(Kevin) You. You’re beautiful.

I thought I would give a shout out to the beautiful trees in Machinga district. With so much uncertainty, they are truly a landscape constant. 







Be well, and much love.
Kevin

(Kevin) Right Here, Right Now

 

Can you believe that tomorrow marks the half-way point of my placement? It boggles my mind… it’s amazing to think that I’ve been in this beautiful country for 56 days! People have been asking me how I feel about it? Let’s just say it’s not a countdown until the day I get to go home – there’s still so much to do, and I’m ready.

Last weekend was spent in Senga Bay where I put on my tourist shoes for a few days of reflecting on my placement with the other JFs, and a bit swimming in Lake Malawi on the side. I won’t bore you with details of the trip, but two significant things are worth mentioning:

1) My passport and money were stolen. The passport turned up, but the money is long gone. People have been asking me if I’m upset, and of course the answer is no. There’s no time to be upset. I also acknowledge that my neglect was the root cause of this event – I was the one that made that opportunity for theft available very appealing and very available. Finally, I acknowledge that this was the action of one person, in one district, in this whole country. Outside of this, my experience has told me that Malawi is very safe and extremely welcoming. Gotta keep feeling the love.

2) During a really intense personal feedback session, my fellow JFs gave me feedback that I’ve been hearing for years and years. Why did this happen? What is preventing me from changing? Are these actually positive qualities that shouldn’t be changed?

One piece of feedback was that I’m too much of a mediator – someone afraid to tip the scales of my emotions and responses too far from ‘cool’. They’re right. During my journey here, I’ve found myself getting better with this, and I’m prepared to approach life with more assertiveness and more aggression. My analogy is tough hands from a life spent in the village – you have to put your paws on the nsima pot if you want calloused hands.

Last week I reported that I’ll be doing a field visit to one of the most remote Traditional Authorities in my district. Still true! Malawi is currently experiencing a fuel crisis, so I’ve had to postpone my trip until next week. When the consultant heard about my trip, he offered to pay for the motorcycle fuel and oil  that I need. “Don’t even mention it. It’s the least I can do for everything you’ve done around here.” This one action has really boosted my confidence, and is going to take me forward (both physically and mentally) in the weeks to come.

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Here are some important dates for me in the coming weeks:

July 1st – July 3rd: Helping a Water Monitoring Assistant with his field work. Fun fact: he lives beside the former President.

July 5th – Malawi Independence Day!

July 7th – July 10th: Trip to Mwanza district to meet my neighbors parents.

July 14th – July 16th: Sad day. Madalitso goes home.. I’ll be visiting him in Mulanje this weekend.

And beyond…

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That’s all for now. Don’t be afraid to tip the scales, touch the fire, but be gentle in the process.

I’ll leave you with a quote from my friend Scott whose a JF in Zambia. “Opportunity is never delayed.. it is only lost.”

Live, love, life,

Kevin

(Kevin) A Typical Day (in pictures)

 

Hey folks,

I’m nearing the halfway point of this trip, and this week I’ll be at the mid-way retreat where I’ll be reflecting on my placement and research so far, and catching up with the other JFs. I’m going to take the week off from writing blogs, and present this to you instead. I hope you enjoy a typical day (in pictures)!

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What does a day look like for me here?

Well..

Sleep is usually starts at 8:00pm and goes until 5:00am, or 5:30am, or whenever the roosters decide I’ve had enough. So, when it’s time and I can overcome the fear of stepping outside into 12 degree weather, I throw on my sweater, and head outside.

This is embowla. Before cooking, we throw charcoal in the top and light it up with a plastic bag. Sounds strange at first, but it’s the most efficient way of fire starting that I’ve seen anyone use. You’re welcome, environment.

 

Madalitso is lucky enough to have a private tap. Just like in most of Canada, the water is metered, and you pay a cost for what you use. For my neighbors, they have 7 different houses sharing a single tap. According to Malawi standards, up to 120 people can be served by a single tap! That must be really, really tough.

After lighting up the embowla, we grab a pot of water for tea, and a metal bucket of water to shower with.

Breakfast consists of bread, peanut butter (sometimes), fruit (sometimes), and tea!

As we get ready for the day, Madalitso and I throw some tunes on using my laptop. Our favorites are anything from Zambia, Bedouin Soundclash, and Arcade Fire.

Typically, Malawi office settings are very professional, so shining your shoes everyday is a must. It’s become a ritual, and makes you feel awesome.

I’m usually too lazy to iron, but if I wanted to, I would use this. You fill this metal iron with burning hot charcoal, which heats it up very quickly. This is a great, electricity-free way to make you look sharp for the office!

