Try me

(showing me how - notice she is wearing a winter coat.  It was raining that day and for them it is cold.  Admittedly it was chilly since I am also wearing my rain coat.) 

One of the many fantastic things about living this type of experience is that you get to try things you would not normally at home.  Another bonus is that since nobody knows you, you don't have the residue and weight of expectations or personality traits  you and others have imposed on you.  You can be whoever you want to be or let out who you really are or explore all options.  

During our field visits I have done three new things.  The first, basket weaving.  I LOVED this.  I felt like i could sit there all day and weave.  I was not in the thick of it since I was only working on the base of a basket but it seems to me to be a satisfying occupation since in the end you finish with a beautiful basket.  

(listening well) 

(on my own now)

(some of the farmers that were part of the focus group came to take photos of me doing this as well) 

The second, tilling some earth.  After a half hour or so walk out into the fields we came upon a large group of women who were just about to start turning over the earth to plant their seeds.  As soon as I set foot on the field I was handed a hoe and told to start to work.  I did not understand the words the women used but I sure did understand her intent.  My first thought was "Oh how Dad is going to love seeing this photo since I have never done any hard labour in my life".  Its true, I have had more than an easy life and the work these women do is so beyond difficult.  I can't imagine working like they do in the hot sun day after day.  It is pretty amazing.  

(there it is, proof that I have done some hard labour in my life.  Even if it was only for a few minutes hahahah)

(I have my back pack on because they gave me the hoe before i could even take it off)  

(the ladies behind me don't seem as impressed with my work hahaha)  

The third, dancing in the middle of a circle.  At the end of many of the focus groups we have the women sing a song and clap and some even dance. In this particular case the women were taking turns going in the middle and doing some dance moves of their own.  I usually stand in the background and clap along.  It is always a very emotional moment since it is then that I have those "Holy shit I'm in Africa" thoughts.  This time, I was invited into the circle to bust a few moves.  Luckily, Kate, a young women who works with us at one of the stations came in the middle with me and I was able to imitate her steps.  The women usually really LOVE the fact that the salimingas (white people) join in.  They also think we are pretty funny most of the time weather we dance or try to say a few words in their language.  They think we are funny but it is always appreciated and there is a feeling of thanks that we are making an effort.  

(clearly I am a bit embarrassed but having fun nonetheless and isn't Kate beautiful?) 

note: all of these photos were either taken by Elizabeth or Swanzy.  

Nothing long today.  Just a few links to some interesting things about Africa.  Hope you enjoy them and keep browsing and digging and learning and thinking and understanding and questioning and loving and growing.  This is only the tip of the iceberg. 


TED radio hour on NPR called Africa : The Next Chapter 

http://www.npr.org/2012/06/29/155904209/africa-the-next-chapter

TED talk given by Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

http://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story.html

TED on NPR search results for Africa 

http://www.npr.org/search/index.php?searchinput=Africa

TED talk search results for Africa 

http://www.ted.com/search?cat=ss_all&q=Africa

Book written by the Nobel prize winner Wangari Maathai

http://www.amazon.com/The-Challenge-Africa-Wangari-Maathai/dp/0307390284

Documentary from Northern Uganda

http://www.wardancethemovie.com/

Fields of Gold

In development work you often hear the words "going into the field".  In essence this means that you are stepping out of the office and away from your desk to be driven, usually in a pick up truck but sometimes on the back of a motorcycle (don't tell my parents :)), to a more remote part of the country.  It is the time to see and talk to local people near their homes.  These visits also often consist of focus group discussions where you gather a group and ask specific questions about the project you are working on.  These communities and groups are not random of course.  They are chosen according to the communities that were identified in the baseline studies of the project you are involved in.  A baseline study is a series of questionnaires asked to many many people in order to determine specific elements of your project.  This clarifies the behaviour and needs of the population you will be working with.  It also serves as a beginning point for the monitoring and evaluating officers who follow the progress of each project.  So basically, in the end, you will get a before and after in the communities that were targeted by the project. And more specifically for our project it is also a good opportunity for the radio teams to get some interviews with farmers on the up-coming topics of their radio shows.  That is a very brief and pretty vague explanation of these activities and terms.  I hope that for any readers who have been in development work for a long time this is not to far off the mark and for those who know nothing of this type of work that you get a small sense of it nonetheless.  

(the women and men are often separated during these discussions so that the women feel like they can truly express their opinions without feeling pressure from their husbands and other men in the community) 

(there are generally less men then women during the focus groups) 

Anyway, for me, field visits are an amazing time for many reasons.  It means seeing the landscapes that I have been dreaming of for so long.  It means meeting lovely people who almost never speak english but always manage to convey their joy and appreciation for your visits.  It means seeing every colour of the rainbow wrapped around, who I imagine, are some of the strongest women in the world.  Women who raise children, work on farms, have no running water, no toilet facilities.  Women who often never leave their village except to move to where their husband live.  Women who walk everywhere they go , who cook everything from scratch, who carry everything on their heads and backs.  

