DKA - STUDY TOUR 2011 GHANA JULY 2ND

DKA - STUDY TOUR 2011
GHANA
JULY 2ND - JULY 31ST
Nubil yimi ku pii kugli.
One finger cannot pick a stone. When two or more people do a piece of work together, it is much easier.
Dagbani Proverb
Foreword
This is exactly what the DKA Study Tour (LernEinsatz) is about. We travel together, we learn together and from each other, eat together, experience together,
observe together, manage challenges together, reflect together and have a remarkable time together. And it is much easier to do all this together in a group to
fulfil the purpose of the DKA Study Tour: to learn and to get involved.
The learning process happens on two levels:
•
within the DKA group and
•
through the interaction with local people
We were 11 women in the DKA group with different backgrounds. We had not
known each other before but already the preparation weekends in Austria promised that we would be a rather harmonious group. Our group can best be described as: remarkably social, caring, interested, enquiring, critical, humorous, openminded and imaginative. Travelling within the DKA Study Tour means that the
group is together 24 hours a day, in funny as well as challenging moments. Hence
the social component of the group is very important. This is a learning process
within the group, which we managed very well.
The cross-cultural component – which is the initial intention of the DKA Study
Tours – is undoubtedly both enriching and essential for reflecting the own background and culture. While travelling from the South to the North, staying in
Damongo, Tamale, Yendi and in the villages around Tamale and travelling from the
North to the South again, we got the chance to interact with so many people. We
got into a very intensive interaction with both DKA project partners/participants
and other people we met during our stay.
Due to our open-mindedness, our enquiring and critical attitudes we learned a lot
from each other, dissolved a number of stereotypes and got to know lots of people
involved in thriving bottom-up developing projects.
For the four very impressive and successful weeks in Ghana I want to say Thank
you to my great Study Group, which I took into my heart and Thank you to all
people – both in Austria and in Ghana – who are involved in organising the Study
Tour!
The following report will give you deep insight into our experiences and impressions on the DKA Study Tour to Ghana in the year 2011! Amaraba – You are
welcome!
Steffi
Theresa FLEISCHMANN also known as „mother Theresa“ ;-) [Thanks to George
for inventing this charming nickname!],
dagbanli name: Wumpini, 29 years old, living in Vienna, working as a legal assistant,
INTRODUCTION OF OUR
GROUP MEMBER
mail: [email protected].
I dreamt: of green spiders.
I learned: Never try to take pictures of a Ghanaian court!
I liked: the “Gockelhahn” we got as a present in a small village near Yendi.
I tried: nearly every Ghanaian food; my favorite is “Redred with fried plantains”.
I missed: Yoghurt and fresh milk.
I hated: bucket washing; I’m simply not used to it and sooo impatient.
I promised: to the guy from the border control to come back and visit Ghana again!
Miriam FRANC – the last one to send her part far after
time...
...27years old
...loves plantains
...likes the great nature in Ghana
...likes Alvaro
...doesn´t like malaria
...is happy to have seen the elephants
Stefanie GROSZ
...from the eastern part of Austria (Burgenland)…
…is studying Political Sciences and Development Studies
in Vienna
...second time in Ghana and definitely not the last time….
...It’s nice to be nice!!
…favourite Ghanaian Food: Red Red
...likes Ghanaian dresses and TroTro’s…
mail: [email protected]
mail: [email protected]
Katharina HAUDUM
originally from: Mühlviertel in Upper Austria
is studying drama in Vienna
haircut: asymmetric
dress style: colorful
always in her bag: a neck scarf and a smile
marriage proposals in Ghana: about 20
Malaria: +
Banku: no!
back to Ghana one time: yes...
„Do san jo wirklich olle schwarz!“
mail: [email protected]
Doris LEGAT
is: from Graz & works as: occupational therapist
likes: STAR-beer, Gari Foto, drum-music
doesn´t like: constipation
loves: discussions on homosexuality (especially with priest
novices)
is good at: bargaining; sleeping anywhere, anytime
thinks, that: priest novices aren´t always right
likes to think back to: the bicycle-tours to the bar with
Thomas
most impressive experience: Yendi (especially projects and
Florence), days at the Village
mail: [email protected]
Maria PAWELKA
also known as Mary, Mother Mary, Chantiwuni, proud wife
of Little Joseph and Big Joe, Brother Clement’s sister,
Mary Magdalene etc.
studies Development and African Studies in Vienna
likes sports -especially soccer and horse-riding
travelling -especially to African countries and Greece
was very much impressed by the majestic rainforest trees
in Ghana
will visit Ghana again for sure!
mail: [email protected]
Katharina SKORPIK
mail: a.skorpik@ imc-krems.ac.at
Helene PAYREDER
hometown: Linz
hobby: sitting under the mango tree
likes: village schools, fufu, riding through Tamale on a
motorbike
hates: kenkey in groundnut soup
Ghanaian name: the teacher :(
Motto: No HARRY in life!
(Yes, there is an ‚A‘ in it!)
mail: [email protected]
Elisabeth SPRINGNAGEL
Hi, I’m: Elisabeth, in Austria called Elli, in Ghana called
Lizzy.
I really enjoyed: the Elephants at Mole National Park
I like: the hospitality of the Ghanaian people and their
satisfaction
I didn’t like: Banku, that’s because I got a running stomach
the first time I ate it.
I know: lyrics of many songs (so I have to sing although
I’m ill)
I’m a sucker for: playing card games and fresh mangoes
mail: [email protected]
Irmgard STIEGLMAYER
“Irmi” wurde gelegentlich zu “Yummy“. Die Ähnlickeit der Lautbilder [jami] verführen dazu!
Occationally, „Irmi“ got turned into „Yummi“ - a
product of the similarity of sounds (jami).
mail: [email protected]
Eva WEINGARTMAIR
Date of birth: 18th of November
Nation:Austria
Confession: Roman Catholic
Place of residence: Upper-Austria/Vienna
Place of studying: University of Applied Science Vienna
Field of Study: Social Work
Favorite-animal: cat
film: Remember Me
food: garlic-crème-soup,
Interests: reading novels, doing sports (volleyball, inline
skating,…children all kind of age ;)
mail: [email protected]
Saturday, July 2nd, 2011 - „All my bags are packed, I‘m ready to go...“
This was the song running up and down in my head sitting on the train to Vienna. God, was I nervous! Time seemed to be creeping until I finally looked into the smiling
faces of the rest of my group in the early afternoon at the airport. And immediately my nervousness turned into pure excitement – I was going to Ghana!!!
However, we still had quite a long journey ahead of us as we were flying via Dubai. Two flights – over 12 hours on the plane! That was the bad news. The good news was
that we had also got a couple of hours to spend in Dubai which we used to pay a short visit to Burj Khalifa. It turned out to be quite a bizarre experience – seeing one of
the symbols of our rich and luxurious world just hours before arriving in one of the poorest countries on this planet.
Helene
Sunday, July 3rd,2011 - “The rain is a blessing”
If you had expected the weather to be hot and dry when you get off a plane in a West African country for the first time you are completely mistaken. It was pouring with
rain when we went down the landing stairs, but soon we would learn our first lesson: “The rain is a blessing” were the words with which we were welcomed at the airport.
Those of us who intended to stay longer than four weeks tried to find out how to extend their visa and soon found a helpful officer who showed them to a desk where each
of them paid 20 Euros to get it for 60 days. However, looking at the stamp all the others had got into their passports we found out that they had one for 60 days anyway.
Those guys were not too happy when we returned to claim our money back and even looked a bit embarrassed.