Time to walk to work. This is the bridge that I cross everyday, with a beautiful view of the mountains. This river has crocs – samalira! (be careful!)

 

Some days I spend in the office. This is my desk. You’ll notice my bicycle and motorcycle helmet (safety first!). Office days are spent compiling data, blogging, reading documents, or helping out with tech support around the office.

Some days I spend in the field. On this day, we were cross checking forms that had been completed by Water Monitoring Assistants who were assessing the condition of boreholes.

By popular request, I gave my attempt at filling a bucket of water using the Afridev pump. It was tough, but I finished.. eventually. They also felt it very necessary to capture this one in a photo.

After work, we cook dinner. Because we don’t have electricity, we take use the flashlight at the top of the cellphone, and put the cellphone in our mouths to have a hands free system. This is my favorite meal – soya pieces and tomatoes. The pot in the back left will be used to cook nsima.

 

Madalitso cooking up some tasty soya pieces. After dinner, we wash the dishes, shower, and head to sleep at the late hour of 8:00pm.

That’s all for now. Let me know if you have any questions.

Be well, and much love.

Kev

(Kevin) Untitled (Fight the mphamvu!)

I’ve decided to go with untitled this week. I’m at a point in this experience that I arrive at the end of the week, and realize there are hundreds of things that I could blog about. Field experiences, conversations, hypotheses, strange interactions, foods eaten, thoughts, challenges, and triumphs are just a few of those things. So how do I convey what’s happening here in just a few short paragraphs?

This week has been rough. I’m still getting used to the idea that Malawi is a country with its own unique culture and style that existed far before I existed. Some of these aspects work in Malawi’s favor, others – not so much. It’s the same for Canada. It seems like a simple thought, but it’s something that I have to remind myself when I find my thoughts and feelings incompatible with my surroundings. Questioning why things are the way they are is becoming a daily ritual – and it’s something that leaves me with more questions than answers.. On the personal side of things, I’ve had days when I’m on top of the world – feeling amazing about all of the learning, and there are days when don’t want to get out of bed – counting the weeks until home. Both are valid, and normal, and that’s okay.

Here are some bright lights and dim lights from the week:

Field Experiences
I spent a few days this week in the field with the Community Development Officer (CDO) for the project. We were crosschecking the rehabilitation assessments of boreholes that were completed by the Water Monitoring Assistants (WMAs). These assessments determine weather or not a borehole is eligible for rehabilitation by the project. Of the 100 or so of these forms that I checked over, the majority of them involved a request for pump rods. These are spare parts that need replacement every few years, and are typically the communities responsibility to replace (despite their steep cost). If the project replaces these parts once, what happens the next time they break down? One WMA told me that the project will empower communities by requiring them to open a bank account and raise 15,000MK (approximately $100US). “This will be the one and only time [we’ll replace pump rods]” he says. I’m not too sure about this..

Conversations
Talked with Yasin about why the water coverage situation in Malawi is in such bad shape. A significant factor is the political involvement in the siting of waterpoints. Essentially – you vote for and support me, and I’ll give you a waterpoint. Based other conversations, this practice still exists, even in Machinga.

Challenges
Realizing that successes are hard to find, and failure exists all over. Especially in this project. I show up at the office in the morning, only to see Chris and the rest of the staff correcting mistakes from the previous days activities, or working out problems they’re having with the government or the donor – the challenges are endless. Do I see success in this project? Sure, but it’s in sporadic, small doses, and that can mean serious de-motivation.

Triumphs
On Friday, I successfully arranged a 3 day visit to Ngokwe in July! Ngokwe is a Traditional Authority in the very northern part of the district. It has the lowest water coverage, and one of the lowest coverage functionality rates when it comes to water points in the district. Why is the water situation so bad? I suspect it’s because it is so far away – an obvious factor. But what about political will, community leadership, and accessibility to transportation and funds? How well were communities sensitized (i.e. made aware of and encouraged to apply for new water points) when this African Development Bank project arrived in the district? I hope to start to explore some of these questions.
Richard, one of the Water Monitoring Assistants, has agreed to provide transportation on his motorcycle in exchange for a full tank of gas. Done! I’ll even through in a lunch of chips (french fries) and coke each day. He’s a really great guy, and has expressed that he looks forward to the trip to ask me questions about the West. Should be quite the adventure.

That’s all for now.

Remember to take time for cooking, chatting, reflecting, and giving yourself credit.

Be well, and much love.

Kevin

(Spencer) Riding the Roller Coaster

Hello my friends!

