Yo!
Yesterday we had our swearing in ceremony to mark the end of Peace Corps Training. The event was really cool... the U.S. Ambassador to Ghana was there and the trainees did a dancing and drumming performance. So now I am an official Peace Corps Volunteer. We all went out one last time in Kukurantumi last night and now we are all headed to our individual sites. I am at the PC sub-office in Kumasi with a bunch of people for the night and tomorrow we will visit a monkey sanctuary on our way to the Upper West Region. I am excited to see the monkeys.
The elections took place last Sunday with relatively few problems and the results were released Tuesday. No candidate received a plurality (the top 2 had like 49.4% and 47.8% or something) so there will be a runoff election on December 28th between the NDC and NPP candidates. As a preventative measure, all PC volunteers will have to remain in their communities between Dec. 23 and Jan. 2. So that means, unfortunately, none of us will be together for Christmas or New Years. But, it should be fun to move into my house and get settled and have the excitement of the holidays and the election going on.
Ok, it's getting late so I think that is all for now. Keep the emails coming.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Saturday, December 6, 2008
New Address
Here is the address where I can receive mail when I am in Gwollu:
Adam Luck, PCV
C/O Gwollu Tourism Committee
P.O. Box 99
Gwollu, U.W.R.
Ghana, West Africa
Adam Luck, PCV
C/O Gwollu Tourism Committee
P.O. Box 99
Gwollu, U.W.R.
Ghana, West Africa
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Ghana National Elections
This Sunday, December 7th, Ghana will hold its Presidential election. It was an amazing experience to be in Africa as the U.S. elected its first African-American President and it has been very exciting to see first-hand the political campaigning during an election year here in Ghana.
Here is the lowdown as I see it (based upon my casual observations for 2 months… these are not official party platforms or descriptions)…
As in the U.S., there are 2 major political parties here in Ghana. They are the National Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC). The current President (since 2000), John Kufor, is a member of the NPP and is not running for re-election. The NPP’s candidate is Nana Akufo-Ado and the NDC’s candidate is Prof. Atta Mills. The NPP is the more conservative party here and is often likened to the U.S. Republicans. Its flag colors are red, white, and blue and its symbol is an elephant. The NDC is the more liberal of the two parties and is often likened to the U.S. Democrats. Its symbol is an umbrella. Both parties offer different general themes to their campaigns… The incumbent NPP: “We Are Moving Forward” and the challenging NDC: “We Are Changing.” Each message comes complete with its own theme song and dance! The NPP’s case seems to basically be that they have been in power for the past 8 years and under their leadership Ghana has made great progress. The NDC argues that the NPP has become extremely corrupt and the executive leadership must change parties to end the corruption.
It is very hard to get a good gauge on where the country stands because the polling here is not so prevalent and the support for the candidates varies greatly between regions of the country. For instance, our training site is in the Eastern Region, which heavily favors the incumbent NPP, but much of the rural North (Upper West and Upper East Regions) is more supportive of the challenging NDC.
Two other regionally popular parties are the Convention Peoples Party (CPP) and the People’s National Convention (PNC), which also both have candidates for President. In the Presidential election, a candidate must receive 50% of the votes cast plus one in order to claim victory. If this does not happen, there will be a runoff between the top two candidates (at a date not yet determined, but sometime in December). Since the race seems to be very close between the top two candidates and the minor parties are likely to take a substantial (5-10%?) portion of the popular vote, I think a runoff election is very likely. In the last contested Presidential election in Ghana, the CPP candidate “gave” all of his votes to the NPP, which put that party over the 50% threshold. I am not quite sure exactly how that process works, but the CPP candidate in this election has stated that his party will not be reapportioning its votes this time around.
