I realize that I
am a jerk in that I always swear to be better about updating this
thing and never do. I really have tried to think of things to write
too, but every time I try to scribble something out I feel like I
pretty much captured it all when I detailed Ghanaian finger-food,
dance performances at funerals, and the seemingly endless marriage
proposals. It really took until today after seeing monkey being sold
on the side of the road for chow and hearing about witches being
exiled from their communities that I decided that there were still
interesting stories to be told.
Although before I
continue, let me just clarify that despite popular belief,
Ghana/Africa is not just filled with Lion King type animals for
dinner and crazy voodoo beliefs. There are shiny new buildings,
hip bars, candy at the checkout counter of my grocery store, and
bad reality TV shows. The local chick I live next door to is a financial analyst for an an international bank. I just choose to talk about the more unique
side because, well, who wants to hear about my trip to the shopping
mall anyway?
So I begin.
As stated before,
I came to Ghana to work at an organization that deals with human and
environmental security. When I got there, one of the first things my
boss asked me to do was help with office management and take some
responsibilities off his plate. I told him that I would, but that it
may take a few weeks because I wanted to get an understanding of the
organization first. Easy enough. Between power lines spontaneously
bursting into sparks outside of my window and nearly falling on the
cows that occasionally graze there (which I stopped counting after
three times), I spent my first few weeks fundraising and observing,
trying to figure out just what the organization did. It didn't take
long to realize that my boss was right – he was overburdened, and
this was due to the fact that half of his staff didn't know what
their jobs were. It may sound ridiculous but its true – some
people straight up didn't know what they were responsible for and so
just didn't do much of anything.
Knowing full well
that trying to fundraise nine hours a day for nine months would do my
head in, I decided to do what any idiot recent college grad would do,
and with an artificial tone of wisdom (of which I had none), I sent
my boss a formal needs assessment and set of recommendations for the
individual, team, organization, and all sorts of other made-up
nonsense, and quickly found myself putting new systems in place,
reorganizing the accounting system and doing far more restructuring
than little Sara should have been given the authority to do. All of a sudden I was the one
running meetings and my boss was asking me for management advice.
Dear boss, are you
aware that I'm 23 years old and am making things up as I go?!?!?
Anywho, for all of
you who have asked me what I do, that's it. I do a lot. And I'm happy to report that productivity has increased, even if it may be because I think I scare everyone I work with. It is kind of fun to be scary, however.
But enough about
me and back to Ghana. Much more interesting.
As I mentioned
before, Ghanaians are incredibly friendly people and just love the
fact that I come from Obama-country (or Obama-land depending on who
you talk to). People frequently come up to talk to me on the street,
and although a lot are trying to sell me something, many others just
want to talk or shake my hand. Not too long ago I even got a round
of applause because a minibus driver let me in the car when it was
already full (a big no-no). “Hey obruni, what's your name?” one
guy yelled, and the other 15 or so passengers started cheering and
clapping after I answered.
You know you're
not in Boston when...
Anywho, although
Ghana is a very well-governed African nation enjoying technological
advancement, economic growth and the material perks of our
ever-shrinking world, it is also a country that is still very much in
tune with its traditions and cultural beliefs. For example, aside
from its democratically elected government, communities are also
governed by traditional authorities such as chiefs, who ascend to
the throne upon receiving a special stool. Additionally,
Ghanaians are very superstitious – many believe in curses that can
be brought on by the spirits of ancestors, and if misfortune falls
upon a member of one of its smaller village communities, it would not
be uncommon for a widowed elderly woman to be accused of witchcraft
and exiled to live the rest of her life with other alleged witches,
sometimes in chains. Polygamy is also still common in many of its
smaller village communities. My co-worker even offered to make me
his second wife.
Thanks Sammi.