Last weekend I rode the lorry from Karaga to Tamale and I would like to take you along for the ride! (All the photos are first person perspective so imagine yourselves in my position)

In Ghana there are two methods of public transportation:

• Government operated STC and Metro Mass buslines. These buses are of a large coach style, very similar to a Greyhound in Canada but less comfortable. Capacity of 50 seated plus more who maybe standing
• Privately operated Lorrys. Imagine the child of a school bus and a large white van; that child would be a lorry. Ranging capacity depending on the bus, people are packed like sardines; I would guess 15-40. When the inside of the bus isn’t enough there is the roof for people to sit. Other names for a lorry include tro tro and minibus.

The time is 2pm and the sun is beating down high in the sky, the temperature is approximately 30 degrees.  Fortunately, there is nice group of guys who I am waiting for the bus with in their favourite shaded sitting spot. Just past two, the lorry arrives from Gushegu and stops at the rode side. Immediately, it is mobbed by people trying to get on it to Tamale. Before I have even took ten steps all the sitting spots are filled and people are stuffing on the bus to stand. Not the ideal situation. Someone grabs my hand, points up at the roof of the lorry, and says to ride up there.

The roof is where our journey together begins. Climb up the ladder at the back of the lorry and once I set foot on the roof a man, whos name I later learn to be Raphael, calls me to sit right at the front of bus on the roof.  A few moments later the lorry departs from Karaga and starts rolling down the road. Once we are free of the limits of the town the lorry starts ripping down the road at a unbelievable speed.

We are all over the road, making a slow zig zagging pattern. Farmland flanks both sides of the road.

I tried keep this steady but the bus was very bumpy. I don’t know the speed of the bus but it felt terribly fast. Wind was howling past my face and blowing my hair all over. It was now I saw the parallel between riding the top of the lorry and a roller coaster

• Both go very fast 
• Both sway back and forth, though one is supposed to, the lorry because of the bad roads
• Both send wind past your face with such force your pushed back in your seat
• Both scare you silly while you have the time of your life!

Ghana is very green during the rainy season and this is only the beginning of the season. Everything comes into full bloom. Also around this time, Mahafuz, who was the other man sitting beside one made a comment about how good the driver of the lorry was. I thought; if this is good, what is bad?

Passing another vehicle. When asked why ride on top of the Lorry simply quote this image.

Passing through a village which I have been told is named Yamo-karaga. The houses to the left are called compounds. They are series of mud huts that are built in a circular shaped and connected with mud or grass walls. They house entire extended families in one large compound. The piles of wood will be used as fuel for cooking. All the animals are goats which live freely in Ghana that is until they are eaten.

  

A small body of water, what cannot be seen is the crocodiles that are basking in the sun just out of the photo.

Stopped at an intersection in the roadway to Tamale, at Nanton. When the bus stopped, people from the town ran over with food for sale, and I tried some delicious deep fired item. It tasted of onions. Yum

Under the beautiful trees =)

The last village before arriving in Tamale. The bus never let up speed the entire trip unless we were passing through a village with speed bumps. Interestingly this village did not have speed bumps so we ripped through at great speed.

The unexpected twist. We were on the outskirts of Tamale when the bus made a stop, Rapheal said to Mahafuz and me to get off the top.  A few people were unloading from inside the bus, it seemed that we had arrived at the end. Not exactly where I wanted to be in Tamale but I would survive, an expensive cab was sure to be in store.  Instead of the entire bus turning inside out it starting driving away, Mahafuz and I wanted to be on that rogue lorry.

He started running towards it, and I followed. We caught up before it was past our reach and grabbed onto the ladders on the rear. Clinging on for what felt to be dear life we rode the rest of the journey into Tamale hanging to the ladders. Risking life and limb I bring you this =)

Oh yeaaa! The streets just outside of core of Tamale, in the heart of the city the traffic is horrendous.

We arrived at our destination just outside the heart of the city in one piece and treated ourselves to sugarcane. There is a difference between a rollercoaster and a lorry; a rollercoaster is over in a minute while this lasts hours =)

One of the most fun experiences of my life I am sure, thrilling the entire time with a twist ending worthy of M. Night. Shyamalan.

Last stop, everyone out, hope you have enjoyed the ride. 

-Suhuyini

(Spencer) Fear God and Release Him

Astronomy is sexy….

Something unexpected happened last night in the streets of Karaga. It all began around 8pm at which time I was dancing like a fool while a boy played a traditional Dagomba guitar-type instrument, I did my best to get others dancing as well but all the children were much too content at laughing at the white man moving about.  A call came for everyone to come outside, and we cleared out from the room. We were greeted with the Aunties beating on plastic barrel drums and chanting loudly.