Whatever the outcome of the election(s), everyone in Ghana has been trying to assure that the voting will be both fair and peaceful. In recent history Ghana has been a role model country in Sub-Saharan Africa for a stable government. Another peaceful transfer of power would continue this trend and send a strong signal to the rest of the continent (and world) that Ghana is a safe and stable place to invest in. As for the Peace Corps Volunteers, we will all be together during the elections. The 100+ current volunteers will all be having a conference and the 41 trainees (me) will be staying with our homestay families in our training villages. We hope that the election(s) will take place in a safe and fair manner and that we will be able to move into our communities soon afterwards!Saturday, November 29, 2008
Gwollu Site Visit / Thanksgiving
Last week I traveled from Kukurantumi (where I have been training) to Gwollu (where I will move December 13th) to visit my site for the first time. It was great! The journey there and back was long (about 18 hours actual travel time each way) so I only got to spend 2.5 days in Gwollu but it was very nice to see where I will be living for 2 years...
My house: It's awesome! It truly is about as good as it gets for Peace Corps housing. I live in a large compound (large building with courtyard) that would usually house a whole family but it is just me there! The compound is also home to an office for my tourism management committee, a large exhibition hall for a soon-to-open (we hope) museum, a visitors' center, and a few other vacant rooms being used for storage. I have a large room (15 by 20 feet) that has a wall dividing my bedroom and living room. I have a couch, 3 chairs, and a table in my living room and a bed and desk and chair in my bedroom. I have power and 2 ceiling fans (my favorite part about the place!). Also in the compound, I have access to a small room that is my kitchen. My kitchen has a place for me to store food, a table, and 2 gas burners to cook on. My bathroom is also really nice... it is down the hall from my rooms and it consists of both a men's and women's bathroom. Each has a flushing toilet and a running water shower (amazing and rare here!). These bathrooms will be available for visitors and tourists as the museum and visitors center opens and more tourists start coming through, but for now I am the only one with a key to the lock so they are just for me. My accommodations are very nice, which is surprising, but comforting considering I am in one of the most remote and poor areas of the country.
The weather: Is awesome! Oh the northern part of Ghana is so much more pleasant than the south. Down where I have been training it has been sooo humid and I sweat (a lot) literally all day and night. It is gross and I just can't stop (no fans in my house). In the north, the weather is very dry. So, although it is actually even hotter temperature-wise during the day in the north it feels much better because when you sweat it actually works and you don't stay wet and gross. Right now (Nov-Feb) is also the dry season and so it will likely not rain much at all.... this makes things very dusty, especially because almost no roads are paved, but I would prefer the dust to the sweat any day! During this time of year the temperature also drops (the locals would tell you it's cold!) to about 70 degrees for the night and early morning while the sun is down... it is great. The dry season is also when you can view the crocodiles at various "sacred crocodile ponds" in Gwollu... I didn't go to visit them yet but I can't wait!
The language: So, I have been doing very well with my language training here and was very excited to practice it in my community. I had been told that Gwollu's version of the Sissali language was a little different than the dialect I was learning, but I was sure it would just be slight differences in pronunciation... I was way off! The language was very different from what I had been learning... even the simple greetings and easy stuff was very different so that became quite frustrating. I spent a lot of time just looking at people very confused when they spoke to me, but that usually just turned into laughter on both ends, which was fine with me for now. When I get to site for good I will find someone and pay him/her to tutor me in the local dialect and Peace Corps will reimburse me for it, so I will be fine. The community did not give me a local name yet (the guy I am replacing was called "Batong") but they said they will have to think about one that is fitting and give me a name when I arrive in mid December.
