The Power of Hope

There are moments that take your breath away, like when you’re on the peak of Whistler Mountain and you gaze at the beauty (snow) that your surrounded with. There are moments that will be vividly engraved in your memory, like when I was outside Scotia Bank Place watching on the big screen my idol Daniel Alfredsson score that gorgeous, oh so gorgeous, game-winning goal against the Buffalo Sabers in game 5 resulting in the Ottawa Senators clinching a spot in the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time. And then there are moments, where every day you learn from your surroundings, appreciate everything that you have, and fill your chapter with new perspectives that you will forever cherish. These are a collection of the moments in Ghana that will always stay with me.

That gratifying moment when I do a classic Adam clumsy by either tripping into an open gutter at night or bumping my head while getting out of a trotro.  Yet the immediate and concerning words of  “I’m sorry” by my neighbours replaces that 3.33 second of embarrassment with a smile.

That exciting moment when you’re walking down the street and the storekeeper who you buy your morning bananas and groundnuts from says, “Obruni, Mr. Adams come pound fufu for me.”- Side note, pounding fufu (crushing cassava/yam/plantain) is a fun workout.

That everyday moment when you’re called an “Obruni” (foreigner) on average of 62 times a day.  The record number of times I have been called Obruni in 1 day was 86 (yes I did keep count).

That #win moment when your mental productivity and state of peace is at its highest peak when you are squeezed in a trotro that that speeds on a dirt road causing extreme bumpiness. Riding on a trotro is like playing Mario Kart. The goal is to dodge as many bananas (pot holes) as you can. Trust me, it’s not that easy.

That initial awkward moment when men, women and children that you have never met before know your name and say,“Hello Mr. Adams.” Side note: The day after I watched Skyfall, someone asked me my name and I may have ‘accidentally’ said  that my name is Mr. Bond, James Bond. Every now and then I’ll hear someone call, “ehh Mr. Bonds.” When you’re one of the few Obrunis in Twifo Praso, your name will travel… fast!

The highlight of my day when I see Mahmesi (Daniels Niece) say “haaaaaai” to me while waving her hand. Side note: The first time I had dinner with Daniels family, Mahmesi stared at me and then instantly started to cry for 10 minutes straight. Maybe it was the beard or maybe I’m the first Obruni she’s seen. Her mother then picked her up and sang until she stopped crying. She then looked at me again and started to cry again and again. I tried making funny faces and waving my hand and saying hi.. I even started talking in Twi. Nothing worked .The next day she saw me, we had an eye staring contest which lasted for about 10 seconds. She then jumped up with a smile and said “haaaaaai” while waving her right hand. Since then, every time I see her, and only to me, she’ll just smile and say hi. Precious.

That beautiful moment when a family graciously welcomes and invites you to their family dinner and doesn’t expect anything in return except for a friendship.  As long as they have enough for themselves, they will have more than enough to give. Side note: In Twifo Praso I usually eat dinner with Daniel’s family every evening. I’m learning how fufu, gari, rice balls and all those delicious local dishes are made. 

That humbling moment when someone looks in your eyes and says “God Bless You”

That faithful moment when every meeting always begins and ends with a prayer.

That moment when you spend 2 hours hand washing your clothes only for there to be a thunderstorm in the evening and as you run like a crazy maniac in hopes of saving your clothes before they get drenched and soaked you yell, “common rain, give me a 5 minute rain break please? I’ll do the reverse version of the rain dance if you want!” This has happened about 4 times and counting so far.

That moment when you are playing with children and it occurs to you that beyond our diversities of different languages, religions, and customs, we are really are not that different, we really aren’t. 

That living in the moment when it rains and pours like crazy and instead of finding shelter you follow the kids and just jump in a puddle of water, get your clothes dirty, and live.

That precious moment when a mother removes the blanket and child from her back, and as she gently brings her child near her heart she makes funny faces just to see that priceless smile and laughter.    

