Charlotte in Ghana with VSO

ICT Forum 29th June 2010

2010-06-29T09:13:00.000Z

Whilst out exploring on our third day in Walewale in October 2009, Mike and I had stumbled across the Community Information Centre. Inside we met Mahama Ramzie Mashood and there began a fabulous partnership which was to see Walewale wake up to ICT. Mashood shared with us how underused the facility was, particularly by local schools. We agreed there and then to come up with some ideas to improve the situation. The first ICT club started by the end of that month.
Over the next nine months we ran numerous clubs for students and training for local teachers and Education Office staff.

The ICT Forum was sponsored by a local NGO. The aim was to raise community awareness of what ICT has to offer and to explore some ways to tackle some of the inevitable challenges of teaching this subject in schools with no electricity. It was a real team effort. Anna and Lou had prepared for the discussion groups.

Mr Daniel , a local teacher, was the MC for the event and was excited that Ghana were now through to the quarter finals of the World Cup.

Mr Mark Akansighe, Manager of the CIC had made the banner to advertise the event. Members of the ICT Club had swept the ground and helped to erect the tents.

The children from the local primary school decided to join in.

Here the 33 original "ICT trainers" come together to perform the song composed for their certificate presentation ceremony in December 2009.

The ICT Club members had saved up to buy Walewale ICT Club T shirts. The strong group identity had been reinforced by the excurison together last December. The students still have a really strong commitment to the club and to sharing their ICT skills.

After some initial speeches and introductions, the attendees split into groups to discuss the prepared questions.

Why is ICT important for you?

What are the main problems in delivering ICT in your school?

How might these problems be addressed?

Anna , Louisa with Mashood, one of the ICT trainers at the Community Information Centre in Walewale.

Alhaji Mohammed Haroon, the District Director of Education got involved in the group work.

The groups comprised some local dignitaries, Education Office staff and Circuit Supervisors as well as Head teachers, teachers and students from local Junior High Schools.

Some of the teachers were really good at using the group time to draw out ideas from the students. Group work is still quite unfamiliar to ghanaians.

As usual, the local children were fascinated by Anna and Louisa.

An ICT Club member from each of the six groups helped us to compile a list of answers from across the forum. There must have been about 130 attendees in total. Anna and Louisa then displayed them while the Director gave his concluding thoughts.

At the end, Jacob, a Peace Corps volunteer shared the importance of commitment from the local community to the ICT initiative. We have applied for funding for more computers as the current six that are available severly limit what can be achieved. Let's hope that ICT in Walewale goes from strength to stength.
Check out http://www.cic-walewale.blogspot.com/ for the latest information.

Community Meetings Overseas with World Vision and the Ghana Education Service

2010-06-24T11:36:00.000Z

Thursday 24th June 2010 - Kunkwa

Visit to Overseas with World Vision and Ghana Education Service staff - Mr Augustine from WV speaks to the women.

The village elders all turned out.

This mentally disabled young man watched procedings. There is little or no support in the rural communities for people like him.

More village elders, they listened attentively and accepted some challenging remarks from Mr Augustine.

Mr Kwame Robert Boateng doing what he does best! He was fantastic at engaging the crowd and challenging them with some real home truths about their community.

Individuals shared some of their concerns.

The children came to see what was going on. They had a chance to identify problems at school and come up with a possible solution.

They were keen to get involved.

We sat the children at the front of the group and they served as a wonderful visual aid and reminder about the importance of addressing issues which would impact upon their future lives. Here I am talking to the community about identifying the areas of need and trying to be proactive about dealing with issues.

This girl was one of the local school teachers. She and her colleages committed to turning up to work each day.

After a long day we went back to the World Vision centre to eat. Mr Nassamu is chewing on a guinea fowl bone.

We ate soup and water melon on the veranda.

Friday 25th June 2010 Jadema

The school building at Jadema was in need of repair.

While we were waiting for the villagers to arrive I entertained the school children with some songs.

Some of them were a little afraid of me. For many, I was the first white person they would have seen.

When, after waiting a while still only a few villagers had turned up, we sent the children back to their homes to fetch their parents.

At last the villagers were assembled! We spoke to them about the legal requirements of education and the importance of encouraging girls to complete their education.

Many individuals were very honest about serious concerns for childrens' safety and wellbeing.

This gentleman spoke about the experienceof his three daughters, none of whom had managed to complete their education.

Kwame Robert delivering a serious message in an interative and captivating manner.

I spoke to the community about ownership of their school and the importance of identifying the key issues that were holding them back. We then split the community into groups: Chiefs and sub-chiefs, Assembly men and women, teachers, students, youth, women, School Management Committee and Parent Teacher Association.

Each group was tasked with identifying the main problem for them and coming up with a possible solution.

We asked each group to give us the names of three individuals who we could hold accountable for delivering on their proposed solution.

The women needed to be encouraged to get involved at first.

Many views were aired and shared.

Then a representative from each group fed back to the whole community and stated their intention and who would be held accountable for delivering their solution.

Back for a well deserved meal of Kenkey and dried fish soup. Delicious!

Kwame demonstrates how to eat with your hand.

Saturday 26th June 2010 Loagri

Mike, Anna and Louisa were meant to be joining us today but the heavens opened and they were unable to leave Walewale until later. They had a three hour drive through the rain but eventually managed to reach us. We had stayed put as no villagers would turn out in the rain!

Madam Ramatu went back to bed!

We all sat around and waited.

Eventually the rain stopped and the villagers were back from burying one of their elders and the community forum could go ahead. Four white people caused a big stir.

The women were out in force.

The men were ready to listen.

It was a great turn out.

This was Mike's first visit to the Overses area. He was fascinated to be a part of the forum.

This lady spoke passionately about the needs of women in the community.

Mr Nassamu briefed the village on the legal requirements of the Ghana Education system. Some of this was news to them.

Kwame Robert was on top form! Look how much the villgers are enjoying his interaction with them.

They listened attentively.

Then it was my turn to talk about the importance of education, particularly for girls.

I wanted them to know that they needed to have ownership of their local school.

I used Anna and Louisa as visual aids to talk about the need for girls to go to school every day if they were going to achieve and value and hopefully finish their education.

Everybody seemed to listen well.

At this point we were just about to split into discussion groups.

Madam Ramatu grabbed a moment to have a picture with her "daughters".

Kwame Robert did not want to miss out.

The children were terrified of us initially but by now they were getting bolder and even dared to touch Anna's hair. Eventually we were so mobbed that we had to retreat to the car for safety.

One little girl passed the time by drawing lovely pictures in the sand.

As before, a member from each group fed back to the whole community. Again they wrote down names of individals who agreed to try to deliver on the solution to the identified problem. World Vision will follow up on these in the weeks and months to come.

After a long day, we managed to get back in time for the second half of Ghana's World Cup match. Our neighbours George and Diana had invited us to watch on their TV and then presented Mike with a traditional smock as a leaving present.

Synchronising Energy for "Girl Child" activities

2010-06-04T23:15:00.002Z

I was very keen to get together agencies / Non-Governmental Organisations that I'd encountered that are active in "Girl-Child" activities in West Mamprusi District. There is a real need for NGOs and the Ghana Education Service (GES) to work together more closely. Today we held the workshop to co-ordinate these activities, and the four blog entries below show some pictures from the event.

Synchronising Energy - preparation for the NGO workshop

2010-06-04T23:00:00.002Z

On my knees! Preparing the master plan.

These are the NGOs/projects that we were targetting.

Here is Diana, our nextdoor neighbour arriving with a special ghanaian meal of TZ and dried fish soup for us to try.

Fati in her pinny. ( The one I wore for Anna's 1950s funfair 21st birthday party)

Damien is the Regional Gender Support Officer with VSO. He is based with us in Walewale about 40% of his time. He and I were co- facilitating the workshop. Note the puddle from the recent rains.

So, off we set on our bikes.

Here we are passing the house opposite inhabited by about 20 Cote d'Ivoire blokes who are digging the trenches for the vodafone cable which will go all the way from Accra to Bolgatnga. They are always very noisy loading up thier trucks with huge reels of cable at 5.30 am.

At Zasilari, a nearby Agricultural NGO which has a nice building. All prepared and awaiting the participants.

Ready for action!

Synchronising Energy - morning of the workshop

2010-06-04T22:45:00.001Z

After Damien had led the Introductions and Expectations section, I explained the relevance of the Synergy poster and the importance of working together to achieve more.

The District Director of Education "Cambodia" officially opened the workshop and gave it his full support.

The hopes and expectations for the day were captured.

The groups worked together to write their activiies on post it notes and place them on the timeline.

Damien talks something through with Sirina the Pre-school Advisor at the GES.

Particiants were keen to get involved and see what other NGOs were working on.

Synchronising Energy - afternoon of the workshop

2010-06-04T22:30:00.002Z

Miftaw from RAINS(Regional Advisory Information and Network Systems) was the first to talk us through his plan for the next six months.

Mohammed Jabah from CAMFED ( Campaign for Female Education) explained their priorities. He had been part of the team who came with me, GES and World Vision to train SMC/ PTAs last month.

Edward from the CFRHP (Catholic Family Reproductive Health Programme) was next to speak. Participants were learning lots of new information from each speaker.

Michael from World Vision was standing in for the Programme Director Andy who had to meet US delegates about the Bawku conflict in the North of Ghana. Andy had given me the Synergy title and was enormously enthusiastic about planning and working together with other organisations.

Jonathan from ISODEC (Integrated Social Development Centre) is one of the lead implementers in the Comic Relief funded TENI project.

Eric, VSO TENI ( Tackling Educational Needs Inclusively) coordinator encourages participants to find a way forward.

Synchronising Energy - conclusion

2010-06-04T18:30:00.006Z

We were pretty much on time as the day drew to a close. One amazing thing had been that all nine of the GES staff had arrived before the 10am start time! Many of the other folk were late but, due to the new agreed Values at the GES, our guys set a really good example.

It was left to me to do the review of Hopes and Expectations after Eric had finished the Next Steps section.

Then of course the final Evaluation, which I am glad to say was very positive. I do hope that people get together again regularly to share good practice and ideas after I am gone.

All in all a good and inclusive day with masses of SYNERGY!

OVERSEAS 1 - "Voluntary Service - Overseas at last"

2010-03-27T23:55:00.001Z

I have just got back from a fascinating and eye opening trip to a remote area of West Mamprusi District called "Overseas.” It is so named because it is cut off during the rainy season (May to September) due to the numerous rivers crossing the land. There have recently been a couple of bridges constructed, but it is basically a very isolated area and teachers do not want to go there because life is hard.

I have blogged 13 (mostly short) entries about the trip - you may have to use the 'Older posts' link bottom right to see them all.

