Slum Survey of Accra -- A day in Yam Market

Banku and Okuru Stew at Chop Bar near the Office

Making Light Soup at the Chop Bar near the Office

Making Waakye near the Office

Making Fufu at the Chop Bar near the Office

A Photo Update

I've been sick the past couple of days -- feeling better now -- but as a consequence, I haven't done my typical weekend blog update and instead have completely vegged out and burned through almost the entire first season of Heros on DVD while intermittently napping. Now I'm trying to catch up on some work.

Because I've been negligent in posting lately, here are some photos to wet some appetites until I have a chance to write more:

Laundry Day: I wash my laundry by hand once a week. Typically, I start early in the morning and it is sunny out and by the time I've finished soaking and scrubbing it's thundering and my clothes get a free rinse cycle on the line.

On the note of clothes, I've had some clothes made for me by a seamstress near my office at work. This is Linda who sews the clothes with her partner, and these are 2 of my outfits:

Another Cooking Expedition: This time it was banku with fried fish and tomato salsa. I have to admit, this is probably my least favorite Ghanaian dish. Actually, it is my least favorite dish. Unfortunately, it's what the area I am living in likes to eat the most. Adoza, a friend of James' who stayed with us for 2 weeks (in the yellow shirt) enjoyed this dish and this meal was his inspiration.

Banku is a dough made from Cassava and Plantain flours, some of which are fermented. You mix with water and cook on the stove stirring and beating until it thickens. Then you keep stirring it. Eventually, when it's super-thick, you form it into balls and eat them with a sauce using your fingers.

Barack Obama, pt 1

Barack Obama arrives on Friday, July 10th for his first "official" visit to Africa. While Obama was in Egypt just last month, the United States does not consider Egypt to be politically part of Africa rather considers it to be the Middle East. So while Africans are a little confused, officially, this is the first African visit. Everyone in Ghana is quite excited to host another American President. People still talk about when Bill Clinton visited Ghana in 1998 (picture).

Over the past several weeks an increasing number of posters featuring Barack Obama, Michelle Obama and Ghanaian president John Atta Mills have appeared in public places throughout Accra. The picture shown here was taken infront of Independence Square, a large outdoor ampitheater, in downtown Accra.

This radio announcement has been playing for the past couple of weeks on every major radio station:

"First black president of the United States of America, you have become a shining star, and despite the height of your achievement you are still proud to be called a black man. Barack Obama is coming home. He is coming to Ghana, Gold Coast, the center of the world."

This is quite a popular song as well:
Barack Obama reggae by a Ghanaian radio personality, Blakk Rasta:
Video

Lyrics:

Intro
Yao! Rasta, unu hear sey some blackman say im waan turn American president?
Im think sey, dem a go skin up dem teeth and watch im?

Chorus
Mama mama
Com mek wi talk o
Com mek wi talk about Barack Obama
Papa! Papa!
Com make wi talk o
Com make wi talk about Barack Obama
Barack Barack, Barack Obama (2x)

Stanza (verse) 1
Originally steping out-a Kenya Africa
Adopted into the cold woodlands of America
Trust me Iyah,
Dem youth defy every order an' turn senator
Rat-Rat-Rat-Rat!
De gunshot of hate continue fi echo in-a every corner
How com blackman become president in a money-mecca?
Barack beware! Barack beware! Barack beware!
before dem turn ya name into Barack Osama
In a dis ya time,judgement a com without waata
For legalising abortion in a america,a-fyah! fyah!

Repeat Chorus

Stanza (verse) 2
9-11 was de beginning of satan endtime
Baptising black americans in a bitter juice of lime
Making sure no black man in a america will see his prime
In a dis ya time a black american president a great sign
Too long dem disrespect blacks and africans combined
pon black peoples flesh and blood,de kuklax clan love fi dine
Watch out Barack Obama and intensify ya power turbine
Or else breddren Obama,your dark days will never sublime

Chorus

Singing verse
Precious sheep grazing in their territory
(brother Barack watch out)
Some don't love you
They only faking it
(brother Barack watch out)
Many righteous ones been sacrificed by this very same system
As you keep the fire burning,black president

Stanza (verse) 3
Yahman! yahman! yahman!
"God bless america" the idiot bwoy always say
When de bombs and weapons fly over innocent people head
Oh Obama,me neva hear you talk 'bout africa yet
Or is it a nice way of swerving dem in a ya capaign?
Mr Obama,bring dis poly-tricks money to africa andkeep de poverty at bay
Too long black people keep nyaming up horse hay
Wake up Obama and don't join de band wagon of de gay
Beware Obama!Watch out Obama!Look around you
the people dem show you nuff smile
but dis smile dem a fake! fake! fake! fake smile dem!
Watch out Obama,a-fake!