“Zom naawuni zagmo bahi”

This is great I thought, we have moved up from me being the dancing spectacle to a full out traditional dance with everyone involved. Round in circles we went chanting and dancing, the children were going absolutely wild. Drums beating and with a huge smile I realized that something more was going on than just a fun dance. A hand pointed me to the sky.

Blood red was the moon and the chanting continued. 

Wait.. What? Blood red?

Just earlier in the evening the moon had barely penetrated the skyline and now it was basked in red. Not a sight that is all too common.  The dancing and chanting continued through my confusion. Soon after someone said to me, “The sun has swallowed the moon”…ah ha! A total lunar eclipse, how had I not understood what I was seeing. Just my luck, something special was sure to happen.

A group of children came marching by, yelling out the chant and beating their drums. Our group run over and we became one slightly larger chanting mob. Moving between the compounds and disturbing everyone. As we moved children came pouring out of compounds to join the group and we became larger and larger. Little did I know how large this would become.

“Zom naawuni zagmo bahi”

Round we went navigating the narrow pathways and passing through fields. In the distance I could hear the beating of more drums and a humming of voices. By this time we were about fifty and more children were joining the march by the minute.  One girl kept telling me that I was very tired and I should go back to house. How wrong she was never was; I was more awake than ever, I couldn’t pass up this crazy march of children towards an event that I had no idea. It was she that was tired but I couldn’t communicate it to her that she should return home herself, I think she just wanted to keep me safe. Sorry to keep you out so late.

As we entered the empty market we crossed paths with another group of children headed a different direction. BAM BAM BAM went the drums as they passed by and the chanting from our groups feed on each other. Where were they going? Should we join them? What is really going on?  We continued our path drawing the youth to join the crowd.

We encountered another marching group chanting as they went past; we joined their ranks and in bolstered form started a path to the main road of Karaga. My friend Latifa caught sight of me and ran over, laughing histarically that I was part of the childrens procession. With a little coaxing she joined as well and fun times were had. The beating of drums grew louder, chanting bellowed, screams could be heard; we entered the main roadway.

“Zom naawuni zagmo bahi”

A sea of parading children was all that could be seen stretching both ways to the horizon. All of them chanting together, banging on drums, pulling noisy objects and having a ridiculous time. We were swept up in the charge down the street.  Latifa yelled to me, “The sun has eaten the moon, the sun should fear God and let the moon go”….ah haaa, the children want the moon to be free and are making all this noise so that the sun will let the moon go.  Than the running began.

By the time we reached the edge of Karaga a thunderous noise could be heard quickly approaching and there was screaming all over. The children had started running down the street and if not to run as well it would have surely been foolish.  About turn and like a herd of buffalo or in the case of the Lion King wildebeests (more Disney nights next year =0 ) the herd charged back and forth, all the while chanting and making all the noise humanly possible.

By now children from all end of Karaga have congregated in the great parade. I would estimate that there was between 1500 to 2000 children (youth) out on the street at this moment. A red moon eclipsed by the sun hung in the sky, it was absolute pandemonium.

“Zom naawuni zagmo bahi”

Back and forth on the main road this continued for quite some time. How could anyone be speaking in all of Karaga? The noise was tremendous.  Soon I was exhausted and sweaty beyond belief (why had I not changed out my work clothes!?), regardless there was cause for celebration! The sun had released the moon! A single solitary sliver of silver moon gleamed in the sky! Success! The past hour plus had not been in vain, we had scared the sun from the moon. Light would return to the night. Celebration!

The parade changed course and made its way back into the housing/compound area of the town.  The congregation made a winding path around Karaga as we went children peeled off to their respective homes. Still though the drums and chanting continued, we didn’t want the sun to get any ideas and sneak back up on that poor moon while we relaxed!

Half an hour later we rounded the last bend to my home compound…home at last. A night of crazy children and parading had come to an end; I had never seen anything like this in Canada. An event like no other; late at night, no supervising adults, self-organizing, full of traditional superstition, dancing, chanting, and so much happiness from everyone it was palpable.  What other surprises await?

A last beat on the drum, a farewell, and to my bed I collapsed.

“Zom naawuni zagmo bahi”

-Suhuyihi

Later:

I found out that the eclipse lasted 100 minutes and was the longest since the year 2000, thank goodness we were there to wrench the moon from the belly of the sun!