 That OH MY GOODNESS moment when you realize that Ghanaians say “Eh” more often than Canadians.
Canadian Eh: “That was a good movie, Eh?”
Ghanaian Eh: “EH! 4 cedis is way too much!”

That learning curve moment when you find out that your habit of fast paced walking can be seen as rude and impolite. Lesson learned, habit changed.

That memorable moment when you get the opportunity to witness elections in Ghana. Starting with the campaigning, leading up to elections, and ending off with a regular peaceful election day.

That musical moment when “Chop my money” is your new jam for 2012/2013 and you will sing the lyrics enthusiastically and Azontu to it on demand. If you haven’t listened to Chop my money or any music by Sarkodie or 4X4, you are missing out!

That moment when you are lost and when you ask for directions the answer that you ALWAYS receive is: “go straight.”

 That moment you realize how wonderful of a sport football (soccer) is. I bleed red, take a guess? MUFC

That thankful moment when even when you’re not having the best day, you can always count on people in Praso to put a smile on your face. Their simplicity reminds you to keep hope and faith at all times

 That comedic moment where you hear the Adam and Eve joke every other day. Usually goes like this: Person: “Your name is Adam? Where is Eve?” Me: “Hahahah, I haven’t found Eve yet.” Person: “I’ll find you Eve soon” .…..7 days later I get married off. (That was a joke, I’m not married yet…)

That exciting moment when you try to start a small informal business with your friends. Blog post on that coming soon…

That unfortunate moment when my fear of spiders is diminished and replaced with 2 blind mice that devoured my precious chocolate chip cookies in my room and never fail to bring anxiety as I attempt to sleep

That moment when an average internet speed of 60kbps means that you have to actually close all of your tabs or else it will take hours for Google to load….It pains          me but it must be done!

That frustrating moment when you see an 8 year old girl who should be in school but is selling pure water on the streets because that daily income of 1.50 cedis (75 cents) is seen as more important in the short-term than an education. Same goes for when I see children walking back home from school during the day time because their teacher sacked them.

That moment when you do the “there is light dance” when the lights in your room actually turn on. Side note: Even when there is power that doesn’t mean that the light in my room turns on. If I switch on my light exactly after 5pm, it just doesn’t turn on. Apparently it’s because there is a reduction in voltage after then….if only I was an electrical engineer.

The never a dull moment when a police officer gets your undivided attention when he says “our only option is to detain and arrest you” (long story short I’m okay and its nothing to worry about)

That disappointing moment when you witness corruption, bureaucracy and complete inefficiency first hand and you wish that you could just change everything. That frustration is followed with a small deep breath where you realize that change can happen at incremental steps

That “lifelong lesson” moment when you understand that no one in this world needs “saving”, we just need humanity. Use both your ears to listen, your voice to give your input, and open your heart to build connections.

That critical moment when you understand that poverty is a state of mind. Problems may exist but untapped opportunities also exist.Find the untapped opportunities and do something about it.

That moment when you fall in love with a small rural district, Twifo Praso, and everything about it is so peaceful that it gives you purpose. 

Just a heads up, this is a pretty long blog post but if you’re interested to learn about the education system in Ghana then I am sure you will find this interesting- read away!

Education is one of the main pillars for human development and it is human development that triggers national development. You may say in a sarcastic tone, “well thanks Adam for that groundbreaking insight,” but it’s true.

There are several of reasons why having access to a good quality educations at all levels (basic, secondary and tertiary) is essential. To name a few, education allows students to further develop their skills, it provides them with knowledge, it builds their capacity and voice, and it has a ripple effect where kids are learning in schools instead of on the streets. Essentially a quality education prepares students for a better future and for some individuals it is their ticket out of poverty. Students who are in primary, secondary and tertiary school are the future leaders of Ghana. Nelson Mandela once said that “education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” So why not prepare the future leaders of this country with the most powerful tool that will equip them to tackle the issues that they face?