Rain

Teshie is flooded this morning. It rained all night last night and is still raining now. The drainage system is completely over burdened and there are rivers more or less running over the roads. We tried to go to work, but it seems as if no one is travelling at the moment. The radio says that this is the "tip of the iceberg" and that we should expect to get more rain during the day today.

I'm working from home this morning, and I hope that travel conditions improve enough to make it into town for a meeting this afternoon. I now have a much greater appreciation for why it is schools close down when it rains; it is dangerous! While I'm sure the dedicated few are trying to travel, I can't help but think about the back roads we take on the tro-tros, how much flooding there is just after a normal rainstorm, and how bad they must be this morning. I can't imagine many of them are passable via the normal routes.

I'm hoping the flooding isn't too bad elsewhere and that the damage is kept to a minimum. A few weeks ago there were heavy rains and floods in Kaneshie (another part of Accra) that killed several people and caused millions of cedis worth of damage [news article]. It isn't that the rains are so great, rather it is because the drainage systems are so poorly maintained that these problems arise and are of such a great magnitude. Refuse and human wastes are routinely dumped into drainage systems in parts of Accra and with the rains silt, soil, rocks, and clay are washed into the ditches gradually clogging the system. Problems with the drainage systems and misuse of drainage systems are responsible for ourbreaks of cholera and malaria in Accra.

With that said, off to work with me. And, for good measure, I'll join the little kid behind our house in his singing: "Rain, rain, go away, come again another day!"

Just Another Monday

Left the office at 3:10 pm. Walked through the house door at 5:28 pm. 45 minutes of this time was spent waiting for a shared taxi (an experiment not to be repeated), the remaining 1 hour 33 minutes were spent in the luxury of a drop taxi which was, if I may say so, well worth the additional money.

Observations along the way:

Aptly named, Beach Road is the single road that connects Accra and Teshie by running along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. While the view of the ocean is amazing – the ocean itself is not more than 100 yards from the road at several points – there are many other sights, smells and sounds to be experienced along this road. There is much time to witness your senses on Beach Road as this road is notorious for its traffic caused both by the poor condition of the asphalt and by the intention to widen the road which has turned the 4 lane road into 2 lanes, one going east and one going west with no evidence of any progress on the expansion.

Smells: First, you’ll notice the smell of petro. Unlike the clean, relatively odorless burning of gasoline in the states, cars here emit a heavy, bitter stench that fills your nose, lungs and dries out your eyes. While you begin to ignore the scent after some time, every so often you’ll get a whiff so strong it brings you back to awareness. Then there is the burning of trash. The closer the road draws to the ocean the scent of the sea you expect is replaced by the stench of burning trash on the beach. More pleasantly, depending on the time of day, if you’re lucky, as you go through the townships you’ll smell grilled corn, plantains and meats.

Sounds: There is the music from your tro-tro or cab advancing from one song to the next, taunting your vehicle which must oblige the much slower and mundane beat of traffic. On Beach Road I have heard everything from rap songs about cybersex to reggae welcoming Barack Obama. And if your vehicle has opted out of musical entertainment (perhaps it has no dashboard upon which to mount a radio…), you’ll be fortunate if your car stops near to but not directly in front of the pickup truck that has been re-fitted with a cage and speaker stacks and blares music. It parks every day in the same spot, and if you happen to enjoy the music, there are plenty of young men eager to sell you a copy of that CD or any other CD you might desire.

Shopping: Not only can you buy CDs on Beach Road, you could nearly do your grocery shopping! In the late morning, a giant truck pulls up loaded with men and women and their wares and during the day the spread out over a 1-2 mile stretch of the road waiting for the traffic to grow denser. Once the traffic is stop and go, they walk in between and on either side of the lanes of cars up and down the street carrying their goods on their heads, in their hands, or, in the case of the “fan products” (read: icecream) man, pulling them behind you on a bicycle. There is a consistent and interesting gender segregation in who sells what products, and the breakdown looks something like the following:

MEN
- Apples
- Fan products (icecream in little sachets)
- Windshield wipers
- Toilet Paper
- Steering wheel covers
- Yogurt drinks
- Magazines
- Belts
- Stuffed animals and miniature flags
- Cloth
- CDs and DVDs
- Rolls and Bread
- Toy trucks and other odd, plastic toys

WOMEN
- Donuts
- Cookies
- Crackers
- Chewing sticks (used by some in lieu of toothpaste and brush)
- Umbrellas
- Plantain Chips
- Nuts
- Fried dough balls (carried in a clear, glass box on their heads)
- Limes
- Bananas