The translation:

Zom naawuni zagmo bahi

Fear God and release him

(Spencer) Under My Pillow

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Heres something I wrote on the bus from Accra to Tamale. I think I didn’t post it because I was afraid of giving the wrong impression of Ghana but I think as readers you are sensible enough to realize Ghanaian life is not at all like this. So take it with a grain of salt but it is fun none the less. Written on May 18. 

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Here’s an interesting little tid-bit about long bus rides in Ghana. The following revelation holds true on all long bus rides as we have been told Robin the team Ghana lead, who has experienced this phenominom than she cares to ever relive. The buses are equipped with a single television up at the front which they use to play movies while driving.

What kind of movies do they play?

Seriously Lousy Ones!

Currently a flick titled Under My Pillows is playing. An over the top soap opera type film with my westernized twists and additions to appeal to all sorts of tastes. The plot involves;

·         Prostitutes fighting amongst each other

·         Threatening clients (in one scene a lady threatens to cut one man’s jeans if he doesn’t pay more for her services, as she walks off the song Soulja Boy plays in the back ground)

·         People cheating and having affairs

·         Complicated office politics where the prostitutes also seem to work (?)

·         A rich brother and sister who have inherited a business

·         Plus an assortment of other characters who I can’t follow.

All throughout the flick are pop music samples, crazy sound effects, and fast and slow motion shots. Contrary to the opinions of all the EWBers on the bus, the Ghanaians were loving it, or at least some of them. Laughter of in the form of big bellows blew back across the bus.  

“She is not a gold digger, she is someone I am in love with``

Spencer

Note: upon further inquiry Under My Pillows is a television series it seems, Nicaraguan in origin but filmed for Ghana. Nollywood is huge. Check it out this summer if you are curious!

**PS.  The blog delivery for the next few days has been changed, it was a pipe dream of mine to do one a day but it got a lot of content in the works and got one pretty cool idea for my return started.  

(Spencer) Oh the Polylinic

Hello Again!

Remember when I said a post a day? Things never go as planned. That is still the goal but something quite unexpected and certainly valid came between reaching that reality. Everything has been pushed back but is still coming.

I had a little bout of sickness over the past few days; I will spare the details of my suffering but suffice to say I was out of commission.  However I will share my condition, actually I laughed quite hard upon receiving the diagnosis. Plus a little tale of the rest of the day.

Being across the ocean I suppose I had a perception that illness would in turn be from “across the ocean”. As I was trying to sleep Thursday night I had a decent fever and all the tropical ailments were running though my head; do I have malaria? typhoid? or another exotic disease? Thinking to myself how glad that Canada does not experience this.

First thing Friday morning I made my way to the polyclinic of Karaga, met with a Doctor, got tested and was diagnosed. So curious was I to my sickness; he informs me that it is a respiratory infection, strep throat…ah it made so much sense just possibly the last thing I was expecting. Not tropical, not exotic, just plain strep throat. Ask my brother, Fraser, about how common this is (he has had it six times?).

In the end it was a lesson on checking my assumptions. I had jumped to conclusions in my mind based on all the stories I had heard and warnings that were given.  Amoxicillin in one hand; Malarone in the other; on top of the world.

Still things don’t go as planned. Later in the day after dragging myself to the last few hours of work at the District Assembly, I meet Mohammad who works at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture. I told him that I just purchased a bike an hour earlier (the absolute lowest costed bike I could find in Karaga, and it was all by chance!), this guy loves his bike like no other loves their bike. It is covered in stickers of the flags of the world, colour strips, a waving Ghanaian flag and all the bells and whistles. He insists we go riding together, go with the flow so they say, and we depart.

We tour Karaga together, with him pointing out his favourite things in the town. Such as; his home, his wife, where he prefers to buy food, a group of friends, and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture office (MoFA) … all the while directing me as though I am ten years old, which is a common theme of people assuming you know nothing about the real world. One particular location I found interesting was the urinal, which was a metal box with a small hole on one side, a large privacy barrier; was contained by a padlock. A huge bonus was seeing Mark (a Ghana JF working at MoFA) and we had a nice little chat together before he left on his hour long bike home.

Here is the location where things diverged; we arrived at our final location, pull our bikes into a compound. He calls for some drinks, which are served to us in the shells of the guad fruit, called calabash; the beverage itself looks to be an apple cider. We start drinking together, the taste is quite nice, and actually hard to describe.

