Hairdressing!
on Emily Hopkins (Ghana), 27/Jul/2010 14:49, 34 days ago
This blog in entitled‘Hairdressing’ largely because I have spent the last 2 weeks out of Accra in the Eastern Region facilitating a residential training course for 22 deaf women from all over Ghana where their existing hairdressing skills have been polished by the equivalent of Ghana’s Toni&Guy to make them into skilled professionals who are able to charge good rates for quality hairdressing (but perhaps also because I have had a rather bad haircut!). I have been amazed how quickly these girls have perfected the styles taught to them and have learnt a lot about African hairdressing and hairstyles myself in the process. We’ve learnt braiding, twisting, weave on, corn roll, to mention just a few, we’ve been shampooing and relaxing hair with buckets of water carried on heads from wells and it has been great. The 12 day course included 2 days of small business training where myself and another VSO (ex finance director) taught basis accounts, marketing skills and customer service so the girls are a little more clued up about how they will make money at the end of the course when they go back to their home towns and villages. Each of the 22 participants have had their hair practiced on so they all have a new style to showcase and help promote their skills when they go home…even I have had my hair braided with extensions so they could practice on Obruni hair (White man hair)….the end result has left me looking like an egg and I will be removing it in the car on the way home so as not to offend any of the girls!! As I reflect on the 12 days I can say undoubtedly that it has been a success, but in the early stages there were many problems I had not anticipated and since being with the deaf for 12 days I have learnt plenty of new things!1) Medicine. I have been amazed at how many drugs these ladies have consumed over the 12 days, most have taken an Andrews before bed and many have complained that they need‘trycylicate’ which is apparently for ‘running stomach’. I guess I should have thought about this in advance as a trip to the doctor over here always results in a cocktail of drugs being administered and I have seen the rate my colleagues take drugs for the smallest ache or pain but I was surprised that they came to me for drugs, at home you would be expected to carry whatever you may need with you not come to the conference organizer if you need an immodium….in fact I think that would be the last person I would want to go to!!!2) Illness. In 12 days I visited hospital on 3 separate occasions, 2 suspected cases of Malaria and 1 pregnancy. Initially I was shocked by these trips but as the days went on I began to realize that medical care is expensive in Ghana but when you are away you are covered by the organizations money so I think a lot of them were waiting to go to the doctor!! Moreover as a deaf woman here in Ghana it is not everyday you have access to a Sign Language Interpreter to go to hospital with you…it wouldn’t surprise me if they were waiting to take advantage of that…who can blame them!!3) Food. The programme has attracted many young, beautiful deaf women most of whom have fantastic figures despite having multiple children. The rate these women can put away food is beyond me, a cooked breakfast, snack, lunch and dinner is often followed by left overs from the kitchen or a trip into town to buy Kelewelle (spicy fried plantain) is no problem for these girls and they are often complaining that they are hungry…I knew Ghanaians loved to eat but I guess I assumed these girls with the great figures exercised some sort of control!!!One thing I have been delighted by on this training programme which I hadn’t thought about before was the fact that it offered the average Ghanaian women some well earned rest and relaxation. I know I have mentioned before in previous blogs that the Ghanaian women works so hard and she never gets a break, food still needs to be cooked, babies cared for, floors swept, produce sold, clothes washed and the concept of vacation is along way off for all but the cream of society. But this programme gave 22 women from all over Ghana 12 days without cooking a meal, 12 days without attending to the daily chores and it also gave them the chance to socialize with other deaf women…something that is not an everyday occurrence for these girls. I know in my first few months in Ghana I craved female company, particularly that of young women similar to myself, how much more is it the case for these women?! I had the privilege of sharing a room with the female Sign LanguageInterpreter, Lydia, who is a great women and a lot of fun, in the interconnecting room was Patricia the Women’s Wing National President, I was amazed and encouraged to see that during the evenings women came to our room to seek advice on their marital problems, their challenges with business and education and a whole host of other issues. Young deaf women coming to a more established lady who imparted advice and acted as a role model….it was very encouraging and quite something….it made me realize the benefits of this project have been multiple.I guess another benefit to the programme has been the informal education of the 4 hairdressing trainers on deafness and deaf issues. The trainers are fantastic up beat, glamorous Ghanaian women who are very good at what they do and are very much the average man on the street. The way the trainers have interacted with the deaf has been amazing to see; they started a little wary but have finished so enthusiastic they are even trying to work without an interpreter, preferring to show the girls with their hands etc. They started by asking questions such as‘Do they have deaf people in other countries as well as Ghana’ and have finished understanding a little more about what it means to be deaf and how much a deaf person can do….I believe attitudes have been changed and as these hairdressers go back to Accra I hope they represent the rights of the deaf and disabled in their own community.The training programme closed with a ceremony where the women who looked stunning in traditional African attire were presented with certificates and encouraging comments were made, the district chief executive attended and promised to do more for the disabled in the region. The ceremony was followed by a photo session and a few drinks and nibbles Ghana style (fried gizzard on sticks and a bottle of fanta). A British donor has been identified to help these 22 women with start up costs so equipment such as hair dryer, shampoo, towels and wigs (an essential in African hairdressing!) and these will be distributed to the trained hairdressers so they can start working which is fantastic.I left the Eastern Region feeling satisfied that the programme had gone well and even got a well done from my boss (a real rarity!). I was so excited to come back to Accra, after 2 weeks away I was ready to come back, as we drove in to the bustling, busy, dusty, loud metropolis on Friday evening my heart beat with a sense of excitement– I was pleased to be back, after 10 months I felt this is my home, this is where I want to be.