 (before this group walked by our focus group a women walked by with a wardrobe type dresser on her head.  I was not quick enough to snap a picture.  I have also seen a women walking down a main road in Tamale with her sewing machine on her head) 

(we literally were in the field this time.  The rest of the group was working away behind us while we conducted the focus group) 

It is strange because I thought I would have these moments of uncontrollable sadness and cry like a baby when I saw some of the intense poverty.  I haven't.  I think mostly because the people, their smiles and ease are more powerful than the dirty clothes and lack of "modern comforts".  When I ask the facilitators of the focus groups to mention that I will be taking pictures and to ask that they pretend I'm not there, there is often a moment of straightening dresses out and often veils being put on.  Just because we are miles away from "civilization" (please take note of the quotation marks) it does not mean that these women are not proud and don't want to look pretty.  And they are.  Gorgeous in fact.  

(Each women had a child either sitting on her or standing between their legs.  The children were not squirming, trying to get their mother or grandmother's attention.  They sat quietly and waited.) 

(You can see the shyness in their eyes and faces in this photo.  It often takes a few minutes for them to feel comfortable and really open up.) 

(Colours and veils and fabric and little people) 

I mentioned above the lack of and often complete absence of washroom facilities.  This is true not only in the villages but in town as well.  Their are restaurants, office spaces, homes that simply do not have washrooms.  I have seen more public urination here than I have ever cared to in my life.  Women are more discreet but men do it all over the place.   But my point here is not to talk about that.  What I wonder a lot about is women's sanitation.  What happens when they have their period?  If they never use toilet paper do they get infections?  How is it when they have sex with their husbands?  Is there any element of pleasure in it for them?  They probably do not drink enough water and the food here is sooooo oily, what does their urine look like?  Oily?  I know, not a very pleasant train of thought but as a women I wonder about these things.  In town (Tamale) there are shops who sell sanitary napkins but I wonder if everyone has the money to buy them and how much are they available in the remote villages? 

(a glimpse inside)

(houses)

(what's for diner?) 

(farming tools the women were using to turn the earth over to prepare for seeding) 

(house with satellites) 

You might think that women have been getting their period, etc. since the beginning of time and have figured it out BUT the twist here is that Ghana and probably a lot of other places are in a time of transition between the old world and the "modern" one.  Cell phone and satellite tv towers are going up everywhere before proper water access is.  Modified seeds and cash crops are creeping in endangering small scale farmers. Religious philosophy about marriage, sex and homosexuality are very prominent.     There is a strange disconnect that I can't seem to ever be able to find the right words to describe.  Even as I read this paragraph for the third time I wonder where these thoughts are going.  This is not so much a criticism but more of a puzzle that I can't quite seem to put together.  I have been here just about three months now and although I have observed many things I will not presume to truly understand the causes and effects of certain behaviour.  Although, for those who know me, I will keep trying to figure it out.  (maybe I should have studied sociology)  

(support the performing arts) 

Coming here has certainly made me question my behaviour.  As it would anyone I'm sure.  One thing that has made me uneasy is this (see photo above).  At first glance, and if you ignore my caption, you may just see a picture of a man.  BUT, he is wearing a shirt that was most definitely "donated" by a western person.  My first issue is that there is a stripper on his shirt.  There are no strippers in Northern Ghana.  This is in NO WAY part of their culture and behaviour.  In another village there was a young boy wearing a WWF (world wrestling federation) t-shirt.  Again, so far off anything in his reality, culture and tradition.  It bothers me a little bit that we donate, most probably feeling pretty good about ourselves, without thinking about who it is going to.  The other thing that bothers me about the donating of clothing phenomenon is that I have noticed that a lot of it ends up in shops and is being slod instead of given away.  It reminds me that it is really important to do research about any organization I want to donate to.  It also reminds me to check myself in general.  I'm sure the guy who originally wore this shirt thought it was hilarious and that it made him hilarious.  Me, I think it is sexist and it makes me sad that a small scale farmer in the very North of Ghana is wearing it.

On a happier note...

(these two little faces greeted us and we danced together to the music that was playing on the radio) 

Feet fall on the road Bound to motion Though chains be of gold They are chains all the same...

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You're on your own, and you know what you know. And you are the guy who'll decide where to go. - Dr. Seuss

Power and speed be hands and feet - Ralph Waldo Emerson

La langue qui fourche fait plus de mal que le pied qui trébuche. - Proverbe Africain

Keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground. - Theodore Roosevelt

Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads - Henry David Thoreau

I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is the lamp of experience. - Patrick Henry

I should like to lie at your feet and die in your arms. - Voltaire

  
And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bear feet and the winds long to play with your hair. - Khalil Gibran

Le vrai domicile de l'homme n'est pas une maison mais la route, et la vie elle même est un voyage à faire à pied. - Bruce Chatwin