MEN & WOMEN
- Grapes
- Phone credits
- Water sachets
- Chocolate
- Miscellaneous bath supplies and home products

The drive itself has the chaos of a bumper car driving rink only with drivers who have no desire to hit other drivers, just to cut them off. Cars will try zooming around off of the paved road through hazards to advance through the traffic, and motorbikes will ride in between two lanes of cars where the street sellers stand. They come rushing forward beeping their horns constantly as if to shout “I AM HERE… I AM HERE…” It’s a fairly chaotic ride with really 2 distinct speeds: stop and GoGoGoGoGO!! More often than I or any government official knows, cabs get into fender benders. It is required that you have insurance on your vehicle, but because the police are so unreliable in their response time and because the burden falls 100% on the driver to make sure the incident is properly handled by both the police and the offenders insurance company, most accidents are never reported. It simply takes too much time to handle which equates to loss of income, which most cab drivers can’t afford.

While there are a wide variety of cars on the road, quite ubiquitous are Toyotas, Suzukis, BMWs, Tatas, and Ford vans. The cabs themselves are all uniform in color and comprise about half of the traffic on the road. On their back windshields they often have stickers reading things like “Blessing,” “Believers,” “BigSo,” “Whatever,” “Think Big,” and “LeTs.” The tro-tros more often have big sticker-pictures on their back windows. Some common stickers are pictures of a basketball and hoop and an eagle swooping down to grab his prey.

After passing through the strip of truly stop and go traffic during which time to the right of the road is the ocean and to the left the Ghana military academy and training school, you enter the township of Teshie. Here the sights change quite a bit depending on the time of day. In the afternoon, children are all walking home from school. Those who attend state schools wear brown bottoms and orange tops. Those attending private schools have a variety of uniforms. It was recently mandated in Ghana that children must attend school until the age of 16. Overwhelmingly this appears to be the case, but there is no enforcement of this policy and so much truancy exists.

In the township, goats and chickens roam the streets. This time of year, both goats and chickens have babies following them around. Children are sweeping the ground outside of little shops with bundles of sticks made into a short broom. Women nurse their babies and begin to prepare dinner either for their families or for selling by candle light on the street. If it has recently rained, you will find young boys in the drainage system shoveling out silt and sludge carried into the drains by the recent storm. One look at either side of the concrete ditch tells you this is a futile exercise as all it takes is 10 minutes of rain to undo all of their work.

Another common sight as you drive is men peeing. There are a few public toilets, and some homes have their own toilets, but there appears to be a “pee-freely” policy in place such that on nearly any wall or in any corner you might just happen to see a man taking care of business. I think women are a bit more discreet about their process, but children have no shame what so ever and will drop their trousers on the street or over a drainage ditch to do what they need.

Shops here are typically a free-standing 10 x 10 corrugated steel box that, when closed, has no windows. These are often put up on rocks to let the water run beneath them. Companies provide paint and some payment to shop owners willing to paint their stores in the company color and put the company’s logo on the building. Because of this, the streets are dotted and at times lined with these box stores painted in red and white (Vodafone) or hot pink and turquoise (Zain, another cellular provider). The signs for stores often have pictures of the foods or services they are selling out front. These boxes contain hairdressers, convenience stores, pharmacies, seamstresses, and other trinket sellers.

Turning off the main road and into my neighborhood, a suburb of Accra that was laid out some years ago in the fashion of a grid, the density of shops and sellers declines, but shops do not disappear as they would in a residential community in the US. If there are zoning ordinances that dictate where food and other sundries can be sold, I haven’t yet discovered a rhyme or reason to its issuance. Every now and then you’ll find a box store or other venue with red spray paint “REMOVE BY XX/XX/XX BY AMA” meaning the Accra Metropolitan Authority dictates you cannot have your stall there. However, more often than not, the stores are still operating despite the paint, or they are simply closed up but still standing.

Finally, 2 hours and 18 minutes after leaving work, I step out of a shared taxi, walk a block home, and collapse exhausted from the journey!

(pictures to follow)

Holiday Time

July 1^st is a holiday here in Ghana; it is Republic Day. While no one has been able to explain the significance of Republic Day, what it means practically is that most people did not work today. Sam and I also decided to take a holiday, telling ourselves: “When in Rome… “ I could not be more pleased by the results of my holiday had I planned them in advance!

Late Tuesday night a caravan arrived in our compound from the North of Ghana carrying with it a Scottish pharmacist and founder of Let Us Shine School for Girls (Fiona), a doctor (Mary), a teacher (Nell), and a journalist (Hannah) all of whom volunteered at Let Us Shine this past month. Two students from the school, Mercia and Naomi, ages 15 and 14 respectively, travelled to Accra with the volunteers in order to visit an eye clinic in the city. Mercia needs glasses and Naomi was beaten as a child and, as a result, is blind in one eye (truthfully, she was caned so badly the eye popped out and was put back in place by a witch doctor…); Fiona is hoping there may be something that can be done to restore the girl’s sight.