George, the bus driver, and Sylvester, our tour guide and later our teacher at TICCS, were already waiting for us outside the airport and quickly packed our luggage on top
of the bus. On our way to the hotel we soaked up our first impressions of the country.
After dropping our bags in our rooms at “Mary Immaculate” we were taken to an internet café to tell our loved ones that we had arrived safe and sound. Then we did a
quick tour of Accra before having our first Ghanaian dinner with Red-Red, Jollof Rice and some fish or chicken. Yummy!
With a full stomach we returned to our hotel and after a desert of juicy mangos and pineapples we fixed our mosquito nets that would be our shelter for the next four
weeks and soon fell asleep.
Helene
Monday, July 4th, 2011 - “Accra”
In the morning we had our first Ghanaian breakfast in the guesthouse. We had toast, eggs, mangos,
pineapple, honey, marmelade, margarine and black
tea, cocoa, or Nescafé to drink.
After breakfast we got into the car to visit the University of Legon. We were to meet a friend of our
guide Sylvester there. As we were driving around
to find the meeting point, we had the chance to see
almost the entire University Campus. After some
time we found the man we were looking for and he
gave us an introduction about the National University called University of Legon.
After visiting the University Campus we went to
the Forex bureau to change money. Each person
changed about 50 to 100 Euro into Ghana Cedi.
For 100 Euro we got 240 Ghana Cedi.
Our next stop was the National Museum. Miss
Matilda, our guide, gave us a very interesting tour
about Ghana’s history, culture and politics. It was
sad to see though that the government obviously
does not really care about financing the National
Museum. The building would have been needed to
be renovated as the rain could easily find its way
inside through the roof.
After the Museum we visited a Creche (something
like a Childcare Center, Kindergarten and school all
in one). The children were very excited about us,
the visitors. They all (about 70 children) wanted us
to take pictures of them and to hold our hands or to
be carried by us. It was a very loud and lively place.
We didn’t stay so long because the children were
about to take a nap. Unfortunately we couldn’t
talk to the caretakers too long as they were busy
tucking the kids into their beds.
We had lunch in a very nice restaurant by the
seaside called Osekana Beach Resort. The food was
delicious, especially the Tilapia fish and the Red
Red with Plantain. Two of us ate Palaver sauce
which had pieces of cow skin in it, for the Ghanaians this was a delicacy, but for us visitors we were
not accustomed to it and therefore didn’t like it too
much.
Last activity of the day was visiting the Arts Centre, a big market mainly for tourists to buy Ghanaian fabrics, clothes, drums, paintings, jewellery and
other handicrafts. We made our first experiences of
bargaining here. You cannot spend too much time
on this market as it is rather tiring and exhausting
because the vendors try to persuade you to buy
their goods all the time by all means to a high price. We were more or less successful in buying some
goods for a decent price. After this first marketexperience we decided that our bargaining skills
have to be trained some time soon within the next
weeks.
Back home in the Mary Immaculate Guesthouse
we decided to go out to have a beer and some
mango before we had to start packing for our early
departure to Cape Coast on the following day. We
all soon went to bed after showering and packing.
Maria
Tuesday, July 5th, 2011 – “Kakum National Park”
Our day begins at 5 o‘clock, we pack our things, put them in and on top of our beloved bus and our journey to Cape Coast starts after a short yoga-session.
On the lovely way, framed with Ghanaian beaches, palms and banana-trees we stop at the Kakum National Park. After a bracing breakfast we do the Canopy Walk, which means we walk on seven robe bridges 40 meters above the earth and take a look over the 360 km² of the National Park! If you look carefully enough you have the chance to see monkeys, birds or one of the 600 species of butterflies. For some extra money, 7,5 Cedis, Doris, our guide offers us
the possibility to make a nature walk, where you hear a lot of the life of trees and animals on the ground of a rain-forest (e.g. the mahagoni-tree heals male
impotence) and after a short discussion with our Ghana-guide Sylvester, some of us decide to go.
For lunch/supper we stop at a beautiful place on the beach where we relaxed in hammocks and cool our feet in the sea. This was the only day we had the
chance to swim, but it was Tuesday and this is the day when no Ghanaian swim in the sea, because on this day the sea is holy, what a pity! ;(
On the way back to our luxurious guest house we drive through Elmina-City, where an annual celebration takes place. There we can see hundreds of people
standing and dancing on the street. We start a challenge, who could look more excited 11 white, young Austrian Ladies watching the manifestation or loads
of Ghanaian people watching 11 white tourists in a white bus driving directly through the party.
After our second Dangbanli-Lesson and a first “I’m-still-alive-message” via the internet we fall exhausted into our beds.
Eva
ON THE ROAD TO THE NORTH
Wednesday, July 6th, 2011 - „Cape Coast, Elmina Castle“
After a short Dangbanli-Lesson we start our journey to Elmina/St. Georges
Castle. There we have a really interesting und shocking tour about the terrible
history of Elmina and the slave trade in Ghana. The castle was built by the
Portuguese in the 14 th century and the “slave market” starts in the 15 th
century. All together 15-20 Million Ghanaian slaves are taken away over 300
hundred years, excluding the one who died!! We directly could see where and
how the male and female, obviously separated, lived – to be honest and realistic – suffered. They stayed in huge cellars in extreme high numbers, without
showers or even toilets. Moreover you can find punishment and violation on the
daily-routine of Elmina Castle in former days.
“Until the lion has an historian, the hunter will always be the hero!”
With a lot of thoughts and questions we leave Cape Coast and go on to Kumasi. After some ours in the bus we all enjoy typical Ghanaian food like fou-fou,
banku, gari-foto.
Eva
Thursday, July 7th, 2011 – “Kumasi”
Our day started at 07:30 with a very delicious breakfast at our accommodation. We got some toasted slices of bread with fried eggs, avocados, pineapples, oranges and
some more. Some of us had a running stomach in the morning. Maybe the meals we had eaten the day before weren’t as digestible as we thought…
We left at 08:30. Our first stop was at a small shop next to a fuel station. Most of us bought some water, cookies and dried plantains. The cashier wasn’t as quick as we
were are used to in Austria. She needed an extraordinary long time to return the change. George and Sylvester told us to hurry up and became a bit impatient.
Our next stop was the Cultural Center. We had to wait for our guided tour, so we visited the Art Market, where we could buy some gifts. Afterwards, we attended our tour
at the Ashanti Museum. There we learned something about the tradition of the Ashanti and the Ashanti-chiefdom. The lady told us for example that every child is given the
name of the day it was born on. She told us some of our names. It was very interesting!
Then we visited the Asante King’s residence - Manhyia Palace. The area was really beautiful with lots of plants and trees and some amazing peacocks. We attended a
guided tour again. The guide told us about the Ashanti history and customs. All the kings and their spouses were sitting on their thrones like wax figures in the British
Madame Tussaud‘s. They really looked like real people!
Hungrily we went to the Central Market of Kumasi. After we had arrived we went for lunch in a restaurant called “Bamboo”. This was the first time on our stay that the
portions weren’t as huge as they normally were.
After lunch we had two hours to go around on Central Market and to buy some things. Before we set off, suddenly Kathi’s Austrian friend was standing in front of us!
What a coincidence! Then we started walking around. We all were a little bit overexcited because of all the products sold next to the streets. There were lots of flat irons,
clothes, sound machines, all we could think of! It was fascinating! Behind a house we came to a food market where one of the merchants sold huge snails.