Many children had never seen a white person before and I caused a real stir everywhere we stopped. I began to perfect my royal wave.

Our trip lasted a whole week and was a joint venture between WorldVision and the Ghana Education Service. Our mission was to educate the School Management Committees (Governors) and Parent Teacher Associations as to their roles and responsibilities. Radically, I suggested we include some group work and each afternoon we split the attendees into school groups and got them to make a draft SPIP - School Performance Improvement Plan. This was a huge step forward as most of the committees had just been formed for the purpose of attending the training and had absolutely no idea what they were there for.

Group work.

Here I am trying to be helpful. There was always at least one english speaker in each group and he then translated for the rest.

OVERSEAS 2 - The Team

2010-03-27T23:50:00.000Z

There were six of us in the team which was quite cosy in the car with four of us in the back. However the roads were so bad that sometimes it was an advantage to be wedged in a bit to stop one from flying off the seat.

Augustine, Ramatu, Kwame,Charlotte, Mohammed

Ramatu, Kwame,Sammy(our driver), Charlotte and Mohammed

Preparing for the workshop.

OVERSEAS 3 - The Environment

2010-03-27T23:45:00.000Z

The villages are quite isolated with cattle herders roaming between the settlements. These are the Fulani people who live in round houses made of reeds and corral their cattle in pens made of sticks. The main language spoken is Mampruli but also Bulli ,so on the first day I had to have two interpreters which was an interesting experience.

Some ladies at the market.

The roads are in a terrible state. View through car windscreen.

The school field.

Ghanaians are terrible about dropping litter and there is rubbish and plastic bags thrown everywhere.

A herd of cattle crossing the football pitch.

OVERSEAS 4 - Programme and venues

2010-03-27T23:40:00.001Z

As with all programmes in Ghana there was the challenge of "African time" with the itinerary optimistically suggesting a start time of 8.30am, whereas in reality we usually started nearer 11am. Some of the attendees arrived late but they had walked 3 hours to get there so we cut them a bit of slack and tried to give them lifts home when we could. On one occasion we thought the attendance was really good until we discovered that all the seats were occupied by village folk who had come to have a look, probably at me.

The venues were interesting, one church, one classroom (with 90 of us squashed into it), two meetings under trees and one in the World Vision Conference Centre. World Vision has done so much in the Overseas area. Mr Augustine really knows and cares about the people and their situations. He is also a lovely Christian man with a real call to enable the people to help themselves.

We targeted 32 communities and only two of them failed to turn up. In general they were extremely grateful to us for enlightening them and empowering them to take responsibility for their schools. One Chief even presented us with a thank you gift of two fowl and five yams! Some of the problems identified in the SPIPs included such things as shortage of teachers; lack of teacher accommodation, or teachers’ accommodation in a terrible state of repair; poor attendance of pupils; rural -urban drift or kayayei (where girls are sent to be ‘head porters’ in the bigger towns and often come back pregnant); lack of a source of water’ and the need to repair or build classrooms.

OVERSEAS 5 - The schools

2010-03-27T23:35:00.000Z

The school and teachers’ accommodation in one village was particularly bad.

Note the collapsed mud brick wall at this end of the school.

The children carried the furniture out of the school for us to sit on outside.

The village in the background with piles of sticks for firewood and a VIP toilet (Ventilated Improved Pit) with a pipe to reduce the aroma!

The roof partly blown off this P5 class. The school office.

The Kindergarten Class

The floor was littered with bits of broken furniture and the walls were cracked.

The teachers' accomodation. Note the crack in the bedroom wall.

The kitchen. Three teachers live here.

The bath house, with no roof and a "screen door" for privacy.

OVERSEAS 6 - The People

2010-03-27T23:30:00.001Z

We met some amazing people. One chap had gone back to school, into Primary 5 (average age 11 years) when he was 25 years old. His father had died and he told me he had to herd cattle on the family farm so he couldn't attend school as a boy. Anyway, he stuck it out and completed school and was now a Head Teacher in his community.
One evening we met the MP for the NDC party. He held court on a mound of sand in his front yard and offered us all sachets of water. He seemed well informed about his constituency and said he wanted to have some VSO volunteers to help him with his work.

We worked with upwards of 300 people in total and of the women, only 3 were literate. Bearing in mind that our attendees included a teacher and Head teacher from each community the reality is that virtually no villagers were literate. Some of the schools had only been opened 10 or 15 years ago and most of the attendees had never been to school themselves. Most people registered by making a thumb print on the paper.

It was great to see so many women attending.

This is Umar, a volunteer teacher who we are going to help to get a teaching qualification by distance learning from Cape Coast University.

OVERSEAS 7 - The Evangelist

2010-03-27T23:25:00.001Z

As Augustine from World Vision said "Organise yourselves very well and apply the things you are learning here because we want to see a change. Learning is the key. Your children will come back and build the community because of education. If white people give money you will sit down and do nothing, even fight amongst yourselves. You must take action now and think for yourselves. Build your capacity to monitor teachers and do something new in your community. It is all about the children in our communities. Now it is time that we ourselves should rise up and plan and think about what is good for our children and their future. World Vision and GES have joined hands together to help you build your capacity as SMC/PTAs in your community. Open your mind and capture what is coming!"

The wonderful thing for me is that I delivered the same key messages to the SMCs here as I did to Governors back in England. Over the years I have come to the conclusion that the most important things are to

1. Know your school,

2. Build relationships

3. Run effective meetings.

These same key messages seemed to be considered crucial here too and were well received. I must email my governor training colleagues back home and tell them!

OVERSEAS 8 - Responses

2010-03-27T23:20:00.000Z

Here are some comments from the attendees:
" We need support, only one teacher is handling the whole school"
"What should we do if a teacher goes to collect their salary and never comes back?"
"As PTA/SMC can we intervene in an issue of a man giving his girl child in marriage?"
"As PTA chairman, how do I handle insults from members of the community because of non-performing teachers?"
"We plead that teachers should give their best and not indulge in sexual relationships with the school girls."

This man spoke passionately.

Group work.

Sharing ideas.

Helping the groups with their School Improvement Plans.

This woman was expressing her view strongly.

OVERSEAS 9 - Our Accommodation

2010-03-27T23:15:00.000Z

We stayed in the World Vision accommodation which was really very civilised. We had a petrol driven generator for electricity (though various light bulbs were not working) and the girls from the local school brought us water for our bucket showers. There was a toilet which you flushed with a bucket of water and beds with a sheet (no pillow case, but you can't have everything).

The food was cooked by the Pastor's wife. Ghanaian food is enormously labour intensive and we had fufu, TZ, banku, guinea fowl and jollof rice. All Ghanaian staples.

Plucking the guinea fowl. Peeling the yam.

Making a drink for the attendees from ginger and millet. Pounding fufu made from boiled yam.

I shared a room with a Muslim lady called Ramatu who preferred to sleep either outside or on the floor. Every morning she would appear at 5.30am to wash before her early morning prayers. It was a pity the screen door was so squeaky! Ramatu preferred to poo in the scrubland rather than use the toilet. She calls this "free ranging" and it’s very common amongst Ghanaians. However, when she nearly trod on a large snake she began to rethink this plan. We spotted several snakes and the men killed one as you can see in the picture.

OVERSEAS 10 - Children

2010-03-27T23:10:00.000Z

Loads of children were not in school and we started taking pictures of them as baseline evidence so the improvement could be measured in the years to come.

I loved the fact that these children were wearing wellies, ready for the floods I guess.

These children were collecting firewood when they should have been in school.

These boys worked well together to move the furniture back into the school. It was good to see boys doing some of the work for a change!

One of the many groups who just came to have a look at the white lady.

OVERSEAS 11 - The Market

2010-03-27T23:05:00.000Z

On the last day went to a market at 6.30 am to buy local rice as it is cheaper than back in Walewale. I saw the grain mill and the women winnowing the rice to remove the chaff.

Winnowing the rice. One bowl of rice cost 2 cedis, about £1

I was also entertained by watching how many people could be squeezed into one lorry!

This is not an unusual sight out here.

The grain market.

I loved this sign on the back of the lorry - "Still Hope, No Harry in Life."

The grain mill.

Yes, this man really is asleep on a window sill. Ghanaians can sleep anywhere!

OVERSEAS 12 - Bodies and berries

2010-03-27T23:00:00.000Z

Ghanaians like to discuss their bodily functions very openly and after some considerable discussion about constipation they were excited to find some wild fruits on a tree. We all piled out of the car to pick them but they tasted very sour and I wasn't a fan. Everyone had stomach trouble during the week except for me so I shared out all my diarrhoea medicine and felt very smug that I had not drunk the local water.

Yum!

OVERSEAS 13 - Summary

2010-03-27T22:55:00.000Z

All in all it was an amazing but very tiring experience. Our meetings were often interrupted by noisy guinea fowl, lizards in the trees, groups of children staring at me, the wind blowing the flip chart papers all over the place and the occasional dust storm. We often stopped on our way home to find out if tomorrow's attendees had received their letters. The answer was usually "no" but somehow word got around and people eventually appeared the next day.

Me doing my bit on SPIPs.

Putting together their draft SPIP.

In need of a little "brain gym"

We compiled a detailed report and World Vision will monitor the SPIPs and the progress of the SMC/PTAs over the coming months. I really hope and pray that some of the seeds we have sown will take root and the schools will begin to flourish.

Liberating a Library

2010-02-18T23:37:00.000Z

Sometime before Christmas I had visited a nearby school and learned that it used to have a library. This was before the room was taken back into use as a classroom due to increased enrolment when girls were encouraged into school. Anyway, I enquired as to what had happened to the books. The Headteacher proudly showed me boxes of beautiful books locked away in her cupboard. I can only imagine how long they had been there, but enrolment rocketed several years ago.
I beseeched her to get these back into the children's hands and there and then we spent more than an hour sorting the books. I asked if we could deliver some to the classes but she said she would need to talk to the staff about what they wanted to do.
From time to time I would check to see if there had been any progress but sadly the library was still held captive. At last I could stand it no longer and arranged a date with the Headteacher to talk to the staff and distribute the books. I asked her to ask the children to collect some boxes to put the books in and I arrived armed with strong tape and marker pens.
We started to repair and strengthen some of the boxes. Here is the Headteacher at work.The children had collected loads of boxes and made a huge pile at the office door. This caused much excitement since we couldn't get out of the office and nobody could get past.

We selected the best looking boxes and then asked the children to share the rest out among the teachers as useful sources of cardboard for making TLMs (Teaching and Learning Materials to you and me)

The Primary 6 students helped us to sort and group the books. Many other pupils kept watch through the window.

They were enthusiastic in their task.

I helped with the box strengthening ....

And the sorting....

