Our last week in Wa
on VSO in Ghana (Ghana), 22/Mar/2010 00:00, 34 days ago
The week started with one of our more challenging moments! Our laptop crashed. The Norton Anitvirus would not upload and the operating system failed. We did not know if it was a hardware failure or virus issue. We felt totally useless, but along came Cam on his white charger– (motorbike). The whole laptop was put through numerous tests and most importantly all our data was rescued onto a memory stick. The sense of relief was immense. We had just completed all the final documentation for VSO and thought it was lost. To do it again in our last few days would have beenan immense challenge. The rescue work was done at a workshop where Cam was teaching local people to dismantle and rebuild computers with new or improved components – thanks to donations from the UK.On Tuesday night it was our bean burger feast, with 7 of us eating. Cam, who has had several meals with us, awarded Linda a certificate for her“culinary skills with 8 basic ingredients”.On Wednesday morning, we were visited by Faustina and her son, Bonga.Faustina is one of the most impressive teachers with whom we have worked. She brought us gifts of fabric to make some Ghanaian clothing to wear back in the UK. While she was with us, she gave us a lesson on how“Ghanaian women back their babies”. We just love the way Ghanaian women carry their babies on their backs; the babies always seem so contented.On Wednesday afternoon we undertook another new and different Ghanaian experience– a football match. The Wa Allstars football team has two international players and the team is in the top flight of the Ghanaian premier division. Their ground is very underdeveloped, and the match was played before less than 1000 people. It was a very fast match, with impressive skills and judgement from the whole team. Wa won 3 to 1, playing against a team from Sekondi, which is in the south of the country. As the third goal went in, the local crowd was well pleased.Thursday saw the farewells from our GES colleagues. We all sat under a mango tree at a local spot, within the Wa parade ground. In true Ghanaian style, the event was conducted in a very formal manner. There was a master of ceremonies and an agenda, with one speech after another.We were presented with numerous sets of Ghanaian clothes, and it really was a great occasion.In Haydn’s speech, he gave colleagues a new acronym – as acronyms abound in this country.Generous, Hospitable, Advancing, Nation of AfricaAs a result of all the gifts we received, we had to buy something else on Saturday!Every single leaving gift is really special, including the bag of mangoes given to us by our local shopkeeper, Memuna, and the 2 bottles of water given to us by our taxi-driver friend, Ecowas.We are actually typing this blog entry, as we head towards Accra on the bus– no breakdowns so far. This could be a first. We’ve just had a 15 minute break for food etc, and the bus is actually going again!We are reflecting on the amazing experience we have had in Wa - the life changing opportunity given to us by the people of Ghana, by VSO and by all those in the UK who have supported us. Without the support of our families, friends, colleagues and neighbours we could not have left our two foster sons or our house in London for 6 months. We look forward to seeing you all again soon.Family members have raised money, cajoled donations of computer parts, negotiated prices of scissors, rulers, pens and such like, parcelled them and despatched them. All this has enhanced the contribution we have been able to make in Wa.We have made some wonderful friends amongst VSO volunteers and local people, most of whom we shall never see again. Many of the local people dream about travelling to Europe, but the cost of the airfare is prohibitive.We will definitely miss all the local children. Every morning they greeted us as we cycled to work. The daily refrain from the children will stay with us forever:“Nansarla, how are you? We are fine. Thank you.” We shall miss their bright eyes, their keen interest in things and their enormous desire to learn, to better themselves, and thus gain the ability to support their families. We reflect on the lost opportunities, simply because children have to collect water, have very little to eat, lose parents, have to prepare food daily for a whole family etc. etc.. If they had been born elsewhere in the world, how different their lives could have been. The singing, the playing of games, the laughter of the local children will definitely stay with us.We will miss all our wonderful neighbours, who were always willing to help out if we needed advice or support. Their warm hospitality has been absolutely wonderful. We will also miss the local shopkeepers, with their cheery‘ansoma’ (good morning) every day as we cycled to work, as well as their delight when we spent even a few pence in their shops.Our work colleagues, both within the Education offices and in the schools, have been a true inspiration. They have always been open to new learning. They are also fiercely proud of their achievements to date. They have a strong desire to contribute to the development of the young nation of Ghana, and they are willing to make sacrifices, so that the whole community can better itself and support its children in gaining a decent education. The energy and enthusiasm of the people with whom we have worked will go with us forever and we wish them all every success for the future. We intend to support them in any way we can from the UK.There is nowhere in the world that we have ever found to be so welcoming to‘rich white people’, and where there is no expectation that we will give money. On the contrary, there is a generosity that seems to know no bounds. In the middle of the harsh dry season when food and water are short, people are still willing to share their meagre supplies.Tomorrow (Monday), we head off to Togo and Benin, and we are really looking forward to a rest!We’ll finish this entry with an interesting statistic about Ghana:The Christmas bonuses given to employees of the US firm Goldman Sachs were, in 2009, greater than the Gross Domestic Product of Ghana. (GDP is the value of everything– goods and services – produced in a country during the year. It is one of the best indicators of standard of living.) Does this mean Goldman Sachs employees enjoy a higher standard of living over the Christmas holidays than the entire Ghanaian nation enjoys over the whole year?!