Halfway through the calabash I start realizing that this beverage is alcoholic….he then comments as if reading my mind, “this drink is local drink, not that strong, not 10% or 15% but 5% like beer.” Argh. I just got antibiotics and now alcohol, the two do not mix.  However I remember what my Grandmother told me when I was on antibiotics over Christmas and refused the punch, “when I was your age, I used to go partying while on antibiotics.” Thank you Grandma, all the justification I need we continue drinking happily together. A few calabash later and we head home, after sharing a great goodbye.

Go with the flow and don’t jump to conclusions

Suhuyini

(Kevin) Introducing: Madalitso

 

I spent the weekend in Blantyre, which is the commercial capital of Malawi. It was strange, and made me feel far removed from the Malawi I’ve come to know over the past month. After 2 days in the city, I felt really out of place, and couldn’t wait to go back to the village. After getting off the minibus in Machinga, I felt the familiar feeling that happens when you come home after a trip.

Through my day to day happenings this week, I’ve come to realize that Madaritso is actually Madalitso. I guess I forgot that in Malawi the pronunciations of Ls and Rs is difficult to distinguish. Good to know, lesson learned. Madalitso received word yesterday that his job in Machinga is being terminated from mid-July until September. This is terrible news, and it means that I’m about to lose a co-worker, a friend, and a host. We’ve talked about what I’ll do for living, and it may be the case that I’ll be living in the house alone. This actually means that I’ll be a tenant in Malawi. The thought of this blows my mind..

It seems that things are changing around here, but it’s hard to tell whether or not things are moving forward. I’ve received word from the district and a few of the Water Monitoring Assistants (WMAs) that funding is soon to be released for the WMAs to do their rehabilitation assessment. This is great! I’ve started contacting them, and they seem okay with taking me along for the ride, as try to learn more about what goes into the decision making process from the POV of the WMAs. My planning confusion persists as I learn that some WMAs have tried to complete the survey with their own money for fuel, in hopes that they can get paid for a complete round of assessments. Understandable – I would want to get paid too.

This week, I was able to secure a meeting with the District Water Office for Machinga. He approved of my work plan, and said that I can go forward with the research that I’m proposing to do. In conversation, this sounded great, but based on how slow activities have been moving on this project, I’m a bit nervous about how effectively I will be able to move my plan into action. On a day-to-day basis, there seems to be this looming feeling of nervousness that plans will fall through, or that I won’t get the information I want out of the professional aspect of this placement. That’s where my head’s at right now – hopefully there’s value in the direction that my placement is heading, and I hope that I can identify that value in the next while.

I’ve posted some pictures below. I’m really camera shy when it comes to being the foreigner behind the camera. It always seems awkward to take the camera out for a snapshot. I guess I’ve found it much more valuable to live the moment out of the frame – but don’t worry, I’m getting better at finding a balance between building connections with folks and telling their story in a visual way.

That’s all for now.. oh – and I buzz cut my hair. Freedom!

All the best, and much love.

Kevin

This is me and Genevieve (my coach). She rocks, and is doing fantastic work in the Salima district!

This is my office. Cartoons Corner is something I don’t understand – I think that I need to understand decades of Malawian politics to get the jokes.

One day, a man dropped by Madalistso’s house with a camera (that I presumed to be fake) and snapped a picture of myself and Madalitso. Turns out the camera was real, and we now have this beautiful floral ‘snap’ to prove it.

My bicycle (and lifeline).

A small section of a Gravity Fed Scheme (GFS).

Typical, the end of an Afridev pump handle is installed horizontally. This one is installed vertically, and apparently, the intention is to discourage more than one person from using the pump lever at one time, which can stress the parts and cause them to wear out faster.

A mosquito (udzudzu) fort – as one of the JFs calls it.

Hair = buzzed

(Spencer) 16000 Words of Karaga

I could think of no better way to give a introduction to Karaga than to let pictures speak for themselves (plus a caption)..so I suppose speak for themselves with context!

The surrounding landscape of Karaga, it is all farmland now. I have been told that fifteen years ago when the population was much less, it was a great forest. In the rainy season Ghana becomes very green all over but in the dry season, it is desert like. This photo is two weeks old, even now the landscape has been transformed by the rain into something much more green. 

Karaga from a distance, high in a tree. Expect more tree related shots..they serve a two fold purpose; provides a great viewing angle and I get to climb trees! 

The first heavy rains I have experienced, it is as though buckets are being dumped from the skies. Seriously intense downpours occur every few days. There is much happiness for a good rain, as almost everybody is a farmer. 