And pretty soon we were all ready for the teachers to come and join us for the big share out!

Madam Paulina, the Headteacher had by now found a big book and contented herself with reading this aloud to us while we worked.

The teachers duly arrived and I talked to them about the statistic which says only 11% of P6 children (top Primary) can read with understanding in our area of Ghana. I explained how crucial it is that students have access to books and learn to treat them properly. We discussed how the staff would model this for the children over the next couple of weeks and then invite small groups to browse books calmly together. Many of the books were in brand new sets and were ideal for guided reading techniques, so I have promised to go back and give a demo of how to run a guided reading group.

Lists were made of the books as they were put into the boxes. I would like to say that the staff looked excited about the process but I might be stretching the point.

So, job done.....library liberated!

Hopefully going to be thoroughly enjoyed by the children and improve the reading standards in this school.

I spotted these lovely ladies as I left the school and asked if I could take their picture. I am still amazed at how effortlessly women manage their babies and balancing things on their heads.

Shared and Agreed Values at the District Education Office

2010-02-15T15:33:00.000Z

Back in November when we properly started the Organisation Assessment of the District Education Office, one of the first things to come to light was that there were in fact no shared and agreed values for working there. Having diagnosed the problem, everyone in the office was given a small piece of paper and requested to list their three key values. Some got terribly carried away and I had to suggest to the guy who had listed 17 values that perhaps he should stop there! These papers were then consolidated and read out at a whole office at the Monday morning meeting on 14th December. Everyone was amazed at the consensus. However, there were loads of values and it was agreed they should be limited to about seven. After the Christmas holiday I sat down with a member of GES staff and we grouped what was suggested and managed to come up with this list.

Agreed VALUES of this District Education office

All staff should support the GES Directorate in any way possible in order to raise its image and help to achieve its Mission.

• Be Professional – be smart in appearance and do an honest day’s work.
• Be regular and punctual – to work and meetings, also carry out assignments on time.
• Work as part of a team – with cooperation, respect and encouragement for one another.
• Be constructive in your communication – handling issues with objectivity and fairness.
• Share knowledge and experiences acquired at meetings and workshops for the good of all.
• Use resources efficiently and effectively.
• Fulfil your responsibilities – be disciplined and pay your dues regularly.

If an Organisation Development process goes well,
it never stops.
It becomes a way of life.
January 2010

I had to hang on a week or two until there was a slot in the Monday morning meeting agenda and then on Feb 8th the Assistant Director read them out to the staff. We asked that as a sign that they had been read, understood and people intended to comply with these values, they should sign the paper upon which they were mounted. I think the photos tell the story.

This week when the District Director arrived in the office and saw what had been done, he literally jumped for joy and immediately picked up a pen to sign. He has also suggested that we make wallet size versions for every member of staff to read before coming to the office each day. He says he will personally pay for them to be laminated. They will probably look like this

West Mamprugu DEO
Organisational Values
• Be Professional
• Be regular and punctual
• Work as part of a team
• Be constructive in your communication
• Share knowledge
• Use resources efficiently and effectively
• Fulfil your responsibilities

The clock that I bought for the office is also frequently referred to and our Monday meetings start on the dot of 8.30am (and usually finish about an hour later) . We have removed the 2004 calendars from the office walls and taken down out of date postings and extremely tatty posters.

So, small steps in the right direction!

Adventures, Achievements and Frustrations

2010-01-31T15:18:00.001Z

When the family left on Dec 28th I felt bereft and in need of distraction, so Fati (our wonderful house help) and I headed to Accra for a few days. We shared a room in a pretty basic hotel and “did the sights” during the day.

In the Kwame Nkrumah memorial garden.

On January 1st we went to Labadi Beach to join in a New Year beach party which was quite an experience.

Fati and her brother Amin early in the day before the beach crush!

As the tide came in the bodies became more and more densely packed and I was propelled firmly through the seething mass of people and horses (yes, on the crowded beach) by Fati’s brother to dance on the sand in my bathing suit! (fortunately for you, my camera battery had just died so there is no photographic evidence)
We tried to get an overnight bus back up north but few were running due to the public holidays so we ended up leaving on Saturday at 11am (2 hours late) and arriving at 1.30am the next morning. The bus broke down at one point and all the men were told to get out and push. Amazingly, the 42 seater was jump started and we trundled on.
I had been invited to a three day funeral in a nearby village, so it was a shame we hadn’t managed to get the overnight bus as this meant I missed the night of traditional dancing (but was spared having to sleep on the floor of a barn).

Waiting for them to read out the list of animals to be slaughtered at the funeral in Sayoo village.

However, I got to join in with the slaughtering (goats, sheep, fowl and 2 cows) and cooking in the ensuing days which was a fascinating insight into Ghanaian Muslim culture and village life here.

Inside a mud hut in the village.

Preparing to take the food to the surrounding villages to share.

I was honoured to be asked to wear “the common cloth” worn by the children of the deceased –in other words to be treated as one of the family. The funeral was for a married couple, grandparents, where the husband had died 3 years ago and the wife had died 6 months ago - since then the family had been saving for the funeral.
Ramatu's family, the descendants were easy to pick out; the "children" in one cloth and the grandchildren in another agreed "uniform".

Later in the week I was invited to witness a wedding, with the bride leaving from Fati’s compound house, occupied by about 50 people. I sat with the bride while she was being “processed” and became known as the second bride.
Helping to prepare the TZ (Tuo Zafi, a bit like semolina) to be shared aong the nearby neaighbours.

I had my feet henna’d and talcum powder poured over my head until I paid them to stop.

The biride didn't look terribly happy.

The henna lasted for several weeks.

I watched the bride being washed (enthusiastically with a pan scourer) by the husband’s family and I joined in the dancing on the final day. My moves proved so entertaining that they threw money at me and the video of my efforts has been shared widely across Walewale. Judging from the uproarious laughter from Fati and Mashood when they watched it, I am not sure they really rate my dancing skills, but I think I probably got full marks for effort!
The following week at work saw the conclusion of the Organizational Assessment which was quite an achievement (though I say it myself). As I write this, the draft report is being scrutinised by the OD Committee and we hope to circulate the finished report in a couple of weeks. This assessment stage has been very worthwhile and we can already see some improvements in the office. The Education Office has become more aware of its culture and is already beginning to address some of its issues. I gave them a wall clock for the main office to celebrate their achievement, the old one having been broken for as long as anyone could remember.
The District Director presents the clock to the office.

I love the comment at the end of the newly agreed Values for working at the office. It says “ If an Organisation Development process goes well, it never stops. It becomes a way of life.” Here’s hoping...
The other thing I have been working on is getting the next round of ICT Clubs off the ground. We decided to target the Form 3 students at Junior High School as they would be sitting their BECE exam in ICT in April. After visiting 8 of the JHS in and around Walewale and explaining what we were doing, we managed to get 297 students signed up (nearly a 10 fold increase on last term) with their parents agreeing to pay 50 pesewas (20p) a week to cover the cost of tuition. We thought this payment might make them value the training more and be more committed to the process.

The ICT Club students in the new ICT Suite at the Secondary school.

So, the clubs started and all was going well until the Government, in their wisdom, decided to announce that despite ICT being a compulsory core subject, the students would not be sitting the exam this year. They will be in 2011 and will need ICT skills in all Secondary Schools but I think you can imagine what that did to our attendance,! Many students are sadly only interested in short term goals. Very frustrating as this was such a good opportunity for the young people. I got the Director of Education to go and speak to the students in a couple of schools about how short sighted they were being, so we will see what happens next week.
(update 16th Feb...the attendance remained very poor and after three weeks we sadly decided to pull the plug on those Clubs. However, bloodied but unbowed, we are about to launch another round of clubs for the Form 1 and 2 students and are looking at how we might train teachers too)

The ICT club , ICT presentation & ICT Paga trip - more info

2010-01-14T23:10:00.000Z

Here are a few more items to illustrate the ICT club project, to supplement Charlotte's blog entry about this in December.

Firstly, the Chairaman's opening speech where he describes Charlotte's influence and impact, and Walewale's determination as a result that "we will not be left behind".

(This is low-resolution video for the web. If you would like a high-resolution 90-minute DVD of the main points of the ICT presentation, Jacobs Video in Walewale on 024 615 0217 or 020 828 6920 will be happy to sell you one. From outside Ghana, use country code +233 or contact us via a blog comment).

Secondly, on this next video clip Charlotte reminds us of the significance of giving equal chances to girls (in line with the Comic Relief/VSO project TENI, Tackling Education Needs Inclusively) - blog readers may remember the TENI conference back in late September. This is why the clubs started with 20 girls and 20 boys (and a greater proportion of the girls completed the course). She also thanks Mashood and Mark for giving their time so freely and with such commitment to make the ICT clubs happen.

There is a reference in this video clip to the BECE certificate - BECE is the Ghanaian school exam system, and ICT (Information & Communication Technology) is becoming a core subject, so the ICT club has come at a key time. Charlotte has just paid to print 400 registration forms for the next wave of ICT clubs - the idea is taking off in a big way, and those few computers at the Community Information Centre are going to see a great deal of use, so we're hoping that a proposal to put in many more computers gets a favourable hearing at the District Assembly.

School ICT illustrates differences in Ghana. In October Charlotte saw some excellent ICT books with CDs that had arrived in Walewale for all the schools to help the children learn ICT; but how could children use a CD in schools that have no computers and indeed no electricity? Hopefully some will now be able to benefit from ICT clubs at the Community Information Centre in Walewale. There is now a determination in Walewale that, as the children's song says (see the video in the December ICT club blog entry) "We must not be left behind".

Thirdly, here are a few of Charlotte's photos that were backed up on my laptop.... the children learning to browse the web, and what's that website that they're looking at?
And finally, for those who didn't believe the crocodiles were alive on the ICT club trip to Paga , watch this video. As the Bradt guide said, in commenting on the crocodiles at Paga, "I'd rather be a crocodile at Paga than a chicken".

And yes, if you've watched the video clip, the girls and boys were given equal chances, but more girl than boys made it to the end of the course, and to their ICT Trainer qualification so that they pass on their skills, and hence more girls than boys sat on a crocodile!_____________________________________________________

Footnote: You may have noticed a trend of a few videos being posted on the blog. I can post videos using broadband while back in the UK - not so easy in Ghana - so I'm taking the opportunity to put a few representative videos onto the blog. Expect still pictures only again from next week! Mike

Visiting Madam Mary's P1 class

2010-01-14T07:55:00.001Z

This was just a brief visit to Madam Mary's P1 class with Anna and Daniel during their holiday - the videos may give you an idea of the classroom environment.

We each taught each other a song.

"Old Macdonald" needed explanation.

The we learned a song from them.....

