Kevin and Spencer

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

(Spencer) Big Changes

Hello friends!

Yesterday marked the most difficult day so far this summer.  (Opps! actually 2 weeks ago yesterday, sorry friends forgive me I beg)

After careful consideration I came to a decision to move to a new location within the district for the remainder of the summer. For the past month I had been living with the family of the District Chief Executive in the heart of Karaga town (the DCE is like mayor in Canada but more powerful).  The family and compound where I was staying were fantastic, they treated me great and many laughs were shared together. However something had hung in my mind throughout the duration of my stay; this family was quite well off and lived in Karaga town. This presented a barrier between being able to understand rural poverty at a ground level point.

I have split the post into two parts one going through the decision and the other initial village life.

How the Decision Was Made

An important part of the summer learning’s for both; myself and for what I can bring back to Canada for you Guelph EWB, is the realities of rural poverty. I was certainly learning a lot when staying with this family but it was a stunted learning. Being at the ground level with Dorothy is different when you are living with those most vulnerable instead of seeing it through a window. Learning is going to happen in country that is different from your own regardless but in this case there was the opportunity to push those learning goals into overdrive.

This was where the difficulty came; do I continue living at my current location in Karaga and learn as much as I can? Or. Move somewhere much more rural and experience it first hand? However these were not the only issues to consider. How would my family be perceived by the community after the white person had left them? Was there as much to learn in Karaga as there was in a rural setting, a different set of learning but equally valid? How would the family react to me packing up my bags after a month with them? How will I cope with an upheaval half way through? How will this affect my personal happiness which in term affects the quality of my work? My apprehension was very large about the move.

However despite all the apprehension and all the parts of me that wanted to stay at the DCE’s family home; there was an interesting mental reality going on that knew the entire time I was going to move. In fact I think I knew from the first night I slept in the room they had provided. It was a very nice room (read: very nice), concrete walls, comfortable couches and chairs, lights and power, even a television; a westernized living room by all accounts. It was that first night that I thought before sleep swept over, that I was currently staying in the nicest room in all of Karaga. Whether that thought was true or not, it didn’t matter; all I knew was that the majority of Ghanaians did not live like that.

It was that simple thought the first night that stuck with me despite my best attempts to rationalize the situation and be happy with the opportunity presented. For a while I was resolute in staying at the house, to honour the DCE and push my learning about Ghana in a town-type setting. Indeed happiness was rampant within me and I was learning tons about life in Karaga. There were many conflicting feelings about moving out of the family’s house. Following a conversation with Cat and one with Binnu (my couch), perspectives were challenged and I decided to find a rural location.

My friend in Karaga, Shurazo, set me up with his best friend in the village of Nyegbolo. Last night I moved out my host family’s house with the help of my great friend Baba. Baba is awesome; he is 24 years old just having graduated senior high school and speaks English like a king. We share many laughs including watching Monty Python and the Holy Grail together, which he thought was the funniest movie ever…”they keep saying Nee, Nee hahahaa”. He helped explain to the family the reasons for my leaving and that it was nothing they did but a duty to myself and other to experience and learn as much as possible about life in Ghana. They were very understanding but doubtful I would be able to take life in the village (a common sentiment amongst people who know I am now living there). After many parting good-byes we departed.

I have something to admit. I was reluctant to post directly about the family I was staying with previous for the very reason that I was thinking about finding another location that was more rural. In fact the last week with them I was quite uneasy for I needed to tell District Chief Executive (it is his family’s home I am staying) before I told the family I was moving out but he out of the office all week, and in turn I couldn’t tell the family. It ate me up on the inside know I was leaving but couldn’t vocalize it without offending the most powerful man in Karaga.

In the end the move had to be made after phoning the District Chief Executive and briefly explaining the situation to him. This was not the preferred method of interaction to tell the DCE about the move but with mid-placement retreat looming there was not time to dilly.

Suhuyini

(Continued in next Post)

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