All that said
though, before anyone thinks, “I knew it! Africa is a savage land
where the most powerful people live in the tallest trees!” (which
is what my co-workers swear all Americans think about Africans. Well
that and that all Americans think that Africa is a country (thank
you Sarah Palin)), do also know that there are ATMs, Oreos, and
Friends on TV. It just so happens that you can carry a Visa card and
believe that the spirits of your ancestors can seriously mess with
you if you misbehave. Personally, I like to view it as just
open-mindedness. But in all seriousness, as globalization
and education gain traction and reach more people, many traditional
beliefs are fading out with each younger generation. On one hand, a
person could argue that this is increasing equality and opportunity
for some of Ghana's marginalized populations (e.g women), but on the
other, their traditions and beliefs have defined the richness and
uniqueness of their culture, and its sad to see them given up for
Western trends and values.
Which are what
again?
But Ghana is very
much a developing country and developing it is. Yesterday I went to
a meeting in a small community which has no access to clean water,
and has no toilets in the village to boot. The meeting was about two
local non-profits working together with the community to build a
water pump that could be maintained by those in the community, not
only for access to clean drinking water, but for desperately needed
hygiene as well to prevent diseases such as typhoid, cholera and
diarrhea. In the past, do-gooders did visit communities such as
these and provided them with water rigs, but unfortunately, they did
not consult or involve the communities they came to “help,” who
having not invested in the pumps themselves, did not keep them
maintained and when they broke did not know how to fix them. Thus
through this model of involving the community members and educating
them about the importance of clean drinking water and proper
sanitation has proven to be a much more effective and sustainable
model. The education at our meeting was very interactive, and we
ended the meeting with a hand-washing demonstration and song to the
tune of Row Row Row Your Boat
that went:
Wash, wash,
wash your hands after the latrine,
And before you
eat your food
Else you get
diarrhreaaaaaaaaaaaaa
An.Absolute.Hoot.
(But also very
exciting :))
What else. Let's
see, the overt Christianity here still never ceases to amaze me, as
it is everywhere. Who knew that people would be amazed that
businesses in the US are not all named after verses in the New
Testament, or that being Jewish is mutually exclusive of
Christianity, so therefore no,
I do not believe in Jesus (shocking). And yes, I have tried alcohol,
abstained from by most observant Christians here, and no I cannot
count how many times I have tried it (again, shocking). Yes,
drinking is socially acceptable. Yes, some people have sex before
marriage and that is considered common social behavior. Yes, women
go home with men from bars. No, they are not all prostitutes.
There's
nothing like a casual conversation with a Ghanaian to make you feel
guilty for coming from a seemingly amoral society where its future
leaders are preoccupied by drunken promiscuity.
Anyhow,
as I'm beginning to notice that this is turning from novel to
Tolstoyan in length, and its beginning to rain which typically
forecasts an impending power outage, so I think I'll wrap this up
with a few last highlights:
If
you read my email you saw that I got mugged. It sucked and the guys
pushed my friend, but having gone through it before, my seasoned
yelling skills scared them away and I got to keep most of my stuff.
I
went to visit Cape Coast and Elmina, two port towns that marked the
center of the African slave trade. The local Ashanti chiefs traded
most of the slaves to the triangle trade for guns and whiskey.
Three centuries of sad history and 12 million estimated to have been
shipped off to servitude. The holding dungeons at the castles were
eerie.
I
have become known as sports girl in my neighborhood from my morning jogs. People frequently come up to me and ask if I am said
sports girl. This is generally followed by high-fives.
Little
children like to give me high-fives and hugs just for being white.
Others like to ask me for things just for being white. I may add
that being white isn't totally understood by everyone, as I have had
to explain that I actually do become lighter if I do not spend time
in the sun. No I was not lucky enough to have a nice tan bestowed
upon me at birth. Yes, my skin can turn frighteningly white when
not under the African sun.
So
all in all, that it my life here. I'm sure there is more, but as I
mentioned I reckon the power will be outing itself fairly soon due to
a storm. Because yes, despite popular belief it is not always hot
and dry in Africa. And sometimes one may even find that he/she needs
a jacket.
Okay
fine, I have never needed a jacket in Accra. But just for the record I
did freeze my ass off a time or two in Southern Africa!
