmina to Cape Coast. I'm not sure they understood our proposition though.
stands. I had read somewhere that you could take a boat from Cape Coast to Elmina, and most of you know I love the water so I was all about finding this company. Galit, on the other hand, does NOT like being on the water so she said she would meet me by taxi in Elmina. When we went searching for the boat company it turned out that they no longer did trips. Galit and I figured there were lots of fishermen around who would probably like to make some extra money so we went to the harbor and decided to ask some random fishermen if they would be willing to take us for a ride. Of course they jumped at the chance to take a white girl on their boat, and after some short negotiating we settled on a price. At some point during all of the negotiating Galit also decided this was an opportunity she could not pass up and changed her mind to come along. So Galit and I set off in a canoe with three fishermen on an hour ride to Elmina Castle. This turned out to be my favorite thing I've done yet in Ghana. At the end we tried to talk the guys into starting a business of taking tourists back and forth from Elmina to Cape Coast. I'm not sure they understood our proposition though. We did not have time to tour Elmina as well, but we got a quick look at the Portuguese/Dutch trading post b
efore it was time to take a TroTro back to Cape Coast. Then in Cape Coast the waiting began again. This time we were trying to catch a government bus back to Kumasi. There was still no set leaving time (you just have to show up and hope a bus is there), and again, you have to wait until it is mostly full before you leave. This totaled about an hour and half this time. It was at least a little more spacious and comfortable for four hours than the TroTro ride. So we made it back to Kumasi safely where we had one more good shower before heading back to Manso Nkwanta Monday morning for another week's work.
efore it was time to take a TroTro back to Cape Coast. Then in Cape Coast the waiting began again. This time we were trying to catch a government bus back to Kumasi. There was still no set leaving time (you just have to show up and hope a bus is there), and again, you have to wait until it is mostly full before you leave. This totaled about an hour and half this time. It was at least a little more spacious and comfortable for four hours than the TroTro ride. So we made it back to Kumasi safely where we had one more good shower before heading back to Manso Nkwanta Monday morning for another week's work. 
1 comment:
This takes me back to the Transatlantic Slave trade class!
Post a Comment