My counterparts: I have 2 counterparts, Ghanaian colleagues, that I will work closely with during my service and they are great. G.B. will be my counterpart for the work I am doing with the Tourism Management Team in Gwollu. He is in his 70s and has forgone the opportunity to spend his retirement relaxing with the rest of his family in Accra in order to come back to his rural hometown to help develop the community. He is a jovial, funny, very caring man and he is very respected in Gwollu. Also, he wears a fedora (awesome Italian hat) all the time... I told him I love it and I haven't seen anyone else in Ghana with those, he said he got it in Accra and next time he goes he will get me a matching one... can't you just picture the 2 of us riding our bikes around town with fedoras on? Classic. My other counterpart is a young woman named Abbiba and she is the coordinator of the Gwollu office of an NGO called RAAP (Regional Aid Action Programme). RAAP works with a local women's shea butter producing co-op and does a lot of other development projects in Gwollu and the surrounding communities. I should be able to be involved with a lot of different programs through RAAP.
The community: Gwollu just became a District Capital a few years ago and so it is growing a lot. There is a market in the center of town every 6 days where you can buy fabric, clothes, fruit, vegetables, and all sorts of things. In town there are some tailors, provision shops, cold stores, chop bars (roadside fast food), drinking spots (bars), hardware stores, and a chemical store (pharmacy). The population is about 6,000 and the town is broken up into several large areas of land with each being named for the family that originally settled there. Just next to my house, in the center of town, a portion of a slave defense wall has been preserved. There are a few other places in town where you can still see portions of the wall as well. The wall is of important historical value as it is one of very few remaining pieces of evidence of organized resistance to slave trade in the world. Gwollu also has an ancient bone-setting clinic, which I haven't got to check out yet, and a fertility clinic (where I think they make some sort of herbal viagra). Gwollu is also the hometown of the late Hilla Limann, a former President of the Republic of Ghana, and you can see his tomb there.
Thanksgiving: Happy belated Thanksgiving to everyone! We returned from our site visits on Wednesday and the 41 trainees had big plans to cook all day on Thursday for Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, we were told late Wednesday night that 24 of us had to travel to Accra to open bank accounts... we were gone from 6 AM to 5 PM (and not very happy about it) on Thanksgiving day. Those who stayed in Kukurantumi though, were able to cook and so when we returned we were all able to be together for dinner and drinks and it was a fun time. Some people slaughtered (with the help of a Ghanaian farmer) a turkey and fried it in pieces, so we were able to have turkey! Also, one girl's homestay parents run a bakery in town, so they used the facilities to make 60 personal-sized apple pies! They were awesome!
Okay, I think that is enough of an update for now. I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving and is gearing up for a great Christmas season. Stay in touch... love and miss you all!
p.s.- sorry for the low quality picture posts... the internet is so slow here that posting anything of quality (or at all) takes forever. I do have to send my laptop home to get the cd drive fixed though (long story, sucks!), so I hope to have my dad post some pictures from home for me next month!
My house: It's awesome! It truly is about as good as it gets for Peace Corps housing. I live in a large compound (large building with courtyard) that would usually house a whole family but it is just me there! The compound is also home to an office for my tourism management committee, a large exhibition hall for a soon-to-open (we hope) museum, a visitors' center, and a few other vacant rooms being used for storage. I have a large room (15 by 20 feet) that has a wall dividing my bedroom and living room. I have a couch, 3 chairs, and a table in my living room and a bed and desk and chair in my bedroom. I have power and 2 ceiling fans (my favorite part about the place!). Also in the compound, I have access to a small room that is my kitchen. My kitchen has a place for me to store food, a table, and 2 gas burners to cook on. My bathroom is also really nice... it is down the hall from my rooms and it consists of both a men's and women's bathroom. Each has a flushing toilet and a running water shower (amazing and rare here!). These bathrooms will be available for visitors and tourists as the museum and visitors center opens and more tourists start coming through, but for now I am the only one with a key to the lock so they are just for me. My accommodations are very nice, which is surprising, but comforting considering I am in one of the most remote and poor areas of the country.