Education is a right and the constitution of Ghana recognizes the important role of education by stating under article 25.1(a) that “basic education shall be free, compulsory and available to all.” Article 17 states that “all persons are equal before the law. Gender, race, colour, ethnic origin, religion or creed, social or economic status are outlined as grounds for non-discrimination.”

Ghana is one of the few African countries in a position to accomplish the education Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Sounds awesome right? But does a policy that aims for every child to attend primary school mean that children are benefiting from a quality education?  For instance even though a child may attend a school, that doesn’t mean that the school is equipped with teachers, textbooks, chalk boards, washrooms, and desks (yes this does happen). The Government of Ghana insists that it is committed to provide quality education to its citizens and thus spends 25% of its national budget in the education sector. Is this money going towards building schools with proper infrastructure, paying teachers salary, subsidizing textbooks and school uniforms, and covering the costs of basic education? What is the breakdown of the education system? The following are some of the current issues that students face in the educational system:

Read More…

The past couple of weeks have felt like a waiting game. As many of you know, part of my mandate with ARE is to work on their Health, Education, Awareness and Literacy (HEAL) project in Twifo Praso, Central Region. I found out on my first day of work that my stay in Accra would be for less than a month and then I would move to Twifo Praso for the remainder of my placement. Originally I was supposed to leave Accra on October 11^th, then October 13^th, then back to October 11^th, and now finally the date is set to today- October 20^th. Due to funding delays, my arrival to Twifo Praso was postponed. But the day has finally arrived where I will have all my bags packed (hopefully) and move to yet another town in this beautiful country.

During my stay in Accra, I have asked many people if they have heard of Twifo Praso and what it’s like. Most people that I have talked to have never heard or visited this district but those who have say that it’s a beautiful small rural town and that I will enjoy it. The only information I could gather was from Wikipedia which said, “Twifu Praso is a small town in south central Akanland, and is the capital of Twifo/Heman/Lower Denkyira district in the the Central Region of Akanland.”

The idea of moving to Twifo Praso comes with a bunch of emotions. I’ll be living in a new environment, meeting new friends, and learning how to navigate myself around a smaller town. The most important thing about me moving to Twifo Praso is that I will get the opportunity to work directly with ARE’s beneficiaries by doing fieldwork on their HIV/AIDS project. After all, you can’t intern with an organization that has the word ‘rural’ in its name if you’re based in the capital city.

My 5+ week stay in Accra has been wonderful. I’ve met lots of great people, explored the city and couldn’t have asked for a better start to my placement. I’ve learned a great deal and I’ve had the opportunity to attend several conferences and meetings pertained to education policy in Ghana. It’s going to be different not walking up at 5:30am everyday because of chapel music and birds chirping, not taking the trotro to my workplace, not buying bananas and groundnuts from Debra at atomic junction, not visiting Juliet’s Adom Fashion and listening to her stories, not dropping by the University of Ghana’s campus, not being stuck in mad chaos and traffic, not jumping on a trotro for a random day trip adventure, not eating the perfect kebabs near my home, and not sitting down and talking with my host brother and sister. Indeed life will be different but Accra will always have a spot in my heart.  This is not to say that this will be my last time in Accra. I’ll visit the friends that I have met in Accra on weekends but it will be a different feeling not living in the chaotic capital city that I grew to love.  For now I’m ready and excited to embrace what Twifo Praso has to offer.

That is all for now. I guess something’s don’t change… like me still doing last minute packing on the day that I move out.

This is a story about how I met a strong hearted and hard working entrepreneur. After my first day of work last week, I was walking down the street and I came across a small little shop with a sign that said “Adom Fashion.” I paused, chuckled, and in a matter of 5 seconds I took out my camera, snapped a picture, and then put my camera back in my bag. I continued to walk until I heard 3 teenagers yell, “hello, hello, our mama would like to see you.”  Surprised that someone saw me snap a picture, I bravely walked towards the small shop hoping that I would not get in any trouble. As I walked inside, I was greeted by an elderly woman named Juliet. She started a conversation with me in Twi and I tried my best to respond back in Twi. After she noticed that I only knew some phrases in Twi, she started to speak to me in English and said that she noticed I was taking a picture of her shop. I responded by saying that my name is Adam and that I really liked the name of her enterprise so I took a picture of it so that I could remember it. She then laughed, nodded her head and then greeted me farewell. After my first encounter with Juliet, I was uncertain whether or not I offended her, but to this day I’m glad that I took that picture because it sparked a start to a wonderful friendship.

