TENI conference (Tackling Education Needs Inclusively)

Here is Charlotte's future boss Mohammed (also known as "Cambodia") making a point. A little earlier Cambodia had opened the Tuesday session with a Muslim prayer, (the prayer he chose was the Lord's Prayer in Arabic) after Monday had been opened with a Christian prayer. We have been struck by the warm relationships between Christians and Muslims in Ghana.

Charlotte, Cath and team explore the intended outcomes for teachers that are hoped for from TENI

Charlotte and Dora (VSO Ghana Programme Director for Education) study the proposed outcomes.

Tamale, Sunday 27th

After a 15-hour trip door-to-door from Accra to Tamale arriving after 4 am, Sunday was a more restful day...........





....... and gave Charlotte, Mike and Cath the chance to see some of the sights of Tamale..........

.... from a carefully selected observation point.

A little more day 5

Off in the coach across Accra to the VSO Programme Office.

Everyone is very happy because they are about to receive their pay for the next 3 months - just over 1000 Ghana cedis.

Not only that, but lunch as well.....

and a chance to see where we are all going....

OK, we've now spent too much of the money on Western food treats at the Koala centre, which is a shopping centre and not a koala sanctuary as one of our number thought. We bought the makings of sandwiches for 12+ hour bus journey tomorrow, and a towel as a present for the Walewale chief

and so some of us checked up on what we had spent already

but some couldn't resist the chance to stock up further on toiletries

before last night at the Sunlodge hotel and a sing-song to Anthony's guitar, with some duets including Emily (no photos as photographer was busy copying photos onto volunteers' USB sticks).

Day 4 and 5 - plus group photos

Well, it's true, we were in Ryan's Irish bar in Accra. Betty and Gladys from Kenya pose while Charlotte chats to Vic. We've been very well looked after by existing volunteers who are all very wise and mature of course

Here are the Northern Region volunteers - Charlotte *, Betty, Mar *, Lana *, Shirley, Roselle, and centre foreground is Mark*.

* = new volunteer

Upper East Region:
Back row: Ninth cousin once-removed Sam Cashman, Jason, Olke *, Vic, Iona, Anthony*
In front: Jillian*, Pat*, Rachel *, Stephen*

Upper East
Back row: Stephen*, Cathy Griffiths* who has same name with Charlotte's sister but would have loads in common with Mike's sister & sister-in-law, Aaron*, Cam*, Cath*, Haydn*
In front: Alison*, Linda*.

Accra and all Southern regions
Back row: Marie, Jude*, Kafui, Mike*, and Emily*

In front: Aidan* and Julia

* = new volunteer

and here is the whole gang - new volunteers and our "guides" from the existing volunteers

Day 2 and 3

Yidana, our Mampruli language teacher. This was after he had heard that we kept two cats in the house which was clearly the funniest thing he had heard in a long time - "there are plenty of cats"..

but Mike thought this was funnier.....

Meanwhile here are some street sellers, pictured when Mike was en route to the shopping mall to buy a USB modem on Ghana Vodafone for the laptop. Charlotte was having her meeting with Education Programme Director, Dora

and we thought we should work out where everyone was going....

Day 1 - Monday 21st Sept

View from the window on first morning

In the evening we went to the Kwame Nkrumah centenary celebration in Independence Square.

Possible role for Mike

This entry will appear to be added by Charlotte but is actually added by Mike.
Seizing a moment late at night as there is some Internet access.
Although I came here as Charlotte's "accompanying partner" - i.e. with no assignment in Ghana myself - an opportunity has arisen for me to help with organisational development (OD) assessments which are to be undertaken by all the new VSO volunteers who have been on the In-Country Training with us this week. There are two management consultant volunteers, Corneluis and Prashant, who have come out short-term from a major consultancy, and who have devised and tailored the OD process so far and are working on guidance documents, but a third colleague who they hoped would be with them to provide support won't be here till January. The OD assessment process has been explained to the VSO volunteers but many of them would like some assistance. I have been exploring the process with several of the volunteers and helping them by talking through e.g. how some of the concepts apply in the world of education and the sort of changes in the management consultancy language that will hopefully make the process more understandable in education. So I have offered my services, and both the management consultant volunteers and the Programme Director for Education are very positive about this.
What this should mean is that I'm available to help with preparation for the review process. tailoring questionnaires, running interviews, organising and facilitating workshops. This would all be working with the VSO volunteers and their various placement organisations, e.g. in the Ghana Education Service, which are known as VSO "partners" , particularly in Northern Ghana - e.g. Tamale and Bolgatanga which are relatively near us in Walewale, but also in and around Wa - and elsewhere as needed.
The Organisational Development assessment is the start-point for planning major change within the VSO partners - potentially not just the VSO volunteer objectives, but the major direction for the partners. Let's see what I can do to help.