Early morning at 7am, I hear a chopping sound and cannot understand where it could be coming from. Soon after a large CRASH! I peer a man cutting off all the limbs of a tree, I am mortified; why ever would he cut off all the limbs of the a tree? An answer soon came, since it is rainy season the tree will quickly re-sprout and more limbs than before will grow back to take place of the old. This is done so the tree will produce a better quality of shade for people to stand under. Though all that stand at the moment is a very tall stump.

Defying gravity? She noticed me taking a photo of the man cutting down the tree, and wanted one of herself. After seeing it she split with smiles, I thought for a moment the barrels would fall but she is a pro. 

Some of the child that live in the compound I am staying at, and the neighboring compound. Maria is holding up the boy Baba. 

It is seriously difficult to get children to stay in one spot even for 5 seconds, the very moment after this was taken they charged the camera to see. 

Baba (a common Dagomba name meaning everyones father) made this face consistantly while I was taking photos, he will be very happy when he learns I shared his talents =) 

Latifa preparing the nightly meal of T-Z, a meal made of maize flour very similar to nsima but more tasty (take that Kevin, Hahahaha)

 One of the old ladies of the compound, right after this photo she took up the camera and took some photos. Oh the joy it brought to her, she laughed as all the children made silly faces and yearned to be the ones in the shot. She is preparing the soup for the T-Z, which is called braa (pronounced like a ladies bra but with a longer ahh sound)

 Yours truly. Suhuyini.

 Obligatory puppy picture. Awe =)

A perfect example of a Ghanaian when having their photo taken. This man, Alex, is very happy and has a super large smile. Prior to this photo we were laughing about work and having a silly time, I asked to take his photo, he stiffened right up, all expression left his face while he waited. Once it was over he starts smiling again and laughs terribly in joy when he sees the photo. There is nothing to be happy about when you are having your picture taken, its serious business to be sure.

 A group of guys sitting at their sitting spot (people will have a particular sitting spot where they always sit). This also happens to be close to where the tro's drop and pick people up.

The path that is beside the compound I am living at. The path is normally very busy but it is 7pm and so it is time to pray for the majority of people living nearby. Baobab trees line the background along with some Nimsa trees (good trees for getting chewing sticks, keeps your teeth clean).

Taken by Ashzara another of the old ladies of the compound, everyone loves to take photos. What you cant see it that there is nearly fifteen children surrounding her trying to get their chance to use the camera. Such excitement from what in Canada is normally a mundane thing to do, taking photos. The happiness that a simple photo brings to people is astounding and humbling.

More to come as always.

Sending love from Ghana

Spencer

(Spencer) What to Expect!

Hello My Friends!

I have been struggling over something this past week and I was not sure what to do about it. Through I think I may have come to a realization and solution.

What was my conundrum you may ask...

How to share my experiences and get everyone up to speed with what has been going on in Karaga and in my life here. For the past while, actually most of my time in Ghana, I have felt I needed to catch all you fine readers up with the past events. To do so I thought I would need to go back and summarize things. This was a interesting task as things had all happened in the past, and I was sent behind in my posting ever since the first week in Ghana. The whole time I was concerned about the past.

The solution: move forward!

Heres the run down. I have challenged myself to get a post up everyday for a week and here is the plan:

• Tuesday: General life in Karaga
• Wednesday: First time at the farm
• Thursday: Work Placement
• Friday: Explanation of Ghana Government Structure
• Saturday: Family Life
• Sunday: Summaries of the first three weeks of work
• Monday: TBA but something fun

Another note,  no matter the country technology is wrought was trouble. In the past week I have gotten; a computer virus,  random mobile modem errors about non-detection  (though this could be because I dropped the laptop while it was stuck in the side), and the cell phone has stopped working entirely.

Though everything else has been going absolutely swimmingly, a big smile is spread across from cheek to cheek!

Spencer

(Kevin) Grasshoper cuisine

Hello world. 

Life is still happening here in Machinga. The roosters are still call in the early hours of the morning, the Malawian reggae and American hip hop still plays at the house next door, and the sun paints brillant colours across the sky every morning and night. At night time, I hang out on my straw mat under the night sky, while I cook nsima and watch the stars shine brighter than I've ever seen them shine. I asked Madertiso yesterday if he'd ever wanted to go to space. Apparently, it was never something he'd ever wanted to do. He then asked me if I've been. I laughed, and so, so wished I could have said yes. 

This week has presented me with some highlights:

1) Enjoyed a bowl of grass hopers with my 2-year old neighbor Eveh. Very nice! Highly recommended. 
2) Went to a restaurant for lunch, ordered Nsima instead of rice, and refused a fork and knife as I devoured the meal with my hands. People were confused, and I left content.
3) I can finally eat sugar cane (dzimbe) with my teeth. It is a very satisfying feeling.
4) I saw my neighbor Peter carry his daughter Eveh on his back with chitenge cloth. This is the first time I've seen a man carry a child like this, and it warmed my heart immensely.
5) Still relatively healthy - body, mind, and soul. 

