Journey and arrival to my new town

Alright everyone, so I write you this post as it is pouring rain and I am stuck outside the World Vision office in a car port. I am surrounded by chickens (some of which try to peck at my shoes sometimes) and a number of desks intended for small children. Here is recap of my first week in Saboba.

Placement: Week 1: Day 1: I got up at 5:00 am to catch a cab to the bus station to meet my District Director of the District Assembly Development Unit (DADU) Saboba unit of the Ghanaian Ministry of Food and Agriculture. Once I got there I had to hike a couple km’s to the new bus terminal where our bus actually was. Luckily my training partner Mark was there to lend a hand and help me board the bus. He was on his own mission to secure a ticket for the afternoon to head his own way. 6:00 am and my first encounter with White Privilege: got the number 1 and 2 seat on the bus. I did not realize what was happening and thought I was just dropping my bag at the front of the bus in a squared off barred area, only to have my seat shown to me after some local ladies gave it up. I tried to insist that they take it back and I would not have it. No one would listen to me, (perhaps they did not understand my strange English), and thus I stood for a while until I realized nobody else would take it. They had all sat down in the aisles and other seats, leaving me with no other option but to take it or stand. I then tried to enjoy some of the sights along the way, but soon found myself in a conversation about how lack of ownership by farmers in many foreign aid programs ultimately leads to failure.

After a lengthy discussion, I found myself falling asleep until we reached the town of Yendi. Here we had to go to another bus stop to find a new mode of transit as the bus was not running along the regular road because floods from the rainy season had washed out the main road to Saboba. We would then need to take another road that would get there the long way around. Our new vehicle would be a 1960s Mercedes Benz van which had perhaps been through a couple revolutions as it had its front symbol on the front hanging by a screw and swinging around, the doors needing to be closed by ropes being tied to them, and our bags being tied to the top by a crew of two guys. One rode on top for the trip, the other hung on the side grabbing on to the window while keeping one of the doors from swinging open. We were not far now, when we reached a traffic jam. The now clay/gravel road we were on was blocked due to one side of the road having washed away with the rains. There was now a communal public works project going on, with about 500 people from busses that arrived before us all grabbing big boulders of dirt and throwing them in the holes to help the trucks make it by without sliding off and flipping over. After a lengthy delay, the first truck tried to shoot the hole and succeeded. Quickly I started heading back to the bus only to realize about 500 Ghanians were standing and watching as I, the only foreigner, headed back to the bus. One man stopped me asking me to return home and tell my people of the sad state of the roads in the North where “the rural poor have been forgotten”, as he said.

We then headed on to Saboba, with me getting left off just before town to stay at the Rural Institute for Literacy and Development Programs (which also doubled as the town radio station and Library.) This would be where I will stay for a few days until I find a family to stay with. The Director, my new boss/co-worker then suggested we meet tomorrow for our first day of work to get a full day in at the office and to allow me to meet some of the staff who may be around. I, being beat, agreed that this was a good idea, grabbed a quick dinner from a roadside stall, or chop shop (not the kind where cars get turned into pieces), in town and then went back to crash.

Day 2: My second day in town, I started by heading to town to grab some breakfast. The only options around at 8:00 am were eggs, sweet bread, or fish and banku. I went with eggs and sweet bread. I then hiked to work, which was a longer walk then I bargained for, and it was amazingly hot already. When I got to the office, I waited for the director to let me in, was shown around, met a couple of the team members and settled in to my workplace.

Later in the day I headed to town for some lunch, found the two food options, rice and meat or banku. Here I met Mohamed and his brother who run an egg and bread stand and a pop stand beside each other. I learned they also show Champions league and English Premier League football (soccer) matches twice a week for a fee of 50 cents at an outdoor viewing venue behind their stalls. Sounds like something worth trying sometime. From here I went back to work and then home.