In the end, none of us was successful in buying amy goods. Just Stefanie and Theresa bought a mobile phone and SIM-cards and Mary got hold of two mangoes. Back at
our accommodation we went online one after the other and ate roasted plantains with Ashanti nuts and white Swiss chocolate Eva had brought from Austria. Sylvester
and George didn’t accompany us, they were so tired that they fell asleep as soon as they reached their rooms. In the evening there was heavy rainfall. We played the game
“Werewolves” together – it was really funny!
Eli
Friday, July 8th, 2011 – “Kumasi –-> Damongo”
At 07:15 George heaved our backpacks on the
roof of our bus and we went to eat some breakfast.
Again it was very delicious!
Two hours later we set out for Jema. After the first
minutes Kathi noticed that she had forgotten her
MP3-player. So we turned back to pick it up. Back
on the road to Jema Mary realised that she was
missing her documents. Again we returned to the
hotel. Fortunately, the employees of the accommodation had found her documents. We all checked
our rooms again and finally we could start our
journey to Jema.
It was quite a long bus ride, so occasionally we
stopped at a market to get some food, like mangoes, pineapples, roasted plantains, oranges coconuts, etc. When it was necessary, we had to stop
to visit the bush toilet. In some parts of our way
the street was in very bad condition. Feeling every
bump in the road we could move on only very slowly. All around were goats, fowl, dogs, even cattle
that was not in the least impressed by the traffic on
the streets. We also saw lots of people riding a bi-
cycle or a motorbike next to the street, sometimes
even with animals buckled on.
For lunch we stopped at Jema Catholic Mission, but
the priest who had wanted to prepare Fufu for our
lunch had malaria and he had forgotten our visit.
A girl from Germany was working as a volunteer
there. She showed us the kindergarten and told us
about the main aims of the Catholic Mission.
So we continued our journey. We stopped for
lunch at a restaurant near the Kintampo Waterfalls. After lunch Sylvester left us because
he got a public bus to go to TICCS in Tamale.
Next we visited the waterfalls. They were really
impressive! There was a group of children bathing
in the water, having a lot of fun! Eli
Community Based Rural
Development Project
in Damongo (DKA Project)
“Arrival in Damongo and description of the project”
After a long and exhausting journey with our wise driver George and our old,
but faithful bus we arrived in Damongo in the late evening. The road to there was a bad one, so we were all tired and really happy to see the “Catholic
Guesthouse” where we should stay for the next few days. We just moved into
our rooms, prepared for the daily fight against the mosquitoes and then – without taking a shower - jumped into the bus again to go to Anthony’s and Rabi’s
home. We heard that dinner is ready, so we had to hurry up.
There we were warmly welcomed: Rabi prepared tasteful food for us and as
we were already very hungry, we enjoyed it a lot, although we couldn’t really
see what it was. I will always remember: it’s getting dark so early in Ghana…
So if you eat outside in the evening, every dinner can be a surprise!
We got to know Anthony and were also introduced to James. He helps them a
lot with the organization of their projects and can be seen both as social part
and as working partner of the family.
Anyway, who are Anthony and Rabi? What are they doing? Why were we in
Domongo and not anywhere else? First of all, Anthony and Rabi are very openminded, sincere and ambitious couple. As they had to observe that many young
Ghanaians from their neighborhood have no chance to get proper education,
they asked themselves how to fight against the fact, that so many young people
from the north – especially women – migrate to the coast to try their luck
there.
Most of them cannot find it, anyway: Without the help from anybody, they try
to find work in big cities such as Accra, ending up in slums without any shelter,
working as delivery boys and girls, as street vendors or even as prostitutes.
Violence, rape and infection with all kind of illnesses are evident problems.
Many of the young who go away from their home in the north avoid coming
back to their villages when they fail to earn a living in Accra. One can say that
by migrating to the south most of them make their situation even worst.
For that reason Anthony and Rabi saw the need to break this vicious
circle. They provide professional training for both young men and young
women to enable them taking care of themselves, earning small money and making their living without migrating to the south. We had the
chance to experience the various parts of women’s education: “tie and
dye”, dress making, soap making and bread baking.
Theresa
Saturday, July 9th, 2011 – “The experience of “tie and dye” and the market”
After breakfast at Anthony’s and Rabi´s home, James started to discuss with us the program for the next days. It was an intensive discussion, indeed. Our schedule changed and changed and changed again. I have to admit that my concentration decreased more and more and my thought and my eyes started to wander around… Above the
door to the living room I discovered kind of familiar sign: + 20 C-B-H 09 +
When I asked Anthony for the meaning he simply explained: “I learned something from you Austrians…” He was impressed by the fact that the “Sternsinger” in Austria
go from door to door to bless the house and to collect some money for people in need. So he decided to invent this tradition in his community as well; he spread an idea.
It was almost midday when we finally started to try the “tie and dye” technique by ourselves. Each of us got two yards of materials and we had a lot of fun in this “learning by doing” process. Rabi and the girls helped us choosing designs and colours and showed us how to stamp. Now I understand that its hard work and it takes a long
time to produce those beautiful materials you can see everywhere at the Ghanaian markets.
In the late afternoon we split up in small groups and went to the market with the girls. It was a good change to spend some time with your “local guides”, to ask questions, to laugh, to get to know each other better. Despite of some languages difficulties we heard a lot about local goods and food. I tried my first Kolanut – uh, it was so
bitter – and I learned that there is no alcohol in Pito beer ;-)
Theresa
Sunday, July 10 , 2011 – “Going to the church
and visiting a ´modern´ chief”
On Sunday we had to get up very early because
we wanted to attend our first Ghanaian mass.
The priest took his sermon in English; afterwards
there was a translation into the local dialect. I was
impressed by the music and the beautiful dressed
women, clapping their hands and singing out loud.
The community seemed very lively and I enjoyed
being part of it at least for that occasion. Suddenly,
people from the first rows started to dance, moving
in front of the Lord’s Table and than dancing back.
They were followed by people from the second, the
third … rows. We observed that ritual for a while
and were at a loss, because we had no idea what
they were doing. The answer was simple: it was
their way of collecting money. So we joined the
dancing as well. In the end of the mass we had to
present ourselves to the community. For me it was
both a funny and touching situation, standing in
front of so many people, telling my name.
In the afternoon we had the change to visit the
th
Chief of Damongo. He was sitting on a chair under
a tree near his house, surrounded by the council of
the eldest. In front of him there lay a mat on the
ground. Usually the visitors have to sit down on that
mat before speaking to the chief. We also learned
that traditionally the visitors are not allowed to
speak to the chief personally but they have to speak
through a linguist. In fact we did not obey those rules because the Chief of Damongo turned out to be
a “modern” one who talked to us in fluent English
in a very frankly way. After introducing ourselves
we had the possibility to ask all kind of questions,
also concerning delicate topics such as corruption
within the chieftaincy or the prospects and limits of
development aid.
After the visit of the Chief we had some drinks in
a small bar before we returned to Anthony’s and
Rabis home where we had dinner. In the evening
we handed over some gifts to Anthony and Rabi
and they seemed to be very happy about their new
coffeemaker, the Austrian recipes’ book, the muffin
cases and some baking ingredients.
Theresa
Monday, July 11th, 2011 – “´yayi´ soap and ´yayi´ pizza”
Today we decided to take a morning walk from our guesthouse to Anthony’s and Rabi’s home – and thanks to Marias good orientation we arrived safely. It’s always good
to do some exercises in the morning…
Unfortunately it started to rain right after breakfast so that our plans where changed completely. Actually we wanted to learn about soap making, but there’s no chance to
produce bar soap without sun as you need the sun for drying the soap. Rabi promised to show us at least how to produce liquid soap, but anyway we decided to wait until
the rain stopped.