The weather: Is awesome! Oh the northern part of Ghana is so much more pleasant than the south. Down where I have been training it has been sooo humid and I sweat (a lot) literally all day and night. It is gross and I just can't stop (no fans in my house). In the north, the weather is very dry. So, although it is actually even hotter temperature-wise during the day in the north it feels much better because when you sweat it actually works and you don't stay wet and gross. Right now (Nov-Feb) is also the dry season and so it will likely not rain much at all.... this makes things very dusty, especially because almost no roads are paved, but I would prefer the dust to the sweat any day! During this time of year the temperature also drops (the locals would tell you it's cold!) to about 70 degrees for the night and early morning while the sun is down... it is great. The dry season is also when you can view the crocodiles at various "sacred crocodile ponds" in Gwollu... I didn't go to visit them yet but I can't wait!
The language: So, I have been doing very well with my language training here and was very excited to practice it in my community. I had been told that Gwollu's version of the Sissali language was a little different than the dialect I was learning, but I was sure it would just be slight differences in pronunciation... I was way off! The language was very different from what I had been learning... even the simple greetings and easy stuff was very different so that became quite frustrating. I spent a lot of time just looking at people very confused when they spoke to me, but that usually just turned into laughter on both ends, which was fine with me for now. When I get to site for good I will find someone and pay him/her to tutor me in the local dialect and Peace Corps will reimburse me for it, so I will be fine. The community did not give me a local name yet (the guy I am replacing was called "Batong") but they said they will have to think about one that is fitting and give me a name when I arrive in mid December.
My counterparts: I have 2 counterparts, Ghanaian colleagues, that I will work closely with during my service and they are great. G.B. will be my counterpart for the work I am doing with the Tourism Management Team in Gwollu. He is in his 70s and has forgone the opportunity to spend his retirement relaxing with the rest of his family in Accra in order to come back to his rural hometown to help develop the community. He is a jovial, funny, very caring man and he is very respected in Gwollu. Also, he wears a fedora (awesome Italian hat) all the time... I told him I love it and I haven't seen anyone else in Ghana with those, he said he got it in Accra and next time he goes he will get me a matching one... can't you just picture the 2 of us riding our bikes around town with fedoras on? Classic. My other counterpart is a young woman named Abbiba and she is the coordinator of the Gwollu office of an NGO called RAAP (Regional Aid Action Programme). RAAP works with a local women's shea butter producing co-op and does a lot of other development projects in Gwollu and the surrounding communities. I should be able to be involved with a lot of different programs through RAAP.
The community: Gwollu just became a District Capital a few years ago and so it is growing a lot. There is a market in the center of town every 6 days where you can buy fabric, clothes, fruit, vegetables, and all sorts of things. In town there are some tailors, provision shops, cold stores, chop bars (roadside fast food), drinking spots (bars), hardware stores, and a chemical store (pharmacy). The population is about 6,000 and the town is broken up into several large areas of land with each being named for the family that originally settled there. Just next to my house, in the center of town, a portion of a slave defense wall has been preserved. There are a few other places in town where you can still see portions of the wall as well. The wall is of important historical value as it is one of very few remaining pieces of evidence of organized resistance to slave trade in the world. Gwollu also has an ancient bone-setting clinic, which I haven't got to check out yet, and a fertility clinic (where I think they make some sort of herbal viagra). Gwollu is also the hometown of the late Hilla Limann, a former President of the Republic of Ghana, and you can see his tomb there.
Thanksgiving: Happy belated Thanksgiving to everyone! We returned from our site visits on Wednesday and the 41 trainees had big plans to cook all day on Thursday for Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, we were told late Wednesday night that 24 of us had to travel to Accra to open bank accounts... we were gone from 6 AM to 5 PM (and not very happy about it) on Thanksgiving day. Those who stayed in Kukurantumi though, were able to cook and so when we returned we were all able to be together for dinner and drinks and it was a fun time. Some people slaughtered (with the help of a Ghanaian farmer) a turkey and fried it in pieces, so we were able to have turkey! Also, one girl's homestay parents run a bakery in town, so they used the facilities to make 60 personal-sized apple pies! They were awesome!