A stroll through Walewale market

2010-01-14T01:27:00.000Z

Ths is a typical market day - this was the week before Christmas, during Anna & Daniel's trip.

Near the end some children latched on to us, and we soon had a growing crowd around us.

"IT skills for all"

2009-12-28T16:44:00.000Z

Last night we watched the edited video of the ICT club certificate presentations which took place on December 15th 2009. Walewale photgrapher Jacob has made quite a masterpiece of it with titles and music; thank you from us all. (Jacob, maybe we could put a clip from your video onto this blog?)
Let me just fill you in on how this all came about......

On our third day in Walewale, whilst out exploring, Mike and I stumbled upon the Community Information Centre and a charming young man named Mashood who worked there. During our chat he shared how the information centre had been equipped with 10 computers several months before, but after an initial flurry of interest, few students were using the facilities. There and then, a partnership was formed and we decided to try to involve some local schools and encourage the community to be more appreciative of this wonderful resource on their doorstep. Not being sure of the constraints of the timetable of the school day, we decided that an after school club might be the way forward.
I started building a relationship with the Head Teacher of the nearest school (LA Junior High School, literally a stone's throw away) and Mashood and I drafted a proposal for an after-school ICT club to present to her and the staff. Meanwhile, after a chat with Mike, Mashood had decided that Walewale needed its first website to promote the Community Information Centre and newly formed ICT Club. A tutorial (by candle light) ensued and Mashood learned how to create a blog. Walewale was now definitely on the map! Mike also suggested a logo, and in discussion the mission statement "IT Skills for All" was agreed for the freshly advertised club. Subsequently some members of the community expressed interest in the blog and two further new Walewale websites were born.
After some further consultation about what would work best, we agreed to avoid Market Days when the Junior High School students might be required to be selling items, and initial dates were agreed spanning the rest of the term. By this time, another equally charming young man called Mark had become involved. He was also working at the Community Information Centre. With three heads together things were beginning to come together and we realised we needed to involve the Chief Executive of the District Assembly and the Ghana Education Service, to make sure things were done properly.
Having had the initial proposal agreed by Head and Staff, we arranged to go and speak to the students at the local school to see if they were interested. We took with us a registration form for their parent/guardian to sign with a clearly marked return date! We were determined to get this thing off the ground and had already set a proposed start date for the following week.
The only stipulation for club membership was that we asked for an equal number of boys and girls from the JHS. Initially this was 10 of each to make a club of 20 members sharing the 10 computers (now dwindled down to 7 due to technical problems). This gender balance was important for my role with the TENI project (Tackling Educational Needs Inclusively, sponsored by Comic Relief). We were keen to see girls being given an equal opportunity and being actively encouraged to take part. We left the final selection of the students with completed forms to the school and we promised to run a waiting list where those who had missed out this time would get a chance. This was just as well as there was enormous interest and enthusiasm from the students.
Every student was given a baseline self assessment to complete so that we knew exactly where to pitch the teaching. The materials were then prepared by Mark and Mashood with reference to ICT books provided to the school by the Government. We agree that the club should train the students to be "ICT trainers" so that they could pass on their skills to others, consolidating their learning in the process. We decided that they should reach a certain standard by the end of the course and this would be assessed and celebrated with a certificate as evidence of the achievement.
October 27th arrived and three of the club turned up on time, despite earlier exhortations to be punctual! It then became part of my role to remind the students as they arrived and signed in, that coming half way through the Club meant a lot of catching up before next time. The first club had scarcely completed its first week when I was visited at 7am by a young man with his much younger sister. He explained how devastated she had been not to be picked for the club. I am a soft touch for young girls desperate to be given a chance to learn, so I knew I had to do something. After consulting Mark and Mashood and with some clever manipulation of dates, we were able to start a second club the following week with very nearly as many sessions as the first.

So, we now had 40 students, 20 girls and 20 boys being trained as ICT Trainers twice a week, between 3 and 4pm after school. We had agreed the Rules for the clubs together with the students so that they knew three consecutive "no shows" without good reason would result in them losing their place in the club. Mark and Mashood shared the teaching between them using PowerPoint and a projector (when available) or just "making do" when the internet was down and the computers were playing up. The students showed real ownership of their Clubs by electing a President for each (both of them girls as it happens) and requesting a celebratory club trip to Paga to stroke the crocodiles and even the possibility of ICT Club T shirts. They started saving 20 pesewas a week (about 8 pence) towards the trip.
I am delighted to say that after 16 sessions over 8 weeks, we retained 33 students to sit their final exam of competence to become ICT Trainers. Their time keeping was somewhat variable, but some of them were fantastic and arrived early for every session! Almost all the girls made it through to the end.
As the end of term approached, the students began to get excited about the certificate presentation ceremony we had promised them. They started to prepare a drama and practise a song ready for the big occasion.
So, we have a record of the final result which took place at the District assembly Hall with about 130 attendees. The presentation became a great occasion with Chairman and 2 MCs and guest of honour, a packed programme beginning with an Christian prayer and closing with a Muslim prayer. Thirty three proud students received well deserved certificates for their commitment and hard work over the previous 8 weeks.

It was a wonderful occasion, as was the trip to Paga. Twenty three students managed to afford the trip which was subsidised by a generous last minute donation of petrol by the District Assembly and a wonderful send off by the District Director of Education.

There were times when I felt a little discouraged by the time keeping and attendance. Also the absence of transport for the 100 plastic chairs we had hired for the big occasion left us with a headache until they were finally loaded on to motorbikes at 8 in the morning! (Thanks Fati and friends)

But, would I do it all again? Yes of course I would. We made a fantastic team and have big plans next term for helping the Junior High School 3 students achieve their ICT component in their BECE exams in April 2010.
Watch this space for the next installment.

Here is the song, sung by younger computer users, the "Brilliant Stars"....

UPDATE:

There are more images and videos about the ICT club, the presentation and the trip in an entry on this blog dated 14 January 2010.

An update from Anna

2009-12-19T14:36:00.000Z

Hello from Walewale, this is Anna writing. We thought it might be interesting for you guys to have the perspective of someone who’s been here less than a week. Dan and I left home last Saturday evening and arrived in Walewale on Monday morning. We’ve seen and experienced so much since we’ve been here. I don’t want to bore you with all the ins and outs of everything we’ve done so thought I’d pick one day to give you an idea of what being here is like. Tuesday and Thursday we had lots of excitements with the ICT club but I’m going to leave that for Mum to write about so I’ll talk you through Wednesday.

We woke up as normal at 6am with the sunrise. We had been told that the Imam from the local mosque wanted to visit and that he would be coming for breakfast at 7am. Assuming they were on African time and would be several hours late, Dad wasn’t even dressed when we saw a car approaching at 7am. We thought he might bring one or two other people with him but this turned out to be six so we had to rush to tell Fati (who cooks for us three times a week) to make more oatmeal and eggs. They stayed about an hour and asked lots of questions about what we were doing here. After that we walked to the Ghana Education Service Office where Mum works to greet people. It is so hot so even walking short distances is exhausting. From there we went to see Madam Paulina’s school, where we were mobbed wherever we went. We went into P1 the youngest class where there were 90 kids sitting on the floor, desks and generally wandering in and out of the classroom. They wanted us to sing them a song. We went for Old Macdonald but their English wasn’t really good enough to understand what we were talking about.
In the afternoon we walked to the market. Seeing the slaughter house made me rather hesitant about eating any more meat here! The market itself was really noisy with hundreds of people selling stuff and donkeys, goats and cows wandering wherever. We bought a live guinea fowl and walked to the chief’s palace where we waited for Mashood, a friend of Mum’s who was to act as our interpreter. When we were called we went in to see the chief sitting on his little podium, attempting to do the appropriate greetings but I think we failed. We all had to crouch and the men had to do a clapping thing while Mum and I were supposed to make a clicking sound with our thumb and little finger but neither of us managed to make much noise. He said he was pleased to see us and asked what Daniel and I had to say to him. We stayed talking for quite a long time before presenting our gift to him. Obviously I made Daniel hold it and just pretended to be hanging onto it!

Next we headed over to an orphanage, where there were lots of very excited children who wanted to play with us. It was a nice change to have children who weren’t frightened of white people. When we are walking around town the small children tend to either look at us and cry or just stare! I rode on the back of Fati’s motorbike, hanging on very tightly as we swerved around various animals and people to get to her house. We met Mum, Dad and Dan there and she showed us where she lives and we met her daughter and boyfriend. She gave us watermelon to eat and then we helped her collect water from the well.

Dad had a really good technique but I was absolutely rubbish, it’s much harder than it looks. She then wanted to see how good Dan and I were at cooking so gave us both a pile of charcoal, two sticks and a box of matches. Needless to say I won and set my charcoal alight first but Dan’s construction probably looked better.
We walked home back through the market and stumbled across a group of children who were particularly excited to see us. They went for the usual chant we get wherever we go ‘Sulaminga (white person). How are you? I am fine. Thank you. Madam’ but were particularly enthusiastic and jumped up and down a lot as they continued to repeat their tune. The other side of the market we ended up with about twenty kids following us. We had several attempts at trying to send them home but they were undeterred by all our efforts. In the evening, Victoria and Louise, Norwegian and Swedish volunteers from the orphanage we had visited earlier came over for tea.

I know you lot are freezing either with snow or the promise of it. Right now that’s hard to imagine as I’m absolutely melting. We have a fan but unsurprisingly the power is off so it’s not working. We’ve just handwashed all our clothes which is quite a mission and are chilling out for a bit. We’ve done a lot of travelling the last couple of days and we’re going to be away again until Christmas Eve. Hope you’re all looking forward to Christmas. There is pretty much no acknowledgement of it here although we are going to teach them a carol in church tomorrow.

Updates from Mike about Charlotte in Ghana

2009-11-26T23:01:00.001Z

Mike will be in Uk early Dec and early Jan, with a range of photos etc and is happy to provide people with updates, assemblies, slide shows etc if you want.
The picture shows Charlotte's Organisational Development (OD) Committee looking at the results of the Organisation Assessment that she has been conducting with the West Mamprusi District Education Office .

management and motorbiking!

2009-11-22T11:23:00.000Z

Ramatu and I greet Letty (the new VSO Management Support Officer from the Phillipines) on her first day in the office. She will be working with me to get the Organisational Assessment done over the next three weeks.
Mike advises Mark, Mashood and I about what should go into the ICT proposal for the District Commissioner. Unsurprisingly, we are finding the 7 working computers at the Community Information Centre painfully inadequate for the numbers of students and adults wanting to learn and access the internet.
Here I am working on the master plan for the Organisation Assessment - the start of the Organisational Development (OD) process. Quite a logistical nightmare and then I have to actually make all this happen according to the plan! Planning is not a word much used in Ghanaian contexts.
We shall see what transpires.