We learned a very important lesson: If it rains in Ghana, life stands still. Nothing will happen, no one will walk on the streets and no one will start working until the rains
stops. We tried to coop with this situation of complete rest in different ways: some decided to write in their diaries, some started to sleep for a while, some played oware,
some took pictures of the rain, some helped Rabi with cutting vegetables for lunch and some of us had fun playing “Stadt, Land, Frucht”.
Time went by and we had lunch. Luckily the rain stopped so that we could learn more about liquid soap making. Rabi and the girls showed us the ingredients and the way
of how to stir the soap gently without making bubbles or foam. We decided to colour the soap pink and in the end each of us had her own “yayi” soap in hands. “Yayi” is
Rabi’s nickname, her children called her that way when they were little. I brought my “yayi” soap to Austria – fortunately it did not burst in my luggage. Every time I use
it I have some nice memories of Damongo in my mind.
After producing the liquid soap we had a look at the oven which is use for bread baking. And we were invited to James’ small office to see where he usually works. We
also got to know the tailor who teaches the girls dressmaking. I have to say that this was one of the funniest situations because I learned a very important fact that changed my life… No matter whether a slim or a fat man, it always takes the same time to sew a shirt!
After a while Rabi started to prepare for our last dinner. It was not a normal dinner but rather a special mission: We wanted to prepare pizza! First we went to the bakery to mix the dough there. For me it was very impressive to discover all kinds of machines I’ve never seen before. On our way back we also tried to get some ingredients
for muffin dough, but neither chocolate nor yoghurt was available. In the end, everyone had to improvise a lot: Some of us prepared delicious muffins and some others did
their best in creating a “pizza alla casa”. We spent a nice evening all together. Thanks again to Anthony, Rabi and James for their hospitality!
Theresa
Tuesday, July 12th, 2011 – “Mole National Park, Larabanga and the trip to
Tamale”
Before going to Tamale, we visited Mole National Park and the mosque in Larabanga. The National Park is Ghana’s largest wildlife sanctuary. Apart from
buffalos, hippos, warthogs, antelopes and many other animals approximately
800 elephants live there. Make sure that you wear proper shoes! It is not allowed to go on the guided tour in sandals. But don’t worry: If you didn’t think
of putting on proper shoes, you get the chance to borrow rubber boots. We planned to be at Mole at seven o’clock and were divided into two groups: Some
of the girls who were in James’s and Anthony’s project and went on a guided
tour with us. The highlights of Mole National Park are the elephants. We were
lucky and could watch them taking their bath. The elephants are impressing
and for most of us it was the first time seeing them in wildlife. Our guide knew
a lot about elephants and answered our questions about the wildlife at Mole.
Before going to Larabanga, we had breakfast at the park.
Larabanga is famous for the very old mud-and-thatch mosque. For sure it is
one of the oldest buildings in Ghana, built approximately in the period from
1643 to 75. The style is - I suppose not just for Europeans - very special.
The village and its mosque also stayed in our minds for another reason: The
young men of Larabanga who offered us guided tours and lots of attention.
In one of the travel guides it says that tourists usually experience the trip to
Larabanga differently: While some tourists are annoyed by the young men who
are constantly asking for your e-mail address, others take that rather easy and
with a sense of humour. If you don’t want to give your contacts to someone,
tell them in a friendly way but directly that you feel uncomfortable giving your
contact to someone you have known just for a few minutes. Usually the young
men accept that answer and carry on chatting with you about something else.
Another tip concerning men: It happens rather often that someone is asking
you to get married to them. Most of the time this question isn’t meant seriously. It is rather a way of saying that they like you and think that you are pretty.
In the afternoon we left for Tamale. The ride was rather bumpy: About half of
the way is a so-called “other highway”, which means that the road isn’t fixed.
I, for my part, enjoyed the ride on the rough road without asphalt: We passed
lots of little villages rather slowly and had time to enjoy the landscape. George, the best driver in the world, took us to Tamale safely. We arrived at TICCS
Irmi
very late and very tired.
LESSONS IN TAMALE
Wednesday & Thursday, July 13th and 14th, 2011
– “the first days in TICCS: lectures, first Malariacase, female chief, head of Tamale, women NGO”
We arrived at TICCS (Tamale Institute of CrossCultural Studies) on Tuesday, 12th in the evening.
Father Marek, Sylvester, the seminarians and the
staff of the TICCS welcomed us. All of us were glad
to be in Tamale now and to have a steady room for
the next to weeks. The area of TICCS, the beautiful
rooms and the nice people there were amazing first
impressions of Tamale. On this evening some of us
didn‘t feel very well. Doris and Eva had problems
with their stomachs and just little sleep in the
night.
Our lectures started the next day early in the
morning at eight o‘clock with the following topics:
chiefs and politics in Ghana, ethno-linguistics and
again the gender topic came up (maybe because
we were all women). The daily program in TICCS
looks like this: 7.15 am breakfast, 8.00 am to
12.00 am lectures (including a tea break of half an
hour), 12.15 pm lunch, after lunch we did some excursions, supper at 18.00 pm. During our little tea
break in the „palaver hut“ we got to know what
Ghanaian cookies taste like (something like „gebackene Mäuse“). On this day, there was heavy rain
twice and we were all afraid of the mosquitoes.
Especially because one of us had gone to hospital
suffering from fast rising temperature. After midday we got to know that it was true: Malaria. And
she was to stay in hospital. Our first Malaria-case!!
All of us had been scared of it, because nobody had
ever experienced Malaria - some of us took some
Paspertin-drops to calm down ;-), but we tried to
continue with the program ...
After lunch we had a meeting with the political
head of Tamale. The men we talked to were very
busy, but nonetheless they took some time for us
and we could ask them questions. Mostly we interviewed them about development in Ghana, education, gender roles, cultural differences between
Ghana and Austria and we also tried to communicate with the few Dagbanli phrases we had learned
so far! After this meeting we went to a little village
near Tamale and visited one of the few female
chiefs in Ghana. She welcomed us in her hut in
presence of her sub-chiefs and the linguist. None
of them was able to speak English, so Mr. Sylvester
did the translation for us. Again we got answers to
a lot of questions. For us it was very unusual not
to be allowed to look into the chief‘s eyes and at
first she didn‘t speak directly to us. Just the linguist
talked on her behalf.
The second day in Tamale started with breakfast.
We got bread (something like „Milchbrot“ - very
sweet for our Austrian taste), jam, honey, margarine, some fruits, coffee or tea and eggs. In the
morning we attended lectures again. For lunch we
always got some continental food, in the evening
typical Ghanaian dishes (like fufu, banku, TZ, etc.).
But most of our group preferred rice and pasta,
because of the rather normal taste (for us) and
also because of our stomachs.
After lunch we picked up Timothy, who went to
a women NGO with us. About 40 women welcomed us and we felt very comfortable in the
female crowd. We got a lot of answers concerning the position of women in Ghana, how they
manage their daily lives, which chores they
have to do, about polygamy etc. We learned
about their living habits and sheabutter production. The visit at the NGO was quite impressive and important for us.
In the evening Sylvester had the wonderful
idea, to visit our group-member in the hospital
but first we had to put on long clothes and a lot
of anti-mosquito-spray!
During lunch we had very nice and informative
discussions with the seminarians. They could
give us answers to questions, which we could
barely ask at official meetings. And it was nice
to get in touch with other guests at TICCS, too.
