Is this the way to Zakaliyili?

This week we visited the 3 communities we will be working with on this cohort – Pagazaa, Zobogu and Zakaliyili. Each of the communities has a group of PAGSUNG women who produce shea butter or shea soap to help generate income for their families. This is especially important in the dry season when there isn’t much farming to do. As you might be able to see from the below pictures, the land is quickly transforming into a greener and more viable farming landscape. The children are on spring break until Monday and then, those who can, will return to school while others will prepare the land with their communities, so they can harvest as much as they can in this ongoing yearly cycle.

Working here requires you to be flexible and adaptable so there was a slight hiccup when we arrived in the first community as they weren’t aware of our arrival so hadn’t gathered. However, news quickly spread and as we drove the 2km to the next community to drop off the second group, they were already placing benches under the meeting trees. The last community was a bit bare as most of the women were attending a funeral so wouldn’t be back until the evening. All the teams made the best of the situation and did the needs assessments with the people who were there, and we got some good data. We do needs assessments so the raising awareness sessions that we provide are what the community need instead of what we think they need. By the afternoon we had some good data and made some contacts to make future visits run smoother. Most of the communities don’t speak English (taught at school but not everyone attended, and it is normal that people will forget when it isn’t used regularly) so we rely heavily on our few Dagbani speakers (the local dialect) and will use non-formal education in our sessions.

We stopped at the last community for our volunteers to join in with Friday prayers at the mosque. Ramadan is starting in just over a week which will make things more challenging as they will fast from approximately 5am to 6pm. It is a shorter fasting period than the UK as it gets darker quicker here, but the days will still hard with the heat and the humidity.

A great achievement by my last cohort, a new signpost for the Sagnarigu PAGSUNG centre. Eventually, we hope the taxi stop will be called PAGSUNG junction. 

Zakaliyili mosque, most communities in Tamale have a mosque in them as religion is so important here. Even the rural communities prioritize funds for building them .

Why use your hands when you can use your head? Zakaliyili rely on income generated by selling the piles of firewood. 

No wonder open defecation is an issue when this is the only toilet for miles. It's unusual to even find this, it was attached to the mosque complex.

A standard housing complex for a family. Water is sparse here but some waste water can be used to throw against the dirt walls and smooth any cracks/strengthen them.

It's so fluffy ....

Park up your bike and chicken while you pray. Hope they remember it before they drive off.