Ready for action in the Comme Ci Comme Ca hotel car park. This was before we had actually seen our bikes and the state of the roads!

My TENI bike (TENI = "Tackling Education Needs Inclusively = the Comic Relief funded project = trying to ensure equal access for tyhe disabled and "the girl child" - hence we allocated the 20 places at the ICT club to 10 girls and 10 boys). I can just touch the ground with my feet on either side. I am told it is heavier and therefore more stable than some of the other bikes but this is small comfort when it is lying on your leg and you have fallen into the concrete drain just outside the VSO office in Bolga!

On Day 3 we went to the Tongo Hills to practise steep slopes. The gradient was fine but the ruts and ridges in the road were an added challenge.

We met the Chief who has 17 wives and over 100 children. One of whom showed us around the extraordinary village. There are shrines here where they take animal sacrifices and the shrine will tell the villagers how to vote in the national elections. It only talks to men though! Male children are taken there from 2 weeks old so they can get tuned in.

The chief and the motorbiking gang. One instructor and 10 learners had its moments. Dan was actually a mechanic. He is the one with the dentist mask to keep the dust out of his face.

We found some of his delightful children. You can see some of the animal sacrifices in the background. they were dotted all around the village. the main shrine is up on the hill behind.

The guide demonstrated how to get into one of the houses. it is a bit like a concrete igloo but with a boulder blocking the entrance. Great defensively I am told!

My birthday was spent waiting at the DVLA Office to get the paper work sorted for my driving licence. Now there we saw a whole new level of bureaucracy. Forms in triplicate with carbon paper and 8 receipts for the 20 cedi amount so that each person who signed a form got their appropriate recompense. A certain sequence of form filling that had no apparent logic but required us to return the next day and miss our last day of motorbike practice. Still, I now have a Ghanaian driving licence (for motorbikes and cars!) so I must be a competent road user mustn't I?!

Whizzy Websites Working Wonders in Walewale

2009-11-21T17:52:00.000Z

You may remember seeing some pictures of Mike giving website tuition by candle light on the blog last month. Well, if you want to see the results of his guidance and Mashood's labour, then go to www.walewale-cic.blogspot.com/ and read up on the latest excitements at the Walewale Community Information Centre. We are currently planning the certificate presentation ceremony for Dec 15th, where hopefully 40 of our newly trained ICT Instructors from the Local Junior High School will be congratulated on their effort and achievement. The students are preparing a drama on the importance of ICT for the audience of parents, guardians and officers from the District Education Office. We hope that the Chief Executive of the District Assembly will present the certiificates and we are working out fundraising options for buying refreshments. Hopefully Anna and Dan will be able to attend as well since they will have just arrived for their Christmas visit. Then on Thursday we are all off on a jolly to see the crocodiles at Paga. The students have been saving 20 pesewas a week to cover the cost and are also hoping to save up to have some ICT Club t-shirts made. How cool is that?!

A further tro-tro guide for sulamingas (white people).

2009-11-14T23:03:00.000Z

You’ll find a basic introduction to the tro-tro at this web address. www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/photo.day.php?ID=76087
[Tro-tro = Any private shared taxi bigger than a car - e.g. small minibus into which 18 passengers will be fitted - generally on a fixed route like a bus]. It’s all true. The defining moment on my first tro-tro ride, with Charlotte’s bike on the roof, and with us sat in the worst seats, four facing four, was when the final people boarded. Eight knees face eight knees and as the final people squeeze in sixteen knees lock like a rugby scrum, and no-one can move until the next stop.
The medium-distance tro-tro (e.g. Bolga to Walewale) doesn't leave the start-point until all seats are sold. This can be frustrating if you’d like to leave by a certain time – or if you’d just like to leave. But there is a way…. On Tuesday I was at Bolga after dark sat on maybe the last tro-tro of the day, hoping to reach Walewale (30 miles). After a while the tro-tro mate (tout) told me the bus wouldn’t run – there were only five people on it. He needed to fill all 18 seats at 1.40 cedis each to make 25.20 cedis (just over £10). Now a way round this is that you buy all 18 seats. This now makes you the Bus Owner, and you get to travel in the front. The bus sets off, and everyone else pays you. (I didn’t realise this on Tuesday, negotiated the 25 cedis down to 10 and was prepared to pay that - £4 - to get home. But I’d missed a trick here. I should have bought 7 seats. Then the first 11 seats filled would have been fares for the tro-tro mate, but if any of my 7 seats had been taken then those fares would be mine. In fact the bus was packed from people boarding at villages between Bolga and Walewale, so the tro-tro won on the deal. I was still addressed as “Bus Owner”).

Just as another illustration, - heading to Bolga on Thursday morning to run an Organisational Development (OD) workshop.

My plans are disrupted by the (reasonably reliable) 7.45 am Metro Mass Transit coach declining to stop for me. I find a tro-tro in Walewale, with many seats taken but as time goes on it’s still not full. One or two passengers seem to be losing interest and looking elsewhere – not good news. Time is slipping by – 8.30 am comes and goes - and I have a meeting to organise starting 10 am more than an hour away. I ask the mate how many seats are unsold – two! I buy two more seats, everyone is suddenly galvanised into action, we can go. I even get my money back for one of the seats because another passeneger materialises. I have the privileged view (see picture) that belongs to the front seat passeneger as marginal Bus Owner.

Clutching the takings the driver takes us to fill up with just enough fuel for the journey (after a push-start that is). After that the journey is uneventful – just one further push-start in Balungu - the driver has to get out to open the tro-tro sliding door, and unfortunately this time the engine dies. A couple of passengers are summoned to push the tro backwards (downhill slightly) for a jump-start – no good. The driver jumps out again and bangs on the front door. (Having bought two seats, I don’t actually have two seats but I am in the front passenger seat). My neighbour and I get out; I could probably claim exemption from pushing as marginal Bus Owner, but I help anyway. Success! We all get back in. But the sliding door won’t shut. The driver grabs his hammer and goes round to the door again. Engine, please don’t die…..I make it to the workshop at 9.58 – ahead of the attendees, so the day works out ok.

Maranatha Orphanage in Walewale

2009-11-14T22:30:00.000Z

Maranatha Orphanage is owned and run by a Baptist minister and his wife. The wife, Madam Paulina is the Head Teacher of a primary school near to the District Education Office where I work. Mike joined us and we got on our bikes and rode the 5 minutes into Walewale centre. The orphanage has about 25 orphans and then a day care centre for other children. These children pay to attend the day care and these financial contributions enable the orphan children to be taught and the staff to be paid.

Madam Paulina and her husband are having a residential block built next to their house and are hoping to move all the orphans there when it is finished.
We had fun singing some songs with the children.

This is where Madam Paulina lives and where they hope to bring the orphans as soon as they can. At the moment they are all living with guardians but the children often don't want to go home after school.

250 children and a blackboard under a tree

2009-11-06T20:56:00.000Z

Some of you might remember a facebook status entry on 20th October...150 children under a tree, one teacher (with a sick child tied on her back), one blackboard, one stick of chalk, one pointer, and only one counting activity! I had made a few suggestions and said I would come back and do a demo lesson when I was next around.
Well, this school (and this teacher in particular) was really playing on my mind. Soon after my first visit I had started collecting resources. I saved empty tins and metal bottle tops, which I wrote on inside with a black marker pen. I put letters on some, shapes and numbers on others and devised sorting and matching activities. I collected sticks and made some into bundles of ten and found an assortment of similar sized stones. I then offered to go back and teach a lesson for them.

Armed with my resources and some balloons and puppets that I had brought from home, I got on my bicycle and arrived at the school at 8.30am. The children were still sweeping the compound but we were warmly greeted by the staff who were happy that I had come with some new ideas. The 150 KG1 kids (aged from 4 years) were rounded up under the tree. It then became obvious that the two KG2 class teachers would also like to watch and were quite happy to leave their hundred or so kids to their own devices, so I invited them to join us. It was now definitely feeling more like a Maths assembly with about 250 children sat on the ground in front of me.

I launched in with some missing numbers, counting on fingers, counting forwards and backwards (we pretended to be rockets but I suspect most of the children hadn't got a clue what a rocket was!). We found different ways of making six with our fingers, we sang 12345 and "One man went to farm, went to farm a field (an adaptation of "One man went to mow" which had been suggested for the african context, but not only did they not understand "field", most mampruli speakers seem to find it impossible to pronounce the word). Anyway, we bashed on...remember these children speak very little english so all my efforts had to be transated. Also, they are trained to repeat whatever the teacher says so we had some hilarious moments when they repeated all my instructions.

We did dropping metal bottle tops into a tin (a challenge in the outdoors with so many children).

By this time it was break and we were gathering quite an audience of older children keen to see what the nutty "sulaminga" (white person) was up to.

The Head teacher Madam Christiana was delighted with what was going on. She very kindly took some photos for me (just to prove that I am actually teaching some children out here) and then was very disappointed that she wasn't going to be in the pictures so I had to quickly take some of her. She is the lady in the yellow dress with the spotty dog puppet on her hand.

Our session had lasted over an hour and the children had been great. To conclude, they sang me a mampruli thank you song. I was then able to chat a bit to the Head and teachers and pass on some materials about mental maths activities that had been compiled by a VSO volunteer in another region. The staff have promised to collect loads more resources and use some of the ideas. I have promised them another visit soon to see how things are going. My parting words were that "learning really ought to be fun!!" (Understandably, given the conditions, sometimes it feels like a bit of an ordeal out here). The Head thought about this and said "Yes, it's true, learning should be fun."

A working week-and-a-bit - from 23rd Oct to 3rd Nov

2009-11-04T23:17:00.000Z

Most definitely not a typical working week, but I thought it’s time to put in some words myself, not just the pictures/captions. (Entries headed "23rd Oct" to "4th Nov" are by Mike and are more about my working week on OD work - see the "posted by" footer). Here’s the last week or so. It’s a little long so I’m going to split it into daily entries. Start reading from entry headed “Friday 23rd October” if you’re feeling ready for this......... (this has already been pushed back into "Older Posts" - you should be able to see all the recent posts in the "Blog Archive" panel on the left, and you can go from post to post by clicking "Newer post" at the bottom of each post)
.................
.................

Well done if you read it all.. I didn’t plan to write all that, but there’s some material for those who've said “I keep looking for new entries on the blog”. You can also blame the fact that I’m trying a radical productivity innovation – I’m using the laptop, but as far as possible inside the mosquito net in the spare room. Makes a big difference to have fewer insects attacking the screen.