Since my first encounter with Juliet, I have made it a ritual to stop by her sewing enterprise every day before or after work. Some days I exchange snacks with her and if I visit her during lunch, she kindly insist that I sit down and eat with her. We usually exchange stories and discuss a new topic every day. Last week she said that I was her son in Ghana and that put a big smile on my face. On Monday I asked her how business was doing at Adom Fashion. She said that it’s good but if she had more money she would expand it so that she could have more space. I then responded by asking her what she would do with more space. She said that if she had a bigger store, she could display clothing products and customers could look inside and see them. While she was talking, I was starting to understand the obstacle that she was faced with and realized that this was an opportunity to do something about it. A number of ideas of how to help her enterprise came to mind. One idea that I had was, what if Juliet had an Adom Fasion website that showcased pictures of clothing products that she has designed with relevant contact information? I then proposed the idea to her and she jumped with excitement and said that she loved it. She said that her only concern was that she didn’t know how to make a website and that it would cost too much money to create. I smiled and told her not to worry and explained that I would help her make an Adom Fashion website for free. The following smile that appeared on her face is one that I took a mental screenshot of.

On Tuesday we started making her website. So far it’s a pretty simple design but as long as it serves its purpose and helps Juliet gain more visibility by showcasing her products, I’ll be satisfied. Today on Thursday during my lunch break I stopped over at Juliet’s enterprise and I took photographs of clothes that she has stitched and designed.Over the next little while, I’m going to experiment with social media to increase the views on her new website with the hopes of it resulting in more business at her enterprise. I’m also going to use the pictures that I took, to create an album that she can keep at her store so that people can see the products that she has designed without going on the internet. Her website is now officially complete and ready to launch. Be sure to visit it at:
http://adomfashion.getafricaonline.com

During my placement I have learned that along with making observations and conversing with people from the country, it is equally important to genuinely try to get to know them and eventually become friends with them. I understand that this can be difficult initially, but if you allow yourself to take some risks then it will eventually happen. If I never took the initiative to greet Juliet every day, I wouldn’t have gotten to know her, and I wouldn’t have learned about her life story or her enterprise. If all of that never happened, I would have lost out on an opportunity to work with her and I would’t have made a great friend. Making a website for Juliet’s enterprise is not going to solve all her obstacles, but it’s definitely a start!

Dear friends and loved ones,

As you may know, last week I arrived in Ghana and I had my orientation with WUSC. I just completed my first week of work at Action For Rural Education (ARE) and I have an appreciation for the development work that they strive for. ARE is an NGO that does community and participatory development in the health, education and governance sector. For those of you who have no idea what that means, Hakuna Matat (no worries), I’ll make sure that through my blog posts you’ll get a firm understanding of their work.

Ever since I applied to intern with ARE, I was told that I would be based in Accra and that I would have the opportunity to do field visits in Central Ghana during the duration of my field placement. I was hesitant about being based in the capital city of Accra while working with an NGO whose mandate was to support rural communities. After all, how can you do effective development work if your not working in that particular region?

When I first met my supervisor Kofi, he informed me that I would only be in Accra for one month and that I would spend my remaining seven months in Twifo Praso, a small district located in Central Ghana. This news originally took me by surprise, but I was relieved knowing that I would get to spend a good amount of time in the regions where ARE’s projects take place. I guess you could say that this ‘change of plans’ was really a blessing in disguise. The unfortunate part is that I’ll only be living with my wonderful host family in Accra for one month and just as I start to settle here, I’ll be moving to another region in Ghana.