Sun Lodge Hotel, Accra

Here I am, in Ghana at last. We had a super journey and arrived without a hitch to be met by a bus and ferried to our hotel. I think it is hot outside but we haven't really seen the light of day as we have been very busy being "orientated". This has consisted of many hours of power point presentations, punctuated by some delicious Ghanaian food. One high light on Sept 21st was the 100th anniversary of the birth of Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana's first president after independence. This was the first Founder's Day ever celebrated here and since it combined with Eid al Fitur, there was much rejoicing. We went along to Independence Square in the heart of Accra to join in with traditional music and dancing. The locals were very keen to involve us and I managed to get a couple of marriage proposals!
We have also had some language sessions from a chap from Walewale. He found it absolutely hilarious that we had pet cats and couldn't believe that we had even given them names! He also explained to us how we would need to go and meet the Chief when we arrive in Walewale. We have to find his house called mba duuraana house and then there are a series of protocols to perform. Mike must remove his shoes and sit cross legged at the Chief's feet. He must then say the traditional greeting while simultaneously clapping his hands (right hand on top of left). After this we present the Chief with a gift ( a towel would be good) and then he will make sure people look after us. I only have to crouch, greet and clap so have got off pretty lightly. We will let you know how it goes! Our Mampruli is still rather embryonic, but I can manage the greetings for the different times of day so that is a start.
We are now going to a conference in Tamale next week. This is to find out about the Comic Relief funded TENI project (Tackling Educational Needs Inclusively). Mike may also have found himself a role supporting the implementation of Organisational Development and assessments for the Northern region. More of this anon,.... so Walewale will have to wait another week.

Packed and ready to go!

I would not choose to live through the last ten days again. Probably some of the most stressful I have yet experienced. The business of constantly trying to think what you might need and plan for every eventuality has been exhausting. I had a flare up of my wisdom tooth which required an emergency visit to the dentist and antibiotics. I couldn't help thinking how straightforward it was to sort in this country but potentially what a nightmare it could be if it happened in Ghana. Our dear friend Sarah, nurse at the Walk-In Centre, gave us a quick first aid refresher and has equipped us with our very own pharmacy! I popped in to Loughton Manor First School to do an assembly on learning to ride a motor bike. Thanks for the fabulous reception! The children were wonderfully responsive as I shared my struggles. I hope they continue to be great encouragers for each other as the year goes on. I also had a timely email from Dominic at the Open University , who has equipped me with some fantastic resources for training teachers in a sub-saharan context. If you are interested have a look at http://www.tessafrica.net/. I have committed to give them feedback on using the resources in rural Ghana which I hope will be mutually interesting. Well, taxi comes at 10am tomorrow and then the adventure begins in earnest. What a relief it will be to be on that plane!

Getting my head around it.

Since I last wrote; I have sat for the last time as a magistrate (until I come back); ridden 150 miles on my final couple of days motorbike training with Molly (even coping with no radio contact from Cambridge to Stevenage and reaching speeds of up to 70 mph on dual carriageways); attended my nieces wonderful wedding in Halifax (great job Becky and Tim) and successfully hosted Anna's 21st birthday party in the garden. I am now feeling a little weary! I took my final immunisation today (cholera) and just have anti-malarials to take before we leave. We were prayed for in church yesterday and I have had my last hair cut before we go. All of a sudden it feels more real and I am more aware of all the other things that need doing before we go.
Good news! British Airways have allowed double the luggage allowance we were expecting, now 2 x 23kg, so there is no excuse for forgetting anything crucial. I am just concerned about not taking too much as we will probably have limited space in our house in Walewale.
I think I am beginning to believe this is really happening.