Tuesday 3rd Nov - back to Walewale

2009-11-04T23:16:00.000Z

Tuesday 3rd Nov
Back to Walewale on the tro-tro – but not before Anthony & Laura's chicken is dipped and introduced to his grandiose chicken-house.

He will have company soon.
Back in Walewale, we still have no water, so it's another trip to the well.
Laptop going ridiculously slowly - getting nothing done at all. I decide that the computer is horrendously hot. Reboot anyway once I can persuade it to close down, but also judicious application of frozen water sachets in a tupperware box to try to bring the temperature down. (This isn't even the hot season yet...)

Monday 2nd Nov - all together now (lunch, that is)

2009-11-04T23:15:00.000Z

Monday 2nd Nov
The Education workshop. This needs to consider all the work done last week (ok, written up on Friday), endorse it or change it and take the process to the next level. We consider what success today equates to, and indeed what success with Organisational Development (OD) means.

We get to work, in groups - Pat and Anthony - Cornelius Charlotte and Rachel... and Ubald Stephen and Kirsty.
The master-stroke for this workshop is lunch. We’re eating at “Swab Fast Food” next door which last time was anything but fast. This time everyone’s orders are taken as the workshop starts, and the restaurant agrees to have the food on the table at 1pm. It’s all there by ten past one, which isn’t bad. During the workshop Mar and Mark emailed with very positive words on the combined OD material from the perspective of Secure Livelihoods volunteers. We end up with a good level of agreement from the Education volunteers too, and decide that we’re far enough forward now that the remainder can be agreed by email. The group will meet in about 6 weeks , but as a User Group to compare experiences etc.

Sunday 1st Nov - double translation

2009-11-04T23:13:00.000Z

Sunday 1st Nov.
We’ve seen “Calvary Baptist Church” around the corner from where we're staying in Bolga with Anthony & Laura and we decide to worship there. We thought the service was 10.30 am, but it was 10 am so we arrive in the middle. The preacher is taking a passage from Matthew, and his style is “And now a question for the women……” “And now, a question for the men”. This turns out to be a preliminary sermon.
We’re asked of course to explain who we are, where we’re from, what our mission is, etc. All is of course translated into the local language.
And now (we ducked this in Walewale, but are ready for it this time), do we have a word for the local church? I explain our Milton Keynes minister Chris preaching a year ago on God’s call to Abraham when Abraham was very comfortable in Haran, and Charlotte’s reflection and prayer on this which ended up with the VSO assignment. (She invited me to tell the story).
Simultaneous translation hits a bit of a hiccup, which is resolved by double translation – the minister translates my words into Ghanaian English and then the local language man translates that. This works fine. The minister then commences the sermon proper, but says “I was going to preach on God’s call, but what I was going to say in the first half, the white man has said it all – this is an example of the way God works”.A welcome quiet day then at Anthony & Laura's, though Francis the carpenter and his son are still busy building the chicken run.

The chicken (Akaroogu?) doesn't realise what delights await him.

Sat 31st Oct, Printing, hitching, chickening, singing

2009-11-04T23:11:00.000Z

Saturday 31st Oct. A quiet morning. We collect more water from neighbour George’s well, because the water had been completely off since Wednesday. Fati visits with her little girl Samira, who is getting gradually less afraid of our white faces. Charlotte introduces Fati and Samira to blowing bubbles – a big hit. Fati wants to learn how to play cards so Charlotte teaches her “Beggar my neighbour”. I adapt “American Pie” to make it a Ghana volunteer song while this is happening. Then down to Mandina’s ten minutes away where you can print and photocopy materials for the Organisational Development (OD) workshop on Monday. Actually this is one place in Walewale which is something like a shop premises as we know it – there is a glass window / sliding-door, and the premises are air-conditioned! I want to print materials for everyone attending the workshop on Monday. A tense and lengthy negotiation follows. I cite what printing would be charged at in UK. I try “We are volunteers and we have come to help your country but we need your co-operation”…….. “ Toby and Mandina I value your friendship and it may be that on this occasion I will have to say to you ‘Thank you for talking to me but I cannot afford the price you are quoting and I must go elsewhere’”. I’ve only just met Toby. Eventually a deal is done. Various technical things don’t work, but in the end I’m heading home with 200 sheets of printing and copying.
We’re a little late heading to Bolga – we’re going there today for a party at Jason & Jillian’s – Jillian is the volunteer and Jason is writing up his PhD http://www.jjinghana.blogspot.com/ . We’re staying over till the OD workshop. Info from Fati says we’ve missed the Metro Mass transit bus. Charlotte flags down a 4x4 from the Volta River Authority, and we’re offered a lift to Bolga. I say to Mohammed “I’d like to buy you some credit for your phone” and give him a 5-cedi Vodafone scratch card which is appreciated.
We’re staying with Anthony (education volunteer) and Laura (a vet). http://www.coolacoustic.com/ .
By arrangement we meet in the “Hotline Spot”. (“Spot” = drinking place) and buy a few drinks for A&L’s fridge and for the party. Technically it’s Hallowe’en fancy dress – Charlotte and I plan to wear halos she has plaited from the rope we’ve used to fence our plot. (Halloween =All hallow’s eve = All saints eve, so we’re going as saints). But first we need to deal with their new chicken which has made a bid for freedom – their chicken-house is being built but isn’t done yet.
The chicken escapes through a hole in the garden wall. (“Garden wall! Luxury!”). Laura and I dash for the “road” (dirt-track), in my case with a couple of long sticks to lengthen my arms as herding devices. We find the chicken nonchalantly strutting up the street, and corner it in an alley-way. The locals find the sight of two Obronis (white people) chasing a chicken highly amusing. (If you thought "Sulaminga" was "white man", that's speaking Mampruli, as in Walewale - we're in a different Ghanaian region here, differnt language).
We corner the chicken in an alley-way and Laura grabs its legs. For you, chicken, your freedom is over.
Anthony becomes that famous Halloween character “London Man” by attaching London tea-towels, underground maps etc to his person. Laura transforms herself into Spider-woman with bin bags. Anthony & Laura have a car (their own purchase), which Laura needs for vetting as far south as the vet college in Tamale, and are very popular lift-givers in Bolga. Anyway all reach the party in time. VSO and US Peace Corps volunteers from Bolga and Navrongo. The festivities are not affected by a lack of electricity.

Later in the evening Anthony plays the “Development Pie” song and many others, including a brilliant Ghana-evocative song he wrote - which is on his blog www.coolacoustic.com . See also Rachel's blog
http://www.rachelghana.blogspot.com/

Friday 30th Oct - write-up the OD, and bust-up with Vodafone

2009-11-04T23:08:00.000Z

Friday 30th Oct. – Well it’s time to catch up with work after recent gallivanting. I had been allowing for the fact that in effect I’d been on duty on Sunday (travelling), but still I have stuff to finish by the end of the week because it’s needed for the next Education workshop in Bolga on Monday 2nd. My catch-up starts at normal waking time around 6 am, and with meal breaks still finishes after midnight.
Slightly extended because of running phone battle with Vodafone – they want the monthly 40 cedi payment, I thought the 100 cedi deposit covered us, mobile Vodafone Internet keeps being disabled which I’m absolutely dependent on because of this, we can’t pay without going to Bolga – if only I’d known yesterday. I’m told there is no way round – I’ve already used the “We are volunteers and we have come to help your country but we need your co-operation” line, so I ask to speak to the relevant supervisor because “I am distraught and this is unfair – you have not warned us”. No mercy is proposed by Vodafone, but the service stops being disabled.

Light relief is provided by the baby goats rooting around in our compost hole.

No mains water - has been off for 2 days - so we're again reliant on the neighbour's well.Anyway, with internet working again I can complete and post online the Organisational development (OD) material which combines all the SL output from Saturday with inputs from the Education volunteers, ready for Education workshop on Monday. No-one will read it before then – people’s email access varies, e.g. may just have access once per week - but at least it’s there.

Thursday 29th - not Zebilla, but a bike instead

2009-11-04T23:07:00.000Z

Thursday 29th Oct.

Leaving the Teacher Training College just before 7 am, it proves a little tricky to find a taxi or a lift into Navrongo (about 3 miles). For amusement I just have the HIV warnings to read and a stream of 3rd year teacher training college students, in uniform, heading out for teaching practice - all provide very respectful greetings.

Eventually I approach a man dropping off his kids to school and he agrees to take me in on his way back after dropping his children off.

I was supposed to go to Zebilla today to talk Organisational development (OD) with volunteers Pat and Stephen, but I’ve picked up an email from Pat saying she has to postpone. I noticed some decent – new! - mountain bikes in Navrongo when I arrived, and after a lengthy process (negotiation, a higher seat tube, mechanical prep etc) I’m riding off a little after 11 am on one purchased for 110 cedis (£45).

I could get a taxi all the way to Walewale, with the bike in the boot, for a not outrageous price, but decide to ride to begin with to check there are no problems, and sure enough there are one or two – the bell has disappeared, a pedal needs tightening, etc. But with these resolved I’m doing very nicely and am half-way to Bolga on a good road when the rear tyre deflates.Now normally I’d have a repair kit but I hadn’t planned to buy a bike today. I settle down to hail a taxi or a bus or a tro-tro – the bike could go on the roof.

Nothing.

Eventually a lad stops to help, and reinflates the tyre – maybe I can get to Bolga before it goes down again.

No – only another mile or two.

But before too much longer another group of helpers arrive.

A small boy is despatched to fetch equipment and a bowl of water, and under a tree the most professional puncture repair I’ve ever seen is completed.
Needless to say the tyre lasts for the rest of the journey - including some good views of the White Volta - and indeed the tyre is still doing fine.By the way I'm compressing most of these photos by about 90%, which does occasionally give some colour distortions like the pic above, but should mean the pages load faster.

Wed 28th Oct - the road to Navrongo

2009-11-04T23:06:00.001Z

Wed 28th Oct
I now need the bus to Bolga, which is timetabled to leave at 5.30 am but there are no advance ticket sales so you’re advised to be there an hour early. I book a taxi for 4am, and Cath wants the same taxi at 5am – Haydn and Linda live about 40 minutes walk from the Wa bus-station, on a road past a small forest. The taxi-driver doesn’t turn up and doesn’t answer his phone. I have time to walk it and almost be there the recommended hour early, so I set off. Somewhere after the first corner of the forest there should be a turning to the right but somehow it never appears and as the time edges past 4.40 am and I haven’t found the main road it seems more and more likely that (a) I missed the turn (b) walking towards lights ahead which I hope are the main road I’m going further and further from Wa, judging by the direction of the Muslim prayer calls. Should I turn round? Texted conversation with Cath in case taxi doesn’t arrive for her. A taxi arrives out of the blue (or the black) and I flag it down and head for the bus-station (having established that the original tax-driver has now turned up for Cath).
I challenge some local queue-jumpers because I’m well down the queue now for the Bolga bus (“Are you not ashamed to push past an older man?”). Sheepish grins, and the conductor doesn’t let them jump the queue – I make it onto the bus (so do they). Cath caught her bus too.
The morning is then more uneventful. This road, however , has a pretty bad reputation and absolutely deserves it. The penny drops as we start on the first bumpy bit that we’re now gong on 100 miles or so of cart-tracks.