Work is going slow, but steady. I'm nearly a quarter finished my placement, and there is still so much to do. I'm awaiting for funds to be released by the Malawian government so that the assessment of boreholes can start to take place by the extension agents. Until this happens, I'm trying to use ArcGIS to investigate how equitable the siting decisions for this project are from a qualitative perspective. I hope I can take it far - there's only one way to find out!

My partner Chris is very busy as of late, especially as he tries to coordinate all of the activities that happen here. As he's described before, you have to take into account that you're functioning in a new country, a new context, and only so much is in your control. The reality is that many times designs are submitted late, meetings are canceled because government officials are out of town or attend other meetings without notice, the power goes out frequently, funding is canceled or tied-up, allowances are demanded and aren't available...

All of these factors add up, and present serious challenges when you are a consultant who is trying to meet timelines to please the donors you're working for. Sometimes this even means making decisions that don't consider certain all factors and voices - all because time restrictions and deadlines won't allow for it.

A man approached me the other day, and asked me for money - "for something, for anything". When this happens, all I can do is say sorry and continue on my way. It's definitely not a good feeling. This doesn't happen very often, but when it does, it puts me in a down and reflective mood. This scenario happens at home in Canada on a daily basis, so why does it feel different here? I guess I think about the lack of resources and safety nets that exists here for people in poverty. But it probably shouldn't feel different. People facing poverty in Canada face barriers when trying to access resources, and are also not protected by the safety nets that should be protecting them.

Poverty sucks, and presents people with significant and often devestating challenges. Moblize yourself to affect change, in solidarity, both at home and in the lives of those you will never meet.

I'm off to the city this weekend to renew my visa. Should be interesting, stay tuned for more updates! 

Be well, and much love.

Kevin

(Spencer) Slow'r down and Intonate

Hello my friends

Life in Karaga is wonderful. The people are kind beyond reason and lots of fun to communicate with. Nothing is more fun than when someone gets you to repeat a sentence you don’t understand to a lady, and you find out that you have just professed your love and wish to be marry her….

Ghanaian Language and Phrases

In Karaga the local spoken language is Dagbani which people of the Dagomba tribe speak, and of course I cannot speak it (I am learning Dagbani small small, future post with a Dagbani primer). Though many can speak and understand some English, it must be spoken at a very slow manner with great intonation. There is difficultly however when using larger words or forming complex sentences, care must be taken to keep things relatively simple and talk to an appropriate education level of the other. The younger generation can speak English while people of an older generation generally cannot, this is a result of English being taught in schools.

There are also unique phrases that Ghanaians use while speaking English, they serve to simply communication for a Ghanaian and make it much more confusing for myself, at least in the beginning. While in Tamale we were given a session on Ghanaisms as the APS (African program staff) call them. To provide an idea of how to speak with a very rough Ghanaian English accent, I have provided a short list of Ghanaisms. Remember to slow down your speech, use simple words and intonate as well.

Small = little

Small small = gradually

Charlie! (pronounced cha-lay!) = informal hello

Ah! Why? = Ah! Way? – but very dramatic, for example when the taxi driver is try to rip you off

In fact = confirmation

I want to free myself = need to pee

I need a dropping = taxi to a particular location

I will alright there = getting out of a vehicle at a spot

Masta, I’m telling you = this is true

Let me land = say when you are getting cut off and you want to finish your point

Not serious = not correct, not doing it right (big insult)

Serious = hard working, reliable, awesome guy, doing it right (big compliment)

Dis ting = anything

Can you pick? = can you pick me up from a location

How? = how are you doing today

Ohh! (high pitch) = surprise

Im coming = im leaving you than I am coming back (think Ghana time so it may take a long time)

It is not going = something isn’t working

Ahh haa (particular pitch, low than high) = confirmation of understanding, often if not said the other

          person will comment, “are you getting me?”

Small Children

Some children can speak some basic English but often they speak next to none at all. There is however every child can say regardless of age. What is the phrase every child will say? In almost any situation the children will yell out:

“Salminga! How are you?”

Salminga is white man in Dagbani, this phrase is yelled to me consistently as I walk anywhere. Children will spot the white skin from far away and run over and chant this. When ten children are yelling this phrase at you it is a very interesting feeling.

If not for my skin, what makes me so special?

Spencer