Kathi H.
Friday, July 15th, 2011 – “West Hospital and Shekinah Clinic”
Today we visited two different kinds of medical services: First we had the change to see the children ward of Tamales West Hospital. As some of us decided to stay at
Ticcs we were a rather small group that walked through the narrow corridors of the pavilion. It’s hard to describe what we experienced there. Tamales West Hospital is a
state-run hospital, so for getting medical treatment you have to proof that you have a medical insurance. Usually children are co-insured by their parents, but anyway not
many Ghanaian can afford paying their insurance fees. The children ward does not consist of separated rooms but rather of one winding corridor that is filled with numerous beds. There is lack of space, lack of sufficient hospital facilities but nevertheless, the hospital’s staff is trying to do their best. A young medical trainee told us that
the problem is a complex and structural one: In the north there are for example not enough possibilities for training nurses or ambulance men although so many qualified
employees would be needed.
After visiting Tamales West Hospital it started raining again so when we arrived at Shekinah Clinic there was nobody there. We had to wait for a while until a young and
ambitious man appeared and started our “guided tour”. He turned out to be one of the strangest guys I ever met so that I have to admit that our visit of Shekinah Clinic
was rather bizarre. For that reason I will just give a short overview of the touching history of Shekinah Clinic: Mr. David Abdulai Fuseini, the founder of the clinic, was
born in 1951 near Tamale out of a Muslim family. He was the only child of the family who stayed alive and grew up under poor conditions. For his parents did not have
enough money to take good care of their son, several people supported Mr. Abdulai so that he was able to attend school and even university. After his professional medical training he realized that his brothers and sisters died of poverty-related diseases: in particular malnutrition and measles. So he saw the need of providing medical aid
for the poorest of the poor. The name of the clinic - “Shekinah” – is a Hebrew word and means “dwelling presence of God”. When you enter the clinic it says on a sign:
“Services in this clinic are aimed primarily at the poor and destitute, purely for love of God and neighbour and are absolutely free. We depend unconditionally on divine
providence.” Mr. Abdulai depends on donations and on the good will of his staff that is willing to follow his idea of medical aid for everyone. The clinic is also a constant
dwelling for patients suffering from aids, leprosy or mentally illnesses. Apart from ambulant and inpatient medical treatment the clinic also provides food for homeless
and/or mentally affected people. As Mr. Abdulai grew up in Muslim surroundings but later on decided to convert to Christianity his clinic is open to everyone, no matter
what kind of religion or faith.
Theresa
Saturday, July 16th, 2011 – “The one and only FREE day ;)!”
After some lection-days everybody looked forward to our free day. On that day
we have no program accept a Ghanaian cinema in the evening and so each
member of our group could do what she wants to do. Some are gone to the
food and/or art market in Tamale-City to buy souvenirs, bags, jewelry, cacao
butter and so on. Other ones stayed in TICCS in order to fulfill their diaries,
had a rest, talked to the seminarians or wrote mails home. Another possibility
to use the day was to go to hairdresser to sit there for 4 hours to get some
raster-braids. ;)
In the evening we took our lovely white bus and went to the city into the cinema. In Ghana you are used to reserve the film not the sit-places, if you want to
watch a movie. The cinema was not like one in Europe, the film, called “The
Game” was shown on a silver screen in a restaurant hall and we were the only
watchers. Our wish was to see a real Ghanaian film and we were a little bit
surprised, which type of film we saw. You can compare it with a corny version
of “Reich&Schön”. So to put it in a nutshell a unexpected but new experience.
Eva
LOVELY YENDI
Sunday, July 17th, 2011 – “The first day inYendi”
In a 2-3 hours ride from Tamale George took us to the town Yendi where we should stay for one night to visit a Women empowerment project run by the Christian
Mother’s Association of Yendi and financed by DKA Austria. Madame Florence, the head of this organization, guided us to the villages where women benefit from this
project. The nature of this Empowerment Project is the Microcredit-System. Women who join this program get small loans so that they can open up a small business or
together with the other participants buy something bigger like special machines, e.g. a mill, a tractor. The loan is given only to a group and has to be given back by this
group as a whole. No microcredits are given to individuals apart from this group. In the first village we visited we were welcomed very warmly with music and women
dancing. We also had a good lunch there which turned out to be not so digestible for our stomachs later on because there were special green leaves to which the European
digestive system is definitely not used to. The conversations with the ladies in the villages were very interesting and enlightening. They told us what is especially important to them and what should be improved in the project. Most women work as Sheanut-farmers. They wished for more money because the money the get currently is not
enough for them to stand on their own feet. The women who can participate in this program are a minority and many women wish to join. The men we spoke to approved
of the Empowerment Project as they benefit indirectly too. Although meeting all this people who were highly motivated to improve their livelihoods was a very good experience, we also found ourselves in an uncomfortable position. People thought that we were people who work for the DKA and treated us as if we were those who make
the decisions which was definitely a very wrong interpretation. Even Madame Florence was surprised that all of us were just ambassadors who participated in a DKAprogram themselves. The highlight of the first day in Yendi were the gifts we received in the two villages we visited: 2 white cocks, 1 brown cock, 1 guinea fowl and a big
bowl with Yam. In the evening Florence came to our guesthouse and brought us dinner. We talked about our experiences, the project itself and the plans for the next day.
Maria
Monday, July 18th , 2011 – “The second day in Yendi”
The morning was dedicated to visit some places of the Sheanut-production
chain. We learned how Sheanuts are processed and sold on the market. We
also learned about the problems that can occur if the different stakeholders in
development work lack to communicate with each other or even rather work
against than with each other. To guarantee that the women of Yendi can sustainably improve their livelihoods includes that all production steps of the Sheanut-production chain are in their hands or at least that there are no obstacles
to get access to processing the nuts for a decent price. Unfortunately we don’t
have any direct influence on the world market prices which are as well-known
very low for raw agricultural products like Sheanuts. That is why it is crucial
to have the possibility to take part in the further processing steps where the
value of the raw product gets higher. In the case of the Sheanut-processing
in Yendi the women who are supported with microcredits do not have cheap
access to the machines for further processing. Therefore they have to sell the
nuts for a cheap price to the company or enterprise which owns the production
machineries for producing Sheabutter. Sheabutter is the essence of any further
production steps in this chain. The benefit women get out of their Sheanutfarming is hence not as high as needed to escape poverty. After visiting the
place where Sheanuts are processed to Sheabutter, we visited some women
who produce and sell soap made out of Sheabutter. They showed us how they
produce the bar soap. Afterwards we also visited a local politician and had a
little chat with him. Soon it was about time to go back to Tamale. Before we
were leaving we went to say Goodbye to the Bishop of Yendi who also welcomed us on our first day in Yendi.
Maria
SCHOOL AGAIN
School
Right after lunch Sylvester was already blowing the horn of the bus again. Hurry up! - And off we went to St. Joan of Arc School. Crowds of pupils were cheering when
we got off the bus!
Mr. Zan, the headteacher, told us about the situation of his school: 12 classrooms for 24 classes of up to 45 pupils means that 90 pupils have to share one classroom.
The block that should partly solve the problem is still unfinished. No school items for the kids, no CD-players, no IT-rooms, no beamers, no internet … and I thought our
schools were behind!
We were shown around the classrooms and almost every group had a song for us. “Snap me, snap me!” - it‘s just amazing how excited kids can get about being photograHelene
phed. I would have loved to stay longer, but there was the horn again!
