Goodbye Ghana!

Some great memories from the past few weeks:

- warm welcomes from the head-teachers and pupils of the four schools that we visited

- broad smiles in every class as we sang "Who's The King of the Jungle" with them

- getting to know a great bunch of people on the OI and SAT teams in Accra and Kumasi

- E's adventurous sorties into local cuisine (though her courage failed her on fu-fu stew)

- midday sun that we (as rain-soaked Brits) found hard to cope with

- abundant local lizards and frogs to study and chase

Looking forward to our next visit!


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"My heart's desire"

The evocatively-named kente cloth that we bought at Adanwomanse.

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Native birds and traditional weavers

Yesterday we visited the Bobiri Forest, 30kms from Kumasi, famed for its variety of indigenous butterflies and birds. We set off from the hotel at 7am, hoping to be prompt enough to see the early-rising birds. They proved elusive, but we felt vindicated (i.e. it was not just our lack of expertise) when we came across a troupe of professional birdwatchers (one of whom had been at college with James!) and discovered they hadn't had much luck either. With the benefit of their high-powered binoculars we did see a black dwarf hornbill and a cream dove but nothing close up, except for some amazing butterflies and bugs.

Then we went on to Adanwomase, which is one of the weaving communities famous for producing the Kente cloth which has been worn by local tribespeople for over 200 years. Nowadays most Ghanaians own a few kentes for special occasions, and the each pattern conveys a statement or message, including one which means "Back off, stop acting so jealous!". We had a brilliant guide, himself a weaver (a trade restricted to men), who talked us through the whole process and let us have a go at every step of the weaving process. It seems that foreign females are excluded from the gender restrictions. Naturally we purchased full kente garb, so now we're just looking for some fancy dress party invitations...

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An audience with the king

This morning we went to the Manhyia Palace, the home of Asante Kotokohene, the King of Ashanti: King Osei Tutu II. It's a special day: an "adae" festival, when the King receives his ministers and subjects, and they give him cases of whisky, brandy and other consumables. This time he was also presented with a large and handsome goat, who proceeded to leave a small deposit on the ground. The kids were much amused to see the barefooted dignitaries carelessly walk into it.

All the local chaps wear togas made from kente cloth over their shorts, and sit in strict hierarchy in the inner or outer court. Foreigners are seated in the outer court, and our clicking/ogling was politely and graciously ignored.

In the prelude to the king's arrival various personalities entered the court in a small procession, led by an apparently drunk chap carrying a tray of greenery on his head, whose cohorts were manhandling him to slow him down and prop him up. There was a huge racket of horn blowing, drums, and wailing into microphones. Various other attendants followed, and then the King himself in a colourful kente toga, together with his attendants. He took his place on his stool (throne) and was fanned assiduously as dozens of ministers and others were presented to him. Fascinating! A privilege to watch.

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Dried fish as far as the eye can see

Spent the morning exploring Kumasi's vast open-air market (at 12 hectares, reputedly west Africa's largest). A place of frenetic activity and pungent smells, where the narrow alleyways between rows of stalls serve as non-stop conduits for people rushing past with mountains of goods balanced on their heads. No dawdling here!

Almost everyone was friendly and welcoming, the exception being the stallholders in a small area just outside the market who were aggressive and angry (something spiritual happening?). The labyrinth of alleyways is somewhat bewildering, but far from chaotic - the market has well-defined areas of specialism. A busy acre of dried fish yields to stock cubes and tinned tomatoes, beyond which lie the saucepans and other kitchenware.

A feast for the senses! We were eventually defeated by the baking sun and din, and have sought sanctuary in the nearby Vic Baboo's cafe, for authentic local delights such as Hawaiian pizza and burgers .

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School's out!

Now our school visits have finished, we are kicking back and remembering some contrasts and highlights. Four very different schools, each with their own strengths, and very different levels of facilities.... We have seen:

- brick built classrooms with tiled floors, as against three sided wooden structures with a tin roof, wooden partitions starting two feet off the ground, and chickens wandering between the classrooms (not to mention curious faces peering underneath or over the top);

- proper loos (albeit with no flush and only a short curtain in front and a loo seat whisked out of a cupboard especially for us), contrasted with little huts which we would rather not talk about!;

- big airy rooms where the two-year-olds have plenty of space to march around singing nursery rhymes, and tiny dark rooms with 70 toddlers in each, all made to sit in rows, almost on top of each other, and one teacher doing her best;

- teachers laughing along with the kids and clearly enjoying their job, and teachers looking thoroughly bored or annoyed and using their canes rather too fiercely;

- many "cultural dances" and musical performances put on by the children in the blazing heat, (30 to 35 degrees and very humid; hotter in the classrooms) with two of us joining in, much to everyone's amusement! And some great drama about the power of the cross;

- a school bus with 15 seats holding about 80 frolicking children, sitting three deep on each other's laps and filling the aisle;

- the older girls drawing water from the well to wash up the cooking utensils from lunch (and laughing at one member of our party because she didn't have the right technique for filling the bucket);

- the total conviction with which the children, all of them living difficult lives in a material sense, sang "My God is able and He will see me through....";

- the fear on the children's faces when they thought they might have given a wrong answer in front of their teacher, and the delight on their faces the moment they finished their origami "chatterbox"; and

- kids jumping a mile at J's scary lion roar!.

So many experiences, all crammed into seven days of school visits! We are a bit tired but it was a privilege to meet the visionary and determined owners of the schools, who battled so hard to get their schools started, and are still battling, in faith, to continue and expand them. They speak in glowing terms of the support they are receiving (both loans and business training) from Opportunity International and Sinapi Aba Trust.

We were very grateful to be able to contribute all the books donated by friends in the UK, which were enthusiastically received. Since the children previously had little but the basic state text book, it's great to be able to picture them immersed in those books in the months and years to come, gaining a new window on the world beyond their school gate.

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"Who's the King of the Jungle?"

Whew! Today we finished our second day at LifeGate International Learning Centre, in Abuakwa, 10kms west of Kumasi. This was our fourth and final school, a wonderful and quite established place run by a chap called Joseph (the other three were all owned and run by pioneering ladies). Once again, the children were great fun when they got over their initial shyness and today's classes were especially keen to learn the song they had heard echoing through the other classrooms yesterday: "Who's the King of the Jungle?" ( Answer: Jesus, rather than the lion, but you have to hear the whole thing, really....)

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