Okay, I think that is enough of an update for now. I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving and is gearing up for a great Christmas season. Stay in touch... love and miss you all!
p.s.- sorry for the low quality picture posts... the internet is so slow here that posting anything of quality (or at all) takes forever. I do have to send my laptop home to get the cd drive fixed though (long story, sucks!), so I hope to have my dad post some pictures from home for me next month!
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Ghanaian Culture: Distings, Wildlife
Two out of the three main goals of the Peace Corps deal with the cultural exchange that takes place when volunteering in a foreign country. In addition to learning about the Ghanaian culture and teaching them about American culture, it is important that I share my experiences with people in the U.S. so they can learn more about Ghana. So here is my first attempt at explaining some things that are different/funny/interesting here…
Distings:
"Disting" is a word (not really) that is used a lot by Ghanaians. Most Ghanaians speak English very well in addition to their indigenous language. In fact, English is Ghana’s official language and thus all education in the country is in English. Ghanaians, though, have trouble with some certain sounds in the English language. The "th" sound that is frequent in so many English words is difficult for Ghanaians to pronounce, so it often just becomes a "d" sound. As such, "this" ends up sounding like "dis" and thus "this thing" becomes "disting." In Ghana, disting is used a lot like Americans might use "what-cha-ma-call-it" or something of that nature and it is used a lot here when people can’t remember a word or it is obvious what people are talking about. The frequency of the word and the wide variety of "tings" (i.e.: election, pen, water bottle, shoe) it is used to portray can be quite comical.
Wildlife:
I am in Africa and I suppose people might wonder (as I did) what sort of "wildlife" and animals there are here. Well, where I am currently, there are no zebras, hyenas, lions, tigers, rhinos, hippos, or monkeys. Nope, this whole place is not like a safari.
Most of Ghana (as far as I can see) has much less exciting, but still fun, animals roaming around. On a daily basis I see: dogs, cats, lizards, roosters, chickens, goats, and sheep. I have my language classes in the front of my home-stay house here and every day there are a couple dogs and tons of chickens and lizards just roaming/hanging out/running all around the yard… it is great. The dogs, cats, roosters, chickens, goats, and sheep usually roam free but they belong to somebody and stay close to where they are fed. Some people have dogs and cats as pets here, but not like we do in America. Here, they always stay outside of the house and they are just fed extra scraps of food that are leftover. Dogs are great to have because they bark whenever anyone comes near your house and cats are great because they chase away mice and other varmints. Dogs (and I think cats) are eaten by many people here, so sometimes they are "chopped" and eaten. Goats and sheep are kept for meat and they either roam around town or are tied to trees. Lizards, from tiny to huge in size, are all over the place! Roosters and chickens hang around in the villages near where they are fed and they crow ALL DAY starting at about 4:30 in the morning.
Although I have not seen them yet, Ghana DOES have all sorts of exciting wildlife. There are a few major national parks here and some sanctuaries where you can see all sorts of exciting stuff. Mole national park is I think the biggest and most famous and is in the Northern Region (I think) of the country. My site, Gwollu, has sacred ponds full of crocodiles and nearby there is also a hippopotamus sanctuary. There are also 2 monkey sanctuaries in the country, one in the Volta Region and one in the Brong-Ahafo Region. As I visit these cool places I will have more to share about them, but for now I just wanted to assure you it’s not all just roosters and lizards here.
Distings:
"Disting" is a word (not really) that is used a lot by Ghanaians. Most Ghanaians speak English very well in addition to their indigenous language. In fact, English is Ghana’s official language and thus all education in the country is in English. Ghanaians, though, have trouble with some certain sounds in the English language. The "th" sound that is frequent in so many English words is difficult for Ghanaians to pronounce, so it often just becomes a "d" sound. As such, "this" ends up sounding like "dis" and thus "this thing" becomes "disting." In Ghana, disting is used a lot like Americans might use "what-cha-ma-call-it" or something of that nature and it is used a lot here when people can’t remember a word or it is obvious what people are talking about. The frequency of the word and the wide variety of "tings" (i.e.: election, pen, water bottle, shoe) it is used to portray can be quite comical.