Pito Bar
Beer is very important. Also in Ghana. The local beer is called Pito made out of something millet-like. While the women are those who produce the beer, the men are
mainly those who drink it. When we visited a Pito Bar in Tamale we were the only women except the one who made the beer. She showed us how the grains are processed
into tasty Pito beer in several steps. In the end we tried a few sips out of calebash bowls. It tasted sweet and somehow like apple wine (cider). Sylvester told us not to
drink too much of it as even locals would be running to the toilet if they were drinking too much.
Diviner
Together with the seminarists we went to get to know more about the kind of work a Ghanaian Diviner does. Inside the Diviner’s room we had the chance to ask him
about the nature of his work. Sylvester translated for us. He showed us the objects and fluids which he uses to help a man making a woman fall in love with him for instance. All in all he was a little closed up and not answering to some questions. Very interesting was that being a Muslim and a Diviner who has some kind of supernatural
powers at the same time is no contradiction in Ghana. In the end some of us took the chance to let the Diviner foretell their future.
Maria
Wednesday, July 20th, 2011 - „Life is a danse“
The pictures talk for themselves: the Choggu Dance
Troop!
Take some coins to the show, the dancers will tell
you what for!
Irmi
Thursday, July 21st, 2011 – “Meeting the helpers”
On the day before our stay in the villages we met
the village helpers at TICCS. After a short introduction we had time to get in touch with one
another. I was a bit nervous about my stay in the
village but after having met Joseph, I was ready to
go!
We recommend to take some games like “Memory” or “Uno” for the children to the village. It helps
to get in touch with the kids more easily and to get
to know them more closely. Eva and I collected the
games every night and gave them to the helper at
the end of our stay. I noticed that girls usually stay
behind and let the boys go first when it comes to
the point to play a game. Encourage the girls to
play!
Irmi
STAYING in THE VILLAGES
Friday, July 22nd, 2011 – Tuesday, 26th 2011 –
“At the villages”
Kokua-Yapalisi
(Elisabeth, Katharina H., Doris, Helene)
After we had spent most of our time walking in
the streets of bustling cities, I was eventually very
much looking forward to our days in the village.
For three weeks we hadn‘t had many opportunities
to get to know each other let alone withdraw into
ourselves and retreat from the ever present curiosity that surrounded us or break free from the rigid
time schedule we had been encapsulated in.
Apart from the opportunity to get glimpses into the
daily lives of a Ghanese farmer family, the village
for me represented a safe harbour that kept the
predominately annoying gentlemen at the TICCS at
bay.
Eli, Kathi and myself were the first ones to arrive
at „our“ village. We were very happy Thomas was
chosen to become our village helper, whom we had
already grown fond of during a dinner we had with
him.
Three wonderful days followed; the whole village and its inhabitants were introduced to us, we
undertook a great deal of exciting excursions and
even had the opportunity to practice Dagbanli. Furthermore we held two-day old twins in our arms,
became witness of how to raise a family in rural
Ghana, visited more villages in the vicinity, went to
church twice where a service was held and were
also allowed to assist women in preparing food and
working in the field.
On top of it, we were also allowed to carry children
around our waist like the locals do. Whenever the
kids in the village asked too much of our attention,
we simply locked the door of our compound, whenever we felt like moving around, we went for a
ride on our bicycles. The days ended smoothly with
interesting talks and a beer we shared with Thomas
at a local bar.
The time in our village passed by too quickly and I
am thankful for this great opportunity that surely
represented a highlight of the whole trip.
Doris
A village experience of a different kind
As my middle-European stomach had refused Ghanaian food for almost a week and I had just recovered I decided not to go to the village right away.
When dropping all the others off in their villages
I was a bit sad I couldn‘t stay with them but soon
I found out that this was my chance to get another
kind of village experience.
Having spent the night in my cosy bed in TICCS I
joined the Carinthian family also staying at TICCS
to go to church in Malshegu where I met Theresa
and Maria. After the service we stayed for a chat
in their compound. And then we stayed for lunch.
And after lunch we stayed for a chat under the
mango tree. And then we stayed on a bit to play
football and Frisbee with the kids. In the end I had
passed an idyllic Sunday chatting, playing, laughing,
eating … and went back to TICCS where I enjoyed
the Seminarians‘ company to talk and discuss my
experiences.
In fact, that evening we had a good laugh comparing Austria‘s and Ghana‘s understanding of punctuality, the size of houses and the public transport system.
On Monday afternoon I joined Sylvester on his tour through the villages. Kokua-Yapalisi was the last one on our route. The girls there got help from Thomas to convince
me to stay with them for the last night – which wasn‘t too hard, I guess. I quickly packed my bag in TICCS to wait for Thomas, who had promised to pick me up at 5
o‘clock … which I already knew by then might as well mean up to two hours later. At half past six I was on his motorbike cruising through Tamale out to the dirt road that
took us to the compound. What a ride!
After a funny evening playing UNO equipped with candles and torches I enjoyed the mild wind during the night and woke up to have a luscious breakfast. As Thomas knew
I am a teacher he took me to the village school where the headteacher showed me around. When he came back some hours later he found me surrounded by lovely kids
who had kept me busy by looking at my photos, listening to my stories about Austria and singing songs with me. In the afternoon I even got the chance to try to carry
water on my head – to the amusement of the local children – and to learn how to carry a baby on my back. Little Mariam was very patient with me – and her brother, who
was scared I would take her with me, very glad when I returned her to her mum.
I ‚toured‘ and saw a bit of every village and got to know quite a few people so that some of the kids of Gumo told their visitors they had met me at school in Kokua-Yapalisi and Thomas‘s daughter Lydia spotted her teacher and one of her friends on the pictures I had taken in Malshegu. Therefore, my last days in and around Tamale were
not exactly village immersion, but nonetheless, a very special experience.
Helene
Malshegu (Theresa & Maria)
We lived together in a compound with our village helper’s nephew Isaac who
turned out to be our personal guide during our time in the village Malshegu.
Isaac is a young man who attends a teacher’s training college. Isaac introduced
us to many people and showed us around.
Our village helper “Mister David” lived in another compound close to ours
which was next to the church and the children’s playground. The children were
always there, so we were always entertained. Mainly we played frisbee and
soccer with the kids and tried to learn some Dagbanli in talking with them. As
it was the last week of school for the children they had a mass in the village
church, so we decided to go there. The little church was very crowded. The
pupils in their green and beige uniforms were even sitting on the floor. In his
sermon the priest tried to encourage the kids to study hard. After the mass we
gave the headmistress some gifts for the children because we thought it was
a better idea if it was not always the white visitors who handed out the gifts.
Other activities during our time in Malshegu were visiting Mister David’s farm
and taking part in the obsequies for an old lady who died. During our time
in Malshegu we got many visitors. Even two seminarists came to see us and
played with the kids in front of the church. We also met some of our collegues
who were in the village next to us. The landscapes of Malshegu, especially
the farms were impressing. It didn’t surprise us that people like to live here
and want to stay here in Malshegu like David, Isaac and their family. David’s
wife and his daughter Edith cooked for us every day. Unfortunately we didn’t
have the chance to talk longer with Edith because she was always very busy.
She and her mother were busy in making Sheabutter manually which is a lot
of work. We enjoyed our time in Malshegu very much and were impressed by
the kindness of the village people. Apart from calling us Mother Theresa and
Mother Mary (the Ghanaians really like to do that) we were also called by
Dagbanli names Isaac had chosen for us: Wumpini (Theresa) and Chantiwuni
(Maria). The meanings of these names are “God’s gift” and “the one who gives
everything to god”.
