Week 7: 7– 13 March
on Michelle Currie (Ghana), 09/Apr/2010 21:22, 34 days ago
This week was spent planning for the Global School Partnerships (GSP) workshop held on Thursday.The British Council’s Global School Partnerships programme links schools in the UK with schools in other parts of the world. The aim is to promote the awareness of global issues across the curriculum. Partner schools work together on developing joint projects based on five conceptual areas: social justice and equality; diversity; globalisation and interdependence; sustainability; peace and conflict.The Talensi-Nabdam GES Director, Francis Ayaaba, and the Director of Children’s and Young People’s Services in Milton Keynes, Gail Tolley, have agreed to develop a Local Authority wide partnership. In addition to the four MK-TN GSP clusters, there will also be a link to Walton High’s Leading Edge Partner School in Haverhill, Suffolk, with four of the Ghanaian schools being partnered with schools there.Feedback on the workshop was very positive, with a lot of excitement about the possibilities the partnership offers for the children and staff in both countries.Sirigu Art& Pottery CentreAt the weekend I visited the Art and Pottery Centre at a village called Sirigu close to the Burkina Faso border. The centre was set up a few years ago to create opportunities for local women to sell their art and craft work. Since then it has diversified and also offers good quality guesthouse accommodation and tours of local compound houses.This area of Ghana is famous for its beautifully painted houses. On the walls inside the Art Centre’s restaurant are some examples of the different designs used by local people to decorate their homes.All the materials used to create the patterns and images are natural and found locally.On the short walk to the compound home we were visiting, we came across women involved in activities that have not changed over the years. The girl below is pounding millet to separate out the seed from the husk. This is hard work in temperatures of well over 40 degrees. The millet us used to make T-Z, one of the staple local dishes.The woman below is stirring a large bowl of pounded ground nuts to extract the oil. The ground nuts are grown on the farm to make ground nut oil and paste for the family. Any surplus will be sold at the local market.In the north of Ghana you will pass many traditionally built compound homes. Visiting one of them gave a fascinating insight into many people’s lives in this part of Ghana.The different areas of the home are arranged around a courtyard. This is where the family cook and eat and where the laundry is done and hung out to dry. The large pot below is brewing the local alcoholic drink called Pito.There is also a manger area to keep the farm animals safe at night and a separate grain store which is accessed by a ladder made from the branch of a tree.We were invited into one of the rooms that surrounded the courtyard. It was beautifully decorated on the outside and was entered via a small opening. Our guide explained that in the past this was for defensive purposes as this area was regularly raided by slave traders. Any attackers entering the room would have to enter head first, making them very vulnerable to attack by the people taking refuge inside. In addition, entering a very dark room from the bright sunlight would also make them temporarily blinded as their eyes adjusted to the darkness. The entrance to this room is now larger than in the past, but you can still see how it would have been a useful defensive measure.Inside the room an old lady was busy grinding millet (and a few ants). Despite the temperature outside being well over 40 degrees the room was surprisingly cool.This room was also where the women of the family stored the special stacking pots that are given to them when they marry. Only the woman who owns the pot is allowed to look inside or remove any of its contents. Local people believe that something very unpleasant will happen to anyone who dares to look inside.Just opposite the Sirigu Art Centre is the best decorated public toilet block I have ever encountered.Unfortunately when we visited Sirigu Art Centre many people were not around as an important local supporter of the project had recently died and her funeral was that day. Attending funerals at the weekend appears to be almost a national pastime. I have heard more than one news report commenting on the negative impact funerals are having on the country (especially education) due to the number of working days that are lost. In this part if Ghana, and possibly elsewhere, burials and funerals are separate events with funerals taking place months or even years after a person has died and been buried. The delay allows the family to save for the funeral as they can be very expensive affairs that last several days. My taxi driver, Adams, is very critical of this practice and has often said that the same people who spend lavishly on funerals often say they cannot afford school uniforms or pens and pencils for their children to go to school.