We were expecting the return of this group, some of whom left for the school just shortly after Sam and I arrived in Ghana. Fiona is how we came to find the house in which we live – she is married to a Ghanaian, Mawena, who has twin brothers (James and John) who run a volunteer company and have spare rooms to let in their house. We found out about the rooms because Fiona is from the same small town in Scotland that our Bulgarian supervisor’s Scottish boyfriend is from… it’s a small world! To the point, Fiona and Mawena have been in Ghana for 2 weeks and are heading back to Scotland with the volunteers tonight.

I started my holiday off by preparing breakfast for all the newcomers (and the regulars to the house—there is always someone dropping by to say hello or to sleep on the couch for a night). Fiona, Mary, Nell, Hannah and the girls were famished because the journey from the north took much longer than had been anticipated, and no one had eaten the night before. We had a feast of wheat toast, hard-boiled eggs, watermelon, jam and groundnut paste (peanut butter). It was delightful, deeply appreciated, and enjoyed by all. I guess I do have some good old Midwestern blood in me if I can’t stand the thought of more than 4 people in a room without there being food!

The two girls, Mercia and Naomi have never left their village before this trip. Before coming to Accra they had never seen water coming from a pipe, a flush toilet, a ceiling fan, or slept in a house with electricity. They are quite shy, and I can only imagine they are quite overwhelmed by all of the new people and by all of the new things they are surrounded by. Coming to Accra was a shock for me; I can’t imagine what kind of a shock it is for them. But they have beautiful smiles and incredibly sweet dispositions.

The girls were awake before even I was and the first question they asked was where the brooms were to sweep the compound. They insisted on sweeping and after breakfast insisted on cleaning dishes. They put me to shame, that is for sure! After cleaning, we finally were able to pry them away to take them into town to go to a craft market for the volunteers to do some last minute bartering and shopping before heading home in the evening. They got a proper taste of Accra traffic on the way to the market. Because of the holiday and because of the sunny weather, it seemed as if all of Accra flocked to the ocean, and unfortunately, the road between Teshie and downtown Accra runs right beside the ocean… It took quite a while to make it down the road. Our taxi driver was a lunatic as well. After he backed his cab into another cab and lost his bumper in the process we tossed him a couple of cedis, got out, and walked along the road until the traffic got better and we could pick up a less ridiculous driver.

The craft market was fun, though it is still taking me some time to adjust to the system of bartering here. It’s half a game between you and the shop keeper to see how close to your ideal price you can get, and I’m convinced the other half of the game, when your white, is played by the shop keeper with himself or his friends to see how ridiculous of a price he can get away with asking for his item. It’s a draining process to shop when this is the case, and it’s easy to quickly lose patience and tolerance. Ghanaians, however, even the really pushy ones trying to force a sale on you, are some of the nicest people I have ever known, and though the bartering process is uncomfortable, it is not entirely unpleasant.

The real excitement of the day, however, came when, on the way back from the craft market, we stopped at the La Palm Beach Resort and paid 10 cedis a person in order for the girls to go swimming. They absolutely loved it. The Resort is a five star resort in Accra and is beyond amazing. I was gawking at how nice everything was; I’m ‘sure the girls think we are princesses living in the ultimate luxury here! At the La Palm I got to show the girls the ocean for the very first time in their lives. Mercia spent many minutes just glued to the fence between the hotel and the beach watching the horizon. They also tried their first ice cream (not big fans of chocolate!), chips (the British kind), and chicken sandwiches, all of which they enjoyed.

The biggest, and the best first impression smile I got out of the girls was back at the house after swimming when they saw a train for the first time. Behind our house there is a raised train track (20 feet or so above the house on an earthen mound like a levee), and every day around 6:30 am and 6:30 pm a train runs on the track. From our kitchen window you can watch the train go by. Upon hearing the train we had both girls come to the window and watch. Even after the distinctive train whistle began blowing they had no idea what was about to come. When the train finally did come to pass at dusk Naomi’s jaw just dropped nearly to her chest and her big, bright eyes watched the train’s every move. Once the train had passed (Naomi’s jaw still at her chest), the girls still did not know what it was. Their first guess was that it was an airplane. When we told them about the train they were just so keenly interested. They are superb listeners.

Spending my holiday watching a series of first impressions being made on young girls was far and away the best way imaginable to spend one’s first holiday in Ghana.