Maria
Gumo (Steffi)
I spent four days in Gumo together with the family
of helper Moses. During this short time I experienced lots of interesting things and places. The
introduction of myself to the chief of the village as
well as to every home compound in the village is an
important gesture and so this was the first activity
we did. I greeted and introduced myself in the local
language, we had learned enough so far that we
could say the most important sentences in Dagbanli. The following days I had the possibility to attend
a traditional funeral and got to know a different
way of expressing condolences, namely to dance,
cook and sit together for up to four days.
During the Holy Mass on Sunday I introduced myself again to the Catholic community.
There is a primary school not far from Gumo and
one day I visited the school together with Moses‘
son Nicholas. I talked with teachers and the headmistress, said hello to the students, brought some
gifts and walked around the school grounds.
One day of the week is market day and so we went
to the market place on Monday. The market is not
only a place to sell and buy, but also a place to
maintain social contacts, to network and to chat.
With some small goods we came back to the village, where people were already expecting us and
asked what we had brought from the market. We
shared some fresh fruits together.
Yams, maize and rice are the main crops cultivated on the fields. I had brought some seeds from
Austria hoping that they would grow in Ghana. We
planted carrots, zucchinis (courgettes), chives and
radish. The field is not very close to the compound,
so we used the bicycle to get there. It was not so
easy for me to cycle on the uneven, narrow path,
but still we got there and back safely.
In the evening we often sat together in Moses’
compound and talked about many things, I played
and sang songs with the children – little Eva and
Comfort even taught me a very nice song called
“Father Ibrahim”. I still remember the lyrics and
the melody J
I enjoyed my days in the village Gumo and will
never forget this amazing time there.
Steffi
Wednesday, July 27th, 2011 – „Farewell“
27th July 2011 was the day after coming back from the village immersion
with so many new impressions. Enriched with experiences ranging from traditional African celebrations to the daily work of the people and to the greeting
rituals in Dagbanli – and one day before our final departure from Tamale to
the South. This morning we enjoyed our last input in the TICCS classroom. Dr.
Edward Salifu, a former TICCS teacher had come. He teaches at the University of Development Studies in Ghana now. Our lecture was about migration,
which is an important issue throughout the whole of Ghana, especially in the
North, since there are not as many job opportunities as in the South. Many
people, above all young people migrate from the North to the South in order to
earn money. Many of them move to urban areas and try to sell commodities on
the street. The external migration of Ghana is also very high, about 1.2 million
Ghanaians currently live outside Ghana.
The rest of the day was used for packing, buying the last souvenirs and organising everything for the journey back to the South and eventually back to
Austria. In the evening all the village helpers were invited to TICCS for dinner
to say a last good-bye to this year’s DKA Study Group. We sat together with
our village helpers reflecting the last days and having a delicious dinner which
was prepared by Amma and Victoria. Fa. Marek, Sylvester, helper Thomas and
I held a last speech to express gratefulness for four very intensive, informative,
sometimes turbulent but definitely beautiful weeks. In the end the winner of
the TICCS quiz was celebrated and handed over her well-deserved present – a
shirt with the TICCS logo and the message: “Di nyela cultural” – “It is cultural”.
The evening came to an end with one more drink in the Jungle Bar together
with helper Paul, helper Thomas, and helper Simon.
This was the last day for us in TICCS, Tamale as the DKA Study Group 2011.
Steffi
„Ghanaian buffet“
After our stay in the villages our helpers, their families and our group where
invited to a Ghanaian Buffet at TICCS. Ama and Victoria from TICCS prepared
about 30 delicious dishes and put them on a huge table under the palaver hut.
It is a pity that I could not try all of them. Ghanaians like it rather spicy. If you
don’t mind pepper, you will love the food!
We had all sorts of dishes such as:
Fufu: pounded cassava and plantain or pounded yam and plantain or pounded
cocoyam
Banku: cooked fermented corn dough and cassava dough
Kenkey: fermented corn dough, wrapped in corn or plantain leaves and cooked
into consistent solid balls
Waakye: rice with beans
Groundnut soup: groundnut paste, meat
Light soup: tomatoes, red hot pepper, meat
Fried yam, fried plantains, …
Rice is usually served with a soup or stew, kenkey is served with fried fish
and hot pepper, while banku is usually served with okra stew or soup. Fufu is
served with soup.
Irmi
Thursday, July 28th, Sunday, July 31st „Handing out presents in Tamale, saying good-bye, on the way back to
Accra within two days, taking off to Austria“
TIPPS FOR THE TRIP IN GERMAN
→ bei Anreise über Dubai: am Flughafen in Dubai
braucht man eine Hoteladresse, um das Flughafengelände verlassen zu dürfen. Einmal draußen
gewesen wird allerdings das Ticket gestempelt und
man bekommt kein Gratis-Frühstück der Emirates
am Flughafen mehr.
→ Kohletabletten bzw. Bioflorin sind super, unbedingt mitnehmen und verwenden;)
→ ausreichend Normhydral bei längerem Durchfall
→ Lonart ds 1 Packung als Notfall Malaria Mittel
im Fall des Falles für den Rückflug mitnehmen
→ Malariaprophylaxe: Es gibt eine alternative Möglichkeit Malaria vorzubeugen, denn die Malarone
etc. kann einem während der intensiven Reise oft
sehr müde machen. Aus der TCM gibt es „Artemisia Annua“, ein hochdosierter chinesischer Beifuss,
der das Immunsystem stärkt und so dem Malariaparasiten keine Chance lässt. (Die Kaiserkrone
Apotheke in Wien stellt Tabletten her).
→ ein bissl Zwieback für die Magen-Darm-Kranken
mitnehmen
→ daran denken, dass es nicht nur Durchfall, sondern auch Verstopfung gibt
→ sich nach dem Lerneinsatz zusätzlich ein paar
Tage frei nehmen ;)
→ Müllsäcke aus stabilem Plastik um sie problemlos wieder verwenden zu können (praktisch sind
auch solche mit einem Zugband zum Verschließen)
→ Gaffaband (Gewebeband) mitnehmen, kann man
immer und überall brauchen (egal ob für die
Moskitonetze oder ein Sack Kohle mit Loch!)
Schnur& Tape mitnehmen, da es nirgendwo Haken
fürs Netz gibt
→ eine kleine Bürste zum Gewand waschen ins
Gepäck geben
→ Studentenausweis mitnehmen
→ Desinfektionsmittel für Hände bzw. Handreinigungs- oder Feuchttücher sind sehr praktisch
→ 1 freigeschaltetes Notfallhandy für die ganze
Gruppe mitnehmen, da das Anrufen vom österreichischen Handy 5,-/min kostet
→ wenn jemand in Ghana eine Wertkarte kauft,
dann NICHT vodafone, weil da das SMS schreiben
ins Ausland nicht funktioniert
→ Versicherungsunterlagen und Versicherungsnotfallnummer mitnehmen
→ ein quadratisches Moskitonetz ist sehr praktisch
→ überall Moskito Netz aufhängen, in Accra einsprayen gleich
→ Britischen Adapter-Stecker mitnehmen!
→ Taschenlampe oder Stirnleuchte haben sich v.a.
im Dorf als sehr praktisch erwiesen (kann man evt.
als Geschenk auch dortlassen)
→ Kleidung: Speziell für Frauen: lange Röcke,
nichts zu Kurzes vor allem im Dorf
→ im Kakuum National Park kann man um 7,5
Cedis einen „Nature Walk“ machen, vorher einplanen, ob man ihn machen will?!
