The Village Stay Day Three:

The purpose of the village stay is for us to experience the reality of subsistence farming in Northern Ghana. To achieve this we live in a host family for at least a week. During that time we live, eat and go through life as they do. 

This morning I ate my porridge leftover from last night; it tastes really good cold. I keep telling Mamunatou “Boila Boila Kandzra”. Which loosely means I eat very little. It doesn't seem to work. Maybe I should get someone else to help me translate.

Women do most of the chores around the compound. During Ramadan they are up at 3 am and you don't see them going idle until after dark when the meal is over. They usually leave the dirty dishes and pots to be washed the next day when there is daylight. These are beautiful strong women growing old fast. Mamunatou is tall and strong with beautiful features; she has a well proportioned figure except for her sagging breasts that are hard at work feeding the fourth kid. She has the facial scars that some tribes still carve on the face or their new born. I hear that the origin of the scarification goes all the way back to the early days of slavery. Small tribes were always weary of having more powerful tribes attacking them and stealing their people to be sold to the Portuguese, the Dutch or the British. The white men didn't have to venture inland. Local tribes were just happy to oblige, for a price.

Her four children and her husband don't have the scars, one of her 13 year old nieces has the same scars as her. You still see children and infants with the scars but the practice seem to be losing popularity.

Mamunatou is a warm person with a huge heart even if once in a while she come across as a tyrant. When I have my bucket shower I am not allowed to get my own water to the stall; once I tried and she let me know in no uncertain term that I am not to do it myself. I didn't need a translator for this one. I think that she hides the bucket I am supposed to use just to make sure that I don't try to sneak by her. Same when I tried to wash my own shirt, she dragged me all the way to my room to make sure I was giving her all of my dirty clothes. I could spare my boxer shorts and I later hide them with my towel and washed them while taking my bucket shower.

For the family it's a great honor to be my host and it reflects good for their status in the community; it a sign of great trust that Mustapha, the Agriculture Extension Agent, ask them to host me. They are going out of their way to live up to this honor. I am having a hard time with the food but I appreciate the fact they are doing what they believe is extra special treatment.

In the afternoon we sat with a few of the members of Abdulai Farmers Group. I had an interesting exchange with the secretary of the group that went like this:

You are not a Muslim so what are you?

I am a Christian (in these parts you can be any religion and they will accept you, but if you are a non believer they will never leave you alone until you are saved).

Why are you fasting if you are not a Muslim?

My host is fasting and I want to join him in his practice. Maybe by fasting I can understand him, and the people of the village better.

But if you want to try to be a Muslim you should do it all: the fasting and the teaching and the prayers?

A tree doesn't just become a tree, it is first a seed and then has to be a twig before becoming a mature strong tree that will bear fruits. Maybe all I can be for now is a twig (for this part I used some of the on hand props and sign language)

Aren't you are a little old to be a twig?

Well, that year the Agricultural Extension Agent was very busy and the farmers never got their fertilizer and that is why I never was able to properly grow and I am still a twig...

They laugh heartily and slap their legs and one of them pinched my cheek (I have no idea what it means).

Came dinner I ate what I could, especially the chicken. After supper Mamunatou ask me to play "Shark Tails", the kids movie I had already shown in the afternoon. Because of the dark we could do it outside and we had a little stool for the computer and two long benches. Most of the viewers were adults with a fair share of elders. I counted close to 20 people watching at one time. As they watched they kept talking very loud and laughing, pointing at the screen.

The battery ran out three quarter of the way and although most didn't get to see the end it didn't seem to matter. They were just all happy to watch some of it even if they didn't understood the dialogue..

9:30 pm is late when you wake up at 3am.

Dom

The Village Stay Day Two:

The purpose of the village stay is for us to experience the reality of subsistence farming in Northern Ghana. To achieve this we live in a host family for at least a week. During that time we live, eat and go through life as they do. 