Wildlife:
I am in Africa and I suppose people might wonder (as I did) what sort of "wildlife" and animals there are here. Well, where I am currently, there are no zebras, hyenas, lions, tigers, rhinos, hippos, or monkeys. Nope, this whole place is not like a safari.
Most of Ghana (as far as I can see) has much less exciting, but still fun, animals roaming around. On a daily basis I see: dogs, cats, lizards, roosters, chickens, goats, and sheep. I have my language classes in the front of my home-stay house here and every day there are a couple dogs and tons of chickens and lizards just roaming/hanging out/running all around the yard… it is great. The dogs, cats, roosters, chickens, goats, and sheep usually roam free but they belong to somebody and stay close to where they are fed. Some people have dogs and cats as pets here, but not like we do in America. Here, they always stay outside of the house and they are just fed extra scraps of food that are leftover. Dogs are great to have because they bark whenever anyone comes near your house and cats are great because they chase away mice and other varmints. Dogs (and I think cats) are eaten by many people here, so sometimes they are "chopped" and eaten. Goats and sheep are kept for meat and they either roam around town or are tied to trees. Lizards, from tiny to huge in size, are all over the place! Roosters and chickens hang around in the villages near where they are fed and they crow ALL DAY starting at about 4:30 in the morning.
Although I have not seen them yet, Ghana DOES have all sorts of exciting wildlife. There are a few major national parks here and some sanctuaries where you can see all sorts of exciting stuff. Mole national park is I think the biggest and most famous and is in the Northern Region (I think) of the country. My site, Gwollu, has sacred ponds full of crocodiles and nearby there is also a hippopotamus sanctuary. There are also 2 monkey sanctuaries in the country, one in the Volta Region and one in the Brong-Ahafo Region. As I visit these cool places I will have more to share about them, but for now I just wanted to assure you it’s not all just roosters and lizards here.
Field Trip
Sorry for not posting lately. All is well here in Ghana; I just haven’t been to the internet cafĂ too much lately.
Anyway, this week was very eventful and a lot of fun. I went on a field trip through the southern Volta Region with the 12 other Small Enterprise Development trainees. We visited Hohoe, Ho, Leklebi, Tafi-Abuipe, and a few other places.
We left from Kukurantumi on Saturday and on Sunday we hiked to another awesome waterfall and swam in it. Sunday night we went out into the woods to have a bonfire and drink palm wine. A group of about 20 local young guys joined us to play drums and dance around the fire. It was amazing… the drumming and signing was really cool and I both learned and taught some pretty impressive dance moves. My favorite Ghanaian dance move would have to be "the chicken" or "the kangaroo." Their favorite from my teaching: "The Elaine." They also frequently sing a song here about Barack Obama… "Barack Barack, Barack Obaaama"… that is pretty catchy.
On Monday we visited a District Assembly (regional/local government) office and met with some people there to talk about eco-tourism. From there we visited a women’s pottery co-op and a men’s wood carving co-op to learn about their crafts and how co-ops in Ghana are formed. Then we went to Tafi-Abuipe, which is small old village where nearly all of the residents weave kente cloth. Ghana is famous for this type of cloth that is very colorful and is usually found in strips with very elaborate patterns. All over the town women, men, and children were operating these weaving contraptions made out of bamboo and wood with yards upon yards of colorful string in front of them. Monday night we went into the mountains and stayed at a great place called the Mountain Paradise Lodge.
On Tuesday we visited an NGO that helped young women make a living by making beads and other craft products and marketing them internationally. Then, we visited with a nonprofit microfinance firm that helps people save money to expand their businesses and