The pot-holes are enough to slow the bus to snail’s pace when the driver spots them or to end up with everyone’s bottom leaving the seat when he doesn’t. I’m only going as far as Navrongo, which we reach at about 2pm, and I catch up wth emails at "Unity" spot (drinking spot).The stop at Navrongo provides a chance to see my “new cousin” Sam Cashman,

to get some work (reports/emails) done that day on the laptop in Sam’s living-room (the Vodafone mobile Internet connects even up in Navrongo, to Sam’s surprise)

but also to see round the teacher training college where she teaches which is really interesting.

See www.sam-africanadventure.blogspot.com/
What I establish during the afternoon is that the proposed Education workshop in Bolga on Monday can go ahead – a phone conversation with Dora (Charlotte’s boss) proves much more useful than emails. So I let everyone know the plan for this.

Tue 27th Oct - Wa, and Excel

2009-11-04T23:05:00.001Z

Tue 27th Oct An easy start today, just an hour ride by tro-tro to Wa for the meeting with volunteers Haydn and Linda ( http://www.landhghana.blogspot.com/ ). This is more like the informal chat that I had envisaged. Haydn and Linda are on a 6-month placement and are well down the road of interviewing local staff for the Organisational development (OD) assessment.
As well as covering the planned agenda I give Haydn a little tutorial in graphing exam results with Excel and we end up with a series of graphs per school “circuit” (geographical group of schools).
Dinner at Haydn and Linda’s with them and also Cathy, living with them, and with Cath who is staying there one night en route on a trip south.

Monday 26th Oct - impromptu presentation

2009-11-04T23:03:00.000Z

Mon 26th Oct. Into Jirapa District Education Office with Aaron & Cath. My suggestion for these meetings is to have an informal chat through what was discussed in Education workshop in Bolga (this is a long way away in Upper East, so the Upper West volunteers weren’t there), get any feedback from the local volunteers, and cover anything else I usefully can while I’m there. There are a few introductions, including an introduction to the Director of Education. After ten minutes in his office, with various other pieces of business being conducted simultaneously, the informal chat has turned into a proposed introductory session on Organisational Development (OD) for Director, Assistant Directors, and other senior staff, in 30 minutes time.

A quick tweak of what was prepared for Walewale, with a Jirapa photograph pasted in, and away we go.

The District Assembly building next door has a conference room with screen and projector which is an unexpected luxury. Alison joins us from Lawra, not far away, to save me doing that journey too. By the time we’re part way through, the Jirapa staff present number about 12 (some of them were called in to the office to attend at short notice - my plans changed quite late on because of transport constraints). We share reactions to what’s discussed and flipchart them and it all seems pretty positive.
In the afternoon it’s back to the original agenda, and Aaron and Cath find Charlotte’s notes on OD questions to ask quite helpful (I typed these up and added to them).

Sunday 25th Oct - early start for travel to Jirapa

2009-11-04T22:59:00.001Z

Sun 25th Oct Wake up at 3.20 am to make sure to be at Tamale bus station by 4 am to catch bus to Wa. Funny how attitudes change – on the long bus-ride Accra to Tamale in September we all thought the toilet facilities en route were sometimes inadequate – now one feels more “I’m on a 7-hour bus-ride – I’d better take account of this ….. “. Anyway my main journey-food is a loaf of bread that I buy at Tamale bus-station. This is just me – Charlotte very tempted to join my mini-OD-tour of Upper West Region but in the end her duties in Walewale keep her at home in Northern region. I’ve heard poor reports of the road but it’s really not too bad – mostly dirt road but generally a reasonable surface.
Reach Wa at lunchtime and find the Jirapa bus – this journey is only about an hour.

In Jirapa I’m staying with volunteers Aaron and Cath, plus Aaron’s fiancée Noriko. I’m quite tempted by the thought of a bucket-wash on arrival, so Aaron and I head off for the bore-hole and queue up to fill water-carriers. Aaron is keen for me to write a VSO B&B guide since I’m doing plenty of lodging with other volunteers – “We’re hoping for a good write-up Mike, and then maybe we’ll get more business”.

I decide that what the guide really needs to do is to give instructions on the local rules for
where you get water
how you wash
whether you save the water you wash with, and what you do with it
local rules for when you flush...

e.g. at Haydn and Linda's ( see Tuesday27th) , you don't need to go out for water, they just leave a big plastic dustbin underneath the shower-head with the shower turned on when they go to bed, and when the water comes on in the middle of the night they wake up and turn it off before the bin overflows.

Saturday 24th Oct - two meetings

2009-11-04T22:58:00.000Z

Sat 24th Oct – In the morning it’s the Northern region volunteer meeting which Betty chairs with charm and diplomacy. (This is where all the admin gripes get discussed). Then after lunch, the Secure Livelihoods (SL) steering group for Organisational Development (OD). Although I’m primarily working with Education, SL have invited me as a guest. Charlotte can skip this, so takes advantage of Tamale to go shopping at the famous Melkom shop with the bizarre customer purchasing process (choose your stuff from the shelves, give to assistant, who gives you a ticket listing your stuff and puts it all back, then you pay, and with your receipted ticket you come back and collect all your stuff again).
The SL meeting is interesting – I’m able to tell the SL volunteers what the Education volunteers decided 2 weeks earlier at the OD workshop in Bolga; I’m the only person who was at both meetings, and although I had posted a write-up of the Bolga workshop online the SL people are interested in the rationale of the decisions and pretty quickly adopt most of them for SL. (This is all about the detail of how Organisational Assessment will be done for Secure Livelihoods “partners” – i.e. local employers of VSO volunteers).

Mar and Mark have invited other volunteers Rhona, Shirley and Flora for a Philippino-influenced meal. Delicious. We lure Betty in too.

A working week - plus weekend - starts here, Friday 23rd Nov

2009-11-04T22:54:00.000Z

Friday 23rd Oct – evening. To Tamale (90 mins drive south). For Charlotte this is a weekend away with a Regional Meeting on the Saturday. For me it's the start of a one-week tour of the Upper West on Organisational Development (OD) business. We stand by the side of the main road hoping for a bus, tro-tro or something. Eric the TENI co-ordinator (see September) stops and gives us a lift all the way to Tamale where we are meeting fellow-volunteers Mar and Mark. Tamale is a bit of a culture-shock – restaurants! Shops with doors! We’re staying with Mar & Mark.
(By the way the “Typical weekend” entry was the weekend before – or bits of it may have been earlier!).

A "typical" weekend

2009-10-31T08:17:00.000Z

While Mike and I were at work, Fati (our lovely local girl who helps cook, clean and wash three days a week) had been to market and bought fish and a live guinea fowl. She smoked the fish over her charcoal fire while her boyfriend Saibu slaughtered the bird and they plucked, gutted and cooked it for us. (Fati is well aware that I am not keen on anything with eyes, or indeed that vaguely resembles the living creature it once was!)
Fati then got a ride on the back of a motorbike, precariously balancing a very long wooden pole and a large wooden mortar along with the ingredients for our tea. She peeled and cooked the yam and started the groundnut soup. I was given hot peppers to grind and then we started pounding! One person flicks the sticky yam mush over while the other plunges the long pole from a height (hoping to avoid the hands of the flicking over person) and fufu is formed.
We ate the fufu with our fingers (remembering not to chew but just to swallow it) with very hot tasty soup. Ghanaians can manage to eat incredibly hot things without burning their fingers. I used to think my fingers were tolerant to heat until I came here.

On Saturday morning we had a surprise visit at 8am from a chap from the office who liked our house and wanted to show it to his architect., so that the architect could design something similar for him. He had brought the architect on the back of his motorbike. Mike and I were duly hospitable , still in our pyjamas. Water and electricity were both off, a not uncommon occurence, particularly at the weekends.

After lunch we met another friend, Mark, on the way to market and he showed us a shortcut through the mud hut villages. He and Fati guided us round the numerous market stalls speaking a variety of African languages as they went.

Sat evening saw Mike giving another ICT website tutorial to a couple of young men we have got to know in Walewale - Mashood and Josef. We are just about to launch our second ICT Club here next week which means 40 student are accessing computer training now. I was thrilled yesterday when the first club independently electd a girl president to monitor and keep track of the members' behaviour and attendance. Real ownership!
Sunday saw us at church for "Pastor Appreciation Sunday", where the congregation were harangued in Mampruli by the Bishop for our poor attendance and lack of appreciation. (Since we were actually there with a gift for the Pastor, this felt a touch harsh).
On Sunday afternoon we ended up with five visitors from the village who just happened to be dropping by- still no power or mains water. The photo includes Mashood, Mark and Jacob who is a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer. Mike has been mistaken for Jacob - do you think they look similar? Fati arrived with my sundress that her seamstress has been trying to copy. Her first attempt at gathering with elastic just about fitted my arm, this was the second attempt...Hmmm, maybe this was a bridge too far in the copying stakes. ( I have to say it is now finished but bears no resemblance to the comfy one I was hoping to duplicate).

We had a convivial afternoon till dark stopped play at 6pm. The electricity eventually came back on at 12.35am. What bliss to have the fan working over our bed, because the night was sweltering!
We have managed a bit of travelling recently too ,visiting Bolga and Tamale which are our nearest towns 1 hr and 1hr 40 mins away respectively on the bus or trotro ( now there's an experience!) In Tamale I managed to buy jam and spready cheese and door wedges! We are learning to appreciate the smaller things in life.

Meeting the Chief

2009-10-16T16:09:00.000Z

At last we have managed it. Yesterday afternoon we met the Chief of Walewale.
Our friend Mashood and his cousin Yosef kindly agreed to escort us. We met in good time so we could go over the expected protocols. We were to have to remove our shoes and enter when summoned, Mike would then sit and greet while simultaneously clapping while I had to do a strange flicking gesture with my little finger and crouch low whilst also saying a greeting. The flicking gesture is meant to make a clicking noise but no matter how hard I tried I couldn't get the desired effect. I had several men in the office pulling enthusiastically at my hands in the hope of success, to no avail. I did suggest I could cheat and just click my fingers but this was not acceptable. Anyway, I hoped Mike's clapping would mask my inadequacies.
So the big moment came and we were ushered forward. In deference to our western-ness they had provided plastic chairs so we didn't have to sit on the floor. Mashood acted as our interpreter as the Chief did not speak English. We exchanged greetings and then had to say what our mission was in Walewale. The VSO, "sharing skills, changing lives" seemed go down well and we expanded a bit more on what we would be doing. The Chief said he was very pleased to meet us and we were very welcome, and shared some thoughts on how important it was to work together.