This morning I woke up at 3 AM to a nice surprise; besides the rice and stew I share with the others Mamunato made me a Milo, the local hot chocolate, and a loaf of bread. After eating I went back to bed till 6 am; I didn't go for the morning prayers.  Sleeping is challenging since there is no fan or window in my room. I leave the door open but because of its location there is no air movement. It also doesn't help that it is a metal roof, the masonry walls and floor accumulate heat all day

I decided to go for a walk to Gbahili again, I was hoping to be less affected by the heat this early in the morning but by the time I came back it was already hot and muggy. At around 8:30 Abdulai and Dumba his eldest son took me to the farm. I didn't know that it took one hour of walking to get to his maize (corn) field. It is two hectares of well spaced row planted maize that stands about a foot high. We did a little weeding and then walked to one of his rice fields, which was another twenty minute walk. It's a hectare of rice about a foot high. The weeds are a problem and Abdulai is considering using an herbicide for the second time. The first time it rained shortly after the application and it ruined its potency.

A woman from the village was harvesting maize from an adjacent field. We help her peel them and load her metal container. I help her lift it up on her head, this bowl had to be at least 40 to 50 pounds. She headed back on the same trail we walked for more than an hour.

Abdulai helping peel the corn, behind him is the rice field.

All loaded up and ready to go.

On the way back we took a short cut but we had to cross a flooded part, just enough to get my pant legs wet and for me to considering investing in a pair of rubber boots. By the time we came back it was close to noon and I was pretty tired. In total I walked around more than three hours and was feeling the lack of liquid. While preparing for my bath I discretely snuck in a few gulps of water. It may take some adaptating for me to become a good Muslim...

I tried to rest sitting in the shade of a cluster of trees just outside the compound as the room is very hot during the day. I decided to show the kids a movie so we watched "Bugs Life". I had to show it in the room and I had to stay with them; they were so excited I was worried about them tipping the computer on the floor. I already busted one on this trip, I need for this one to last undamaged till December. There were a few other kids from the neighbourhood compound. Abdulai join us for the last part.

Then we killed a chicken, I mostly watched. I asked if it was one of the one I brought; it's hard to tell.

He told me he is keeping the one I gave him in a separate box so they get used to the surrounding before releasing them in the general population. This way the will always come back at night to the coop.

I joined Abdulai for the before “break” teaching and praying. In the Mosque everyone was sitting on the floor on mats and someone was reading and making commentaries. The whole thing goes through loud speakers so the whole village can hear and believe me the whole village can hear because it's very loud. The loud speaker was interrupted a few times when the generator stalled. Someone ran out at one point and filled it with gas, another time someone tinkered with it for a few minutes and got it humming again.

Mamunatou cooking the evening dinner.

After prayers we “broke fast” and ate some porridge; my portion was enormous and I couldn't eat more than half. Then there were glutenous balls of clump rice swimming in a thin soup. It had that strong taste of palm oil and chicken fat. With it came the skinniest chicken leg I ever saw. I ate some of the rice ball but it was difficult avoiding the fat it was swimming in. I ate as much as I could and left the rest, including the chicken leg.

I excused myself and went to bed. As I was laying under the net wearing nothing but my boxers, Mamunatou barged in. Actually she say before entering “excuse me”, which are some of the few English words she knows, and as soon as I made a noise she took it as an invitation to come in. I didn't need a translator to understand that she was ordering me to eat the chicken... I got dressed and ate the stringy chicken. Went back to bed and I slept with a plastic bag near the bed, just in case. 

Three more days to go...

Dom

 

My Village Stay: the first day

The purpose of the village stay is for us to experience the reality of subsistence farming in Northern Ghana. To achieve this we live in a host family for at least a week. During that time we live, eat and go through life as they do. 

For my village stay I travelled to Thaha, just half an hour outside of Tamale. Although we are just a few miles from town, the electric wires follow the main road yet they don't stop. Mustapha accompanied me to the village and did the proper introductions to my host family. The family is comprised of the father Abdulai, his wife Memunatou, and four children Jaman. Suraya, Damba and Ruhaina. Abdulai is part of a farmers group Mustapha is their extension agent from the Ministry.

The four kids

The compound, the small cluster of buildings surrounded by a wall, is very humble. The main court gives access to 4 buildings, two that are the traditional round ones with thatched roofs and 2 others that are square with metal roofs. I'll be staying in the smaller of the square building. It's a good sized room normally used for storage or as a meeting place. There is a couch that is quite comfortable but nevertheless Abdulai rushed to town to buy a new foam mattress. I feel bad that he felt obligated to purchase it, but it's hard to communicate at this point since he only speaks broken English and only one of his nephews is fluent. For the price of the mattress the family could probably buy a goat or a sheep. I keep thinking that I am being treated quite well compared to the average dweller. Everyone else is in much more cramped quarters.

