FORTY DEGREES!!
This week we visited the 3 communities that we will be
focussing our project on. PAGSUNG has over 1,500 members spread out over the
Northern region of Ghana. We are the 3rd ICS cohort to work with
PAGSUNG and each one works with 3 new communities. The main focus of each group
is to train the women on how to make high quality shea butter (this will
improve their profits), raising awareness in the communities about important
issues such as sexual health and human rights and training select women to be
peer educators, so they can train the women in their community, overall making
the projects more sustainable.
On Tuesday, we all came to the office for 8am to be on the mini-bus
for 8.30am. However, as this country runs on GMT (Ghana Man Time), the bus
arrived at 9.15 am and we set off after having to run back to the office as we
forgot some things. It took about 45 minutes to reach the first one, Nwagu,
which involved 30 minutes of driving through the orange dust roads after leaving
the comfort of the tarmac far behind. We were greeted by a lively bunch of women
sitting under a tree and after introductions, the volunteers started on our
needs assessments. The same process was followed in Gupanarigu and Limo, then
it was back to the office after a job well done. The rest of the week involved
lots of planning for upcoming events and visiting a school to give a talk on teenage
pregnancy.
The last two days it has crept up to 40 degrees! I didn’t realise
it was possible to sweat so much when sat completely stationary. I am beginning
to find cold bucket washes a luxury rather than a necessity. I have spent the
weekend hiding from the sun and being mildly social whilst trying not to whine
constantly about losing precious water. There are only so many ways you can say
“Oh god it’s hot” before the conversation dries up as much as my skin is! I
miss the days of looking out the window in the morning and wondering what the
weather will be like …. spoiler alert .. in Ghana it’s hot with a 100% of
cloudless sunny skies.
The PAGSUNG women of Nwagu
Our "Chariot" and some of the community being interviewed. The patch of water on the left is run off from the toilet behind the wall, if not dealt with, it is a breeding ground for mosquitoes and disease.
Public Toilet in Limo (yes, I did use it)
The PAGSUNG women of Limo
A road between two housing complexes in Limo
This is what surrounds the villages for miles and miles before they reach town.
Greetings from Carlisle in the UK. If your memory serves you really, really well then you'll somehow conjure up an image of me! Your god father. Thom Lester. Your mum and dad will probably call me Tommy as they knew me when I was just about a teenager. Anyway. I've caught up with your dad and he sent me your link. I've just sent him a message to tell him that they have raised a decent human being with a good soul. I'm proud of what you're up to on your African journey. It's been a joy to read and I hope that you succeed in what you're striving for. Do take care. Your godfather Thom.
ReplyDeleteHi Thom, I pride myself on having a good memory however, I will admit even I have been defeated in trying to remember things from when I was teeny weeny. It doesn't matter though and they have talked about you over the years. It means so much to me that you not only took the time to read my blog but send me such a thoughtful and empowering message. Thanks for the well wishes and hope you enjoy future posts! Best wishes to you xx
Delete