The first week of work at ARE was an orientation. I learned about the NGOs organization structure, the projects that they are involved with, and the structure for documentation and reporting. On Monday I’ll be learning about developing funding proposals and finalize my mandate and tasks with my supervisor.

Here is a brief overview of the projects that I will be involved with. I’ll provide more detail regarding the projects soon.

September-October

• Develop funding proposals and apply for grants to support ARE’s projects
• Work on the Education Agenda 2015 project
  • Ghana will have its elections this December. Usually when the new government comes into power, the education policies change. For instance it is constantly debated whether secondary school should be 4 or 5 years which has large implications on students in the country. With the participation of civil society, the Education Agenda contains viewpoints of how citizens all over Ghana feel education should be delivered. It contains an overview of the key issues within the education sector and it discusses how the next government should address these concerns. The Education Agenda plans to use the media to engage political parties during the process leading up to the elections.

October-April

• During this period I will be living in Twifo Praso, which is located in Central Ghana. I’ll be working with the ARE’s field staff on the Health, Education, Awareness and Literature (HEAL) project.
  • The Central region of Ghana has an HIV infection rate of 1.9%. I will be providing one on one community outreach exercises to educate the youth about HIV contraction, prevention and treatment. Some of my roles will include training community-based organizations to organize HIV testing, conduct monitor and evaluations, and submit an end of project report. I already have a work plan for the HEAL project. It seems like there will be lots of work and preparations for this project but I’m super excited.

That’s all for now

Adam Chagani

Walking down the streets, my view includes an endless red dirt road, small stores constructed with inexpensive material where you can purchase anything from a bottle of coke to a home cooked meal, people within the informal sector working hard to make ends meet by producing or selling goods, taxis constantly honking in hopes that I will give them business, the ordinary rooster walking past me, and welcoming and genuine Ghanaians who help guide my uncoordinated sense of direction. My friends and loved ones, I have arrived in Accra, Ghana.

It has only been four days since I landed in Ghana and I already feel as if I have lived in this beautiful country for weeks. The last time I stepped foot on this continent was two summers years ago when I lived in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania for three months.

My first week in Ghana has been wonderful. When Margaret and I first arrived in Accra, Fred who works with WUSC picked us up from the airport and dropped us to Suma Hotel, which is close to WUSC’s office. On Tuesday morning we met Anick who is Canadian and is now a volunteer with WUSC. The fist day of Orientation was very informative and it included icebreakers and we brainstormed about our expectations for our placement. We then ate our first meal in Ghana and it was delicious. You cannot go wrong with fried rice and chicken! After lunch we had a specialist give us a medical briefing. There was one quote that he said that stood out to me:

“In Africa, there is a misperception about us. We’re not telling our story well”

On Wednesday we learned more about WUSC’s work in Ghana, their partners and ongoing programs that they are involved with. After that we had a Twi lesson. The highlight of the Twi lessons was learning our Ghanaian names. Each person receives a Ghanaian name according to their gender and the day of the week that they are born on. My Ghanaian name is Akwasi because I am a male and I was born on a Sunday!  After lunch we went on a trotro, which is a bus that fits as many people as humanly possible, and it makes pit stops towards a particular destination. Our destination was Madina market. Anything you could imagine was sold in this market, from fruits and vegetables to assorted used clothes. The amount of people, the chaos, and the density of the market made it fun yet overwhelming.

Thursday was the last day of our orientation with WUSC. In the morning a speaker came in to talk to us about the political, social and economic development of Ghana. I learned more about this country during that one-hour session than I did when I researched about the country prior to my arrival. This was followed by another session where we had a security briefing session and learned about how to think smart and be safe in Ghana. We then had a communal lunch at the WUSC office where all the staff, volunteers, and ambassadors introduced themselves and mingled.

Sorry for the overload of information. My first day of work is on Monday and I will update all of you with new information about my work with Action For Rural Education (A.R.E.)