The main court of the compound

I came to my host family with a few gifts. I purchased two chickens for the father and mother and they seemed very pleased. I also bough Canada flag pins for the children but the regular ball pens and paper seem to be a bigger hit. For the chief I bought in the market in Tamale 6 Kola nuts; apparently this is what you bring a chief.

I barely had time to have a few bites of my bread and eggs before hitting the road behind Mustapha. My Nescafe is still in my backpack pocket. It is Ramadan and I certainly don't want to be eating (or drinking) during the daylight. The drinking part may be challenging, it is Africa after all and the temperature does get up there.

Shortly after my arrival I went for a walk to the nest village, Ghalihi, and it took me a little more than one hour. When I returned I snuck into my room and had a few ounces of water. I intended to go to work with Abdulai in the field tomorrow and I couldn't imagine spending 12 hours in the this heat without water. I'll have to play it by ear.

Abdulai took me around the village and we visited a few of the village's dignitaries including the chef. The whole encounter was very ceremonious, I just followed Abdulai's lead and bowed when he bowed and nodded when he nodded. After giving him the nuts the chief gave me a small piece to eat.  It tasted awful and leaves you with a dry mouth (just what I needed). Apparently it's a sign of trust if you offer and if you eat. Some say that the Kola nut has some “recreational” properties. Beside making me very thirtsy, I haven't noticed anything.

Mamunatou doing the wash

The place:
In the central area there is a corner reserved for cooking; it is done over a coal fire and the cooking pots are held by rocks place in the concrete floor. There is no electricity, in my room there is a small battery LED lamp that couldn't be useful for anything more than finding the walls. You get used to it. In the yard people use a few flashlights at dinner time and we listen to a battery operated radio. Surprisingly the internet connected to the 3G network and it's very fast. But with limited battery power I have to choose between the movies for the kids or surfing... The kids always win...

One of Abdulai rice field

There is no running water but there is a few taps in the village where people go to fill their containers. In the compound we have a few large ceramic pots that we use the water from. The women carry buckets of water on their heads to fill it up. As far as toilets there are none but there are two latrines in the village. What can be said about latrines? Not much except that when you come to a certain age and that your flexibility is not what it used to be, using one is more challenging. But I have developed my own gymnastic and manage quite well. It does requires both arms and hands and has made it impossible for me to read.

We bucket shower twice a day or as required. There is a small enclosure within the compound about 5 feet high (the top comes to my armpits) and you wash using a cup and pouring it over yourself and washing. Very refreshing. The kids were having a good time watching me.

Tonight after dark we ate. First it was porridge made from maize (a kind of corn) followed by rice with stew. The stew is a very thick tomato sauce and you only get a little. This one had a good spicy flavor from the pepe, their hot peppers, and had pieces of dry fish that were chewy but still very tasty.

I am writing this by hand using my camping head lamp. I have to get up at 3am to have breakfast with the men. It's only 8pm but I'll do a last check on the mosquito net and turn off the light. Tomorrow I am going farming.

Cheers

Dom

The motto Ride to Kpendie

I am working myself backward... I'll be filling those "empty post in a few days.
Meanwhile you can read "Village Stay: the first day"
Thank you

Here are sample videos:

Finally in Tamale!

I am working myself backward... I'll be filling those "empty post in a few days.
Meanwhile you can read "Village Stay: the first day"
Thank you

In Country Training

I am working myself backward... I'll be filling those "empty post in a few days.
Meanwhile you can read "Village Stay: the first day"
Thank you

Diversity?

Culture Clash or Welcomed Diversity?

The biggest challenge we had to face as a team was the culture clash. From the onset, the deck was stacked against us. The team make up was like nothing EWB had encountered before and I don’t think that anyone had anticipated the problems such a diverse group would create.

The program in itself is focused towards what EWB volunteers looked like until now. Most EWB are closer from their academic roots than others who have been in the work force for some time. I remember my college years when the work circle was pretty much your social circle. We went to classes with other students; we ate, lived and partied with more students. Most of us in the work force go home after work and have a social circle outside our profession, or what we do during the day. Most importantly, and here I can only talk about myself and a few other team members, some of us value our privacy. 