→ Gemeinschaftskassa hat sich als äußerst praktisch
erwiesen
→ beim Geld-Wechseln Kleingeld verlangen (große
Scheine können nur schwer gewechselt werden)
→ alle Kosmetika etc. gleich mitnehmen da keine
Möglichkeit zum kaufen vor Ort wegen dichtem
Programm
→ unterwegs in Tamale: Die günstigste und beste
Transportmöglichkeit in Tamale ist per Taxi. Auf
der großen Einzugsstraße (Bolga Road) verkehren
so genannte „Drop in“ Taxis,
diese kosten 0,40 GHC wenn man nur die Bolga
Street auf und ab fährt.
Da TICCS von vielen Taxifahrern nicht verstanden
oder gekannt wird, einfach Mariam Hotel sagen,
dann wissen sie welche Straße gemeint ist und
können euch bei der Kreuzung raus lassen. (Mariam Hotel ist schräg gegenüber vom TICCS)
→ Visum: Man bekommt einen Stempel für 60 Tage
bei der Einreise, obwohl lt. Ghanaischer
Botschaft in der Schweiz das Visum nur für 30 Tage
gültig. Daher, falls jemand länger als 30 Tage in
Ghana bleibt:
zuerst den Stempel kontrollieren und keinesfalls
am Kotoka Airport um Verlängerung ansuchen (die
können ganz schön tricksen), besser ins Immigration Office in Accra gehen.
→ Finanzen: Abgesehen von den vorgesehenden
Fixkosten, hier ein Richtwert für persönliche
Kosten: Stoffe (ca. 4 bis 5 Cedi pro Yard), Schneider ca. 20 Cedi pro langem Kleid, Karten (schöne
bemalte am Arts Market in Tamale 1-1,50 cedi pro
Karte, Kuverts 40 pesewas).
→ Gastgeschenke:
Geschenke für Begleitpersonen, Fa. Marek,
George, ev. TICCS-Personal etc. Diese ev. vorher
abklären, damit alle Gruppenmitglieder einverstanden sind. Kleine Geschenke sind sinnvoll, werden
ev. sogar erwartet, weil es die vorigen Study Tours
auch so gemacht haben.
→ Frauen-NGO: Plakat, Zeichnung über Frauenrechte (nicht alle Frauen sind alphabetisiert,
deshalb ist schriftliche Auflistung der Rechte nicht
unbedingt sinnvoll)
→ Krankenhäuser/Kliniken:
Moskitonetze spendieren, kleine Anzahl von Medikamente spendieren
→ Wir haben Rabi und Anthony in Damongo einen
Kaffeekocher geschenkt – gemahlener Kaffee wäre
eine gute Ergänzung
Für die Mädls in Damongo: bunter Nagellack,
Ketten, Zutaten für die Schneiderei (Schnittmuster,
Knöpfe, Zippverschlüsse etc.)
Offenbar muss jede LernEinsatzgruppe Pizza
machen, dh. ein Pizzateigrezept ist hilfreich. auch
kleine Dosen mit Belag (Mais, Schwammerl, Pfef-
feroni, Oliven), und geriebener Parmesan (Käse ist
dort ja sooo teuer!) sind ein heißer Tipp
→ Shekinah clinik: Im Vorfeld Verbandszeug schnorren macht Sinn.
Kulturhinweise:
→ alles mit der rechten Hand tun (essen, winken,
Hand geben etc. ), da sie linke Hand unhöflich ist
bzw. als unrein gilt
→ Badetag nicht an einem Dienstag einplanen, da
ist das Meer heilig!!!
→ verlobte Frauen tragen den Ring am Mittelfinger
linke Hand, verheiratete Frauen am Ringfinger
linke Hand (man sagt durch den Ringfinger in der
linken Hand fließt die Vene vom Herzen ;))
→ wenn in einer Gruppe in Ghana ein Mann dabei
ist, spricht dieser für die Gruppe (gilt aber nicht für
Touristen)
→ bevor man Fotos macht, nachfragen, ob das okay
ist (besonders bei Märkten)
→ wenn man was kauft am Markt, versuchen zu
verhandeln
Im Krankenhaus im Fall eines stationären Aufenthalts bzw. bei Verdacht, dass es so sein könnte:
→ Moskitonetz mitnehmen und aufhängen, no byte
mitnehmen und sich einsprayen, da gerade im
Krankenhaus eine große Malaria Ansteckunggefahr
herrscht
→ viel Wasser, Tee in Thermoskanne und Essen mitnehmen bzw. sich bringen lassen von der Gruppe, da man im Krankenhaus nicht mit Essen und
Trinken versorgt wird
(erledigen dort die Verwandten)
→ ein bissl Gewand, Kosmetika, Buch etc mitnehmen
→ gleich die Versicherung anrufen und Schadensfall
melden
→ die Nurses und Ärzte immer wieder um Auskunft
bitten
→ Geld und Hüttenschlafsack/Leintuch mitnehmen
→ andre Leute im Raum um Hilfe bitten, da nicht
ständig wer Nachschauen kommt und es meist
keine Glocke zum Rufen einer Nurse gibt
→ ein freigeschaltetes Handy mit ghanaischer Wertkarte immer bei sich haben mit Ladegerät, falls
man von der Gruppe was braucht, die Versicherung
anruft oder man mit Österreich/ seiner Familie
reden will (siehe Reisetipps allgemein)
→ Geld mitnehmen (ca. 100 Euro) und am Schluss
noch ein bissl Trinkgeld an die Nurses geben
→ sich anfangs zum Krankenhaus und bei weiteren
Untersuchungen von der Begleitperson begleiten
lassen
→ meist muss man gleich bei der Kasse etwas einzahlen, bevor der Arzt einen untersucht, unbedingt
gleich anfangs nachfragen, wo man zahlen und wo
man sich anstellen soll nachher für den Arzt
→ die Bluttestauswertungen können ca. eine Stunde
dauern, also unbedingt wen von der Gruppe mitnehmen
→ ein eigenes Fieberthermometer mitnehmen und
ab und zu messen
→ Befunde und Rechnungen unbedingt mitnehmen
für die Veraicherung
→ zuhause nochmal im Krankenhaus durchchecken
lassen
Längerbleiben in Accra
→ das Guesthouse Mary Immaculate eignet sich gut
als Unterkunft, wenn man länger in Accra
bleiben möchte. Man wird umsorgt, die Schwestern
und alle anderen Angestellten sind lieb und zuvorkommend, man kann dort auch essen, es ist
ein sicheres Guesthouse und die Österreichische
Botschaft ist gleich eine Straße dahinter.
→ in Accra selbst gibt es noch einige interessante
Orte zu besuchen, etwa das Usher Fort, ein ehemaliges Sklavenfort, welches nun in ein Museum
umgewandelt wurde und mit Führung auf jeden
Fall zu empfehlen ist. Und natürlich der Makola
Market, der Arts Market, der Strand, das National
Theatre, und vieles mehr.
→ von Accra aus kann man mit TroTros in alle Richtungen Ghanas fahren: Volta-Region, Aburi (Botanical Gardens), Kumasi etc.
→ für diejenigen die gerne ein Volontariat in Ghana
anhängen möchten und bsp.weise in einer Schule
unterrichten möchten, gibt es beim Verein Boa
Woyonko die Möglichkeit sich zu bewerben:
www.bwvolunteers.org Eli und Kathi S.
NATUMA PAM
Thank you!