We had many photos taken with the chief and some of his children. The Chief really liked seeing the pictures on the digital camera.

Then someone came in from a community sanitation club and we were asked to go and see what these volunteers were doing as they just happened to be cleaning in and around the Chief's palace that day. We took some pictures of the saniation volunteers, who like the chief were very interested to see the pictures.

We joined the sanitation volunteers for a while and were invited to their next meeting and said we would help with their next cleaning blitz in Walewale.

We then went back in to see the Chief and invited him back to our house sometime. (We had been told in advance that it was ok to offer this and he might send someone to take up the offer).
Mike then presented our gift of a small white towel which signified us coming in peace. Mashood seemed to think the Chief was well pleased and was sure that he would like to meet Anna and Daniel when they come over in December. The chief had said to Mashood that sometimes people come to Walewale and do not visit him, and he was glad that we had come to see him and explain what we were doing.

My first day at work

2009-10-09T06:25:00.000Z

The day began at 3am with an enormous clap of thunder. What followed was certainly the fiercest most flashy thunder storm that Mike and I have ever witnessed. The rain was torrential and we pottered round the house checking windows. However, when we woke at 6am the living room was flooded. Several inches of rain had built up on the veranda and had then made their way under the front wall of the house. To add insult to injury, the water was no longer running from the taps and I was covered in a heat rash from where it had been swelteringly hot before the storm broke. So Mike and I mopped while our lovely house girl managed to make us a delicious breakfast despite there being no water.
So I set off for my first morning at the office unwashed but fed, hoping I looked respectable as we have no mirror in the house. I walked the 15 minutes to Walewale District Education Office in the rain and arrived at 8 o clock in time to chat with the cleaners. The rest of the staff trickled in and I arranged to accompany the lady who is in charge of the School Health Education Programme for the day. Thinking to take advantage of facilities before going out into the villages, I asked where the toilet was. The answer was, there wasn’t one. I could go and use the urinal in the corn field (yes, apparently ladies can pee standing up in Africa... I think I may have to put my shewee to the test) or I had to go to a nearby school and ask for the key. Before I could pick between these appealing alternatives, the Headteacher of the nearby school had been summoned from inside the office and four of us processed about 20 meters amidst conversations of what I intended to do and had I got paper. We arrived, much to the delight of about 50 children sweeping the compound before school. The head then went retrieve the key for the padlock and I was escorted to three wooden latrines at the side of the playground. After all that effort I felt duty bound to perform!
The car eventually arrived to take us to a village 18 miles away. The roads had not been improved by the torrential downpour of the night before. I fell to wondering how this would be on my motorbike...Hmmmm. We were warmly greeted at the school by a very young looking man. Sadly the Head teacher had recently died and this young chap had been brought in to support the assistant Head. He looked about 20! We assessed by interview some of the girls at the primary school. This was for a scheme to support 10 girls through their education with uniforms, books and fees. Many of the girls were about 15 years old. African schools don’t worry about age cohorts. If you start at 9 or 10 years old you join the Grade 1 class and work your way up like everyone else so there can be huge age ranges in each class. You also have to pass tests to get promoted so this adds to the age range if a child is held back a year.
Anyway, we got back about 3pm and headed for home, still with heat/ allergic rash raging and to find no water at home. Happy days!

(Picture added of Charlotte at her desk in the District Education Office - goats in the background).

A few first impressions

2009-10-05T09:16:00.000Z

Ghana is vibrant and hot. The people are friendly and warm. They find our attempts at mampruli very amusing but seem to appreciate us trying. Greetings are important and switch at various times of the day. In this respect Ghanaians seem to be very aware of time.
They are not always the most efficient but are anxious to please and want us to feel welcomed.
The days seem to pass quickly, particularly if you have had a little lie in and weren't up at 5.30am. The 6am sunrise and 6pm sunset is becoming more normal to us.
The sun is fierce for several hours in the middle of the day.....I never thought I would be a convert to cold showers but they just hit the spot! We mostly have to strip off our sweaty clothes whenever we come indoors (sorry, is that too much information?!)
Frogs come out at dusk and are all over the paths. I am relieved to hear this is just during the rainy season which has almost ended. Mike and I dashed out to enjoy the rain the other day, much to the amazement of out guest house employees.
Beds don't have any covers, only a bottom sheet, but that is fine. We have only had one power cut for an hour since we have been here.
The children shout " salaminga, how are you?" and some have come to touch my hair. Salaminga means white person but this is not meant to be in any way offensive. They like us to speak to them in english rather than mampruli tho for some they only know a few set phrases (a bit like our mampruli) so the conversations don't tend to last long.
Water is sold in plastic sachets which take some skill to consume without giving yourself a shower too. They also have a strange aftertaste so I am not a big fan.
Our delightful neighbours invited us round for a meal last night of Tzed(like semolina), groundnut soup with guinea fowl. Really delicious but felt slightly put on the spot as we ate it all with our fingers while they watched. They apparently were going to eat after we had gone. I am finding these cultural differences most interesting.
We went to the Walewale Baptist church yesterday with everything translated from english to mampruli, even our welcome speeches. I'm afraid we weren't quite ready for their request for a song! There are about 70 church members and we sat on wooden benches. The service starts with an hour of bible study split into english and mampruli classes. The worship was wonderful with enthusiastic dancing. Like all churches , they had problems with the technology when the microphone broke but frankly the preacher was quite loud enough without!
So, a few musings on life here so far. I will let Mike add the photos.

Taking a good look at our new house

2009-10-02T20:56:00.000Z

The new house is just behind the Masagri guest house where we are staying, so there was in fact no need to take the local taxi.

It was interesting to have a good look round the new house.....

....fitted kitchen ....

..... luxury en-suite facilities. .....

(When the builder was quizzed about the position of the shower wall, he replied, "yes, that was a mistake").

.... back garden ready for occupants to customise to their own requirements ....

... and even a mango tree in the front garden.

Felix the builder in the background was sleeping in the house overnight, but was on his own on site today as all the others had gone to a funeral

Welcome to Walewale!

2009-10-01T21:41:00.000Z

James, the manager of the Walewale Education Circuit Supervisors, ready to travel up to our new house in Walewale with us.

The house is lovely - mains water and mains electricity, yippee! - but various problems to fix including lights, plumbing, cess-pit, so we can't move in just yet.

Mike by moonlight, in the garden of the Masagri Guest House where we are staying until the house-building is finished.

TENI conference day 3 - Sept 30

2009-10-01T21:30:00.000Z

Day 3 of the conference for Tackling Education Needs InclusivelyCharlotte provides a summary of the work of the Community Involvement Group which she has just facilitated

Charlotte and Cath study the TENI implementation plans drafted by VSO and partners

Then it was a last meal (for now) with those of the VSO family in Tamale before setting off for Walewale.

TENI conference (Tackling Education Needs Inclusively)

2009-09-30T00:13:00.001Z

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

2009-09-29T23:45:00.000Z

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

2009-09-26T01:52:00.000Z

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

2009-09-26T01:37:00.000Z

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

2009-09-26T01:27:00.000Z

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

2009-09-26T00:45:00.000Z

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

2009-09-26T00:25:00.000Z

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

2009-09-24T17:18:00.000Z

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!

2009-09-19T17:31:00.000Z

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.

2009-09-07T12:31:00.000Z

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.

Family Time

2009-08-21T09:24:00.002Z

Nearing the end of a wonderful family holiday in Normandy. The weather has been glorious and the days action packed. We are all very conscious that it may be some time before we are all together again for any length of time. We have eaten extremely well, played rounders, french cricket and frisbee. We have built a model village in the sand, sailed our inflatable dinghy and played numerous board games. We visited the Normandy landing beaches, a zoo with white lions and a cider factory, so all is right with the world.
For those who missed the excitement on my Facebook status, just before the holiday, on August 13th I managed to pass my Compulsory Basic Training (CBT) on my 125 motorbike. I was ridiculously proud of myself as I had to rebuild my confidence after the traumatic afternoon of my first day's training. My new instructor was a lovely lady called Molly who coaxed and encouraged me through the day. I have two more days riding with her next week which should consolidate my learning. Roll on the off road experiences in Ghana!
Off to explore the delights of the Marina cafe....more soon

Shaken not stirred

2009-07-31T10:06:00.000Z

Feeling a little overwhelmed by the last week. The SKWID (Skills for Working in Development) training was challenging on a number of levels, particularly since I have never travelled anywhere in the developing world. Masses of personal learning to be had and great opportunities to learn from each other and reflect on other people's styles and approaches. Lots of tips about how to get people involved and fully participating in the process of change. I have also had my first motorbike lesson. Initially I took to it rather well and was even beginning to enjoy myself. Then we went out onto real roads and I found I couldn't cope with gear changes and junction manoevres at the same time. A bit unnerving to keep finding you have changed into neutral instead of second gear and have no oomph in your bike. I kept grinding to a horrible stand still in the middle of the road. Still, I have three more days training to get it right and I know I will have a real sense of achievement when I master it. I have now had my placement in Ghana officially confirmed. Only took 7 weeks. A little taster of how fast wheels turn over there I suspect.

Processing the emotion

2009-07-20T08:41:00.000Z

Well, Monday morning and no school to get up for. What a magnificent send off I had from all my dear friends and colleagues at Loughton Manor First School. The generous donation to VSO, the Ghanaian playground song and the gorgeous finger painting on canvas done by the children in Monkeys class (under the able direction of Katie Corrigan!). I feel really valued and affirmed, thank you all so so much. I held it together pretty well all week and am now allowing myself the luxury of a little processing of emotion! While away at our nieces wedding in the North East this weekend, our son Peter and his wife Abi have moved in ready to house sit while Mike and I are away. Bed frame in the hall, boxes everywhere but a pleasant evening of chatting and laughter, so all will be fine. Am now going to do my pre-reading for the Skills for Working in Development course starting on Saturday. This will culminate in my motor bike assessment day on Thursday when they will assess how many days training they think it will take for me to pass my test. Could be embarassing. Thanks again to all you plotters who made my last few days so memorable and full of wonderful surprises.

Feeling the strain!

2009-07-01T19:15:00.000Z

Feeling a bit overwhelmed with all the things that need to be done before the end of term.

2009-06-22T22:13:00.000Z

The journey has started! I've accepted the placement in Walewale in Northern Ghana. Lots to do now - training, self-briefing, vaccinations, not to mention learning to ride a motor-bike.