I have referred, if not on my blog, certainly in conversation, about the team being an experimental petri dish. We were piled up against each other, spend most of our days in sessions together and most of our nights working on assignments together in a smoldering house. The petri dish certainly got baked; we had temperatures going all the way up to “Feels like 46”. This didn’t help.

I applied and wanted to come on the placement with EWB because I believe in the good work that we are doing in Africa. I joined because I believed I could contribute to this effort. I also assumed that EWB wanted to bring people from diverse backgrounds to enrich EWB’s skill set. This may have been the original intent but nothing was done to ensure that those bringing the diversity would also feel welcome.

Worst of all, we not only didn’t feel welcome but we made the long time EWBers feel threatened; they saw us as the one coming to change the organization they cherish and love.

At one end of the spectrum we had Marielle and I perceived as visitors who are only there for a few months and will return to their posh lives working for the “Man”. The other extreme were a few that have done a tour as Junior fellows and worked as volunteers in the Toronto office-now committing to an intense dedicated 1 or 2 year placement.  Those are extremely dedicated people who bring great youth and energy to EWB; they are what made EWB what it is today.

Dwelling in the middle are different newcomers to the organisation like Ashley who comes from corporate, has previous experience with development work and is ready to leave her career behind to work for 1 year. There is also David who’s fresh out of University who has also worked in development before. David will  be spending the next year in Ghana before moving on to do his masters.

Between all the differences every single person felt pulled apart and no one really felt part of the team.

Interestingly enough you could put any of 2 members together and they all would get along real great. We did OK one on one but we sucked as a team.

Near the end however, we started to look at each other in terms of what we all can contribute as oppose to how different we are. The last few days of sessions has somehow wrapped it up quite nicely but it was certainly not by design, it just happened to happen. The culture gap could have just as easily widened even more.

The concept of Pride and Hospitality:

Marielle and I had the pleasure of having Ashley Good as mentor for our pre training. We had a few sessions talking about how important it is to understand that people in Ghana may be poor but they are also very proud people. Cleanliness and appearances are very important. Some emphasis was also driven home about what hospitality meant to people from Ghana.

On one hand we learned how very important it is for our placement to understand these concepts. On the other hand we are dropped into a house where the pride of cleanliness has left a long time ago; nobody was there to welcome us into the EWB family as individuals or as a team.

One of the arguments we heard from the facilitators and long time EWBers was that the purpose of the house and letting it “free” is to let people figure it out on their own and take them out of their comfort zone. The house is a place where people bond. Having "structure" and "hierarchies" does not fit well with EWB’s culture.

I don’t buy that. It’s the way it is because it has worked in the past and no one has died doing it this way. No one has looked at the cost and consequences of ignoring city bylaws or the fire code. A minor incident paired with the pervasive negligence could take this whole organisation down. I see an organisation that does great work in Africa but that is stretched very thin back at the head office. There’s lots of energy, lots of ideas and many experiments on the go but very little structure and governance.

The way forward from here:

We landed in Ghana last night. We were welcomed by Robin and we cabbed it to the guest house. We were welcomed to Accra, welcomed to EWB. Today the sessions were light and informative. We are all very excited to finally be in Ghana and to have the Pre-Dep training behind us. This evening there is a refreshing breeze blowing from the ocean. Somehow it doesn’t feel so hot, certainly not as hot as Toronto. We will be all right as a team; we will look after each other and support each other. We are all eager to get on the ground and start doing instead of learning.

Tomorrow morning we will be challenged and taken out of our comfort zone. We will be sent in the city on our own trying to figure things out and find our way in this strange land. I was looking at my teammates tonight while Robin was giving us the assignment and I had no doubts in my mind that anyone of us will rock and sock this assignment.

I’ll try to document some of it.

There will be more discussion coming up with the players at the head office of EWB. I am passionate about the work that is being done and I believe the partnership with TransCanada is an incredible opportunity for both TransCanada and for Engineers Without Borders. In the next few months I intend to keep the line of communication open and use some of the framework and "Theories of Change and Influence" that we have learned in the past four weeks. We have a great organization but it has its weaknesses, and we need to work at improving so we can continue to do the great work that is being done in Africa.