In the evening I received a letter delivered by a young boy to my door. It was from the Big Lions, a group of local children who have organized themselves into a football team. The letter asked if I could be their coach, as they were coach-less, and it was signed by all of them. I said I would have to see. Eventually I ended up playing with them at the field across the road only to be surprised at how good they were and that looking out for livestock wandering the field when you’re playing (mostly goats) can be challenging.

Day 3: I went to the office, met many other co-workers and learned more about the challenges the office and its employees face daily. I right away get cast into doing a lot of computer help. There are only two computers for a staff of 13+, with no one really trained on Word or Excel and printing documents it would appear, so I am busy already helping out in that respect. I also realized that the infrastructure of our office is not in great shape, as a puddle of water from the rains had formed on my desk. Also office supplies are in short supply. If one needs something, either no one knows where it is, or it is out of what it needs to work (i.e. paper, staples or ink). But, everyone keeps on working along, and I am getting used to the laid back and informal office culture that exists. Coming and going as you please and making your own hours seems to be the norm so far, thus having a cell is handy to get a hold of people when you need to ask them something. Yes, I got a cell phone, only had to fly to Africa to get one, but I got one. Am still learning how to text and that, but I will be a pro soon I am sure.

Day 4: Today I got to go on my first field visit. Simon (an Agricultural Extension Agent who delivers EWB’s Agriculture As A Business Program) and I got to go visit a woman’s farm group that was formed out in the Tindando community. The women had reached stage 7 of the Agric. As A Business program and thus had formed a group, had regular meetings, opened a bank account together and are planning a communal project to spread the risk. They‘ve used their pooled assets to gain more income from a potential activity like dry season farming. We hoped to deliver the 7^th out of 10 workshops associated with the program, but it was decided that when more women could show up (that being this coming Friday) we would meet then and do the workshop. Although we did not get the workshop done, it was great to get a feel for farming in this region of Ghana and how people in the area I will be working with live and earn a living off their land.

The crops grown in Saboba district include: 1) Yam, 2) Sorghum, 3) Maize, 4) Groundnut, 5) Cowpea, 6) Cassava, 7) Millet, 8) Soybean, 9) Rice, 10) Plantain, and 11) cocoyam.

Day 5: Today I moved from the Guest house I was staying at into a room with a family up the road and further from town. This farm family lives in a compound home, which is kind of a square housing area with a common square area in the middle, where cooking and drying of crops out usually occurs. The family is 18 strong at the moment, with some kids away at school. Both the Grandfather and my new father have more than one wife and a number of kids. This has made it difficult to get by as I do not know the local language and keeping track of who is who and their relation to one another has not been easy, but I am sure I will get a grasp of both eventually.

Day 6: My first full day with my new family, I was asked to join them to church. It was an Evangelical church not far from our place. I went with my new sister and was asked to join bible studies. This was from 9:00am-10:00am. Mass started at about 10:15am and went on till about 1:00pm, at which time they said I could head off if I chose. Wanting to get caught up on some reading and work I accepted and headed back for the rest of the day.

Day 7: Back to work and I started to learn more about the nature of farming in our region. Farming is done only during the wet season, which starts after the first rains in summer, and goes until usually November or early December. This is when the dry season starts and farming is usually not practiced during this time for the next four months or so. Thus, the north has only one growing season and a dry season, unlike the South of Ghana which has rains year round and a longer-multiple growing seasons.

Most crops here, when staple grain crops, tend to be sold unprocessed, unhusked and by measures of the bowl or pot. One of which usually garners 2 Ghana Cedis (GHC) on average. 1 small bag = 15 pots = 30 GHC, 1 big bag = 50pots = 100GHC. Thus, by selling their crops when they need the money, farmers in the area survive and find a way to get by until the next season. From what I have learned, they do not migrate in the off (dry) season to the bigger cities of Tamale and Accra to find off season employment and make additional funds to send back to their family. Instead farmers seem to stay with their families year round with certain members of their family, if they can afford it, being sent to the cities for secondary school and college programs.

That is a bit about my first week in Ghana, hope you guys enjoyed it. I hope to have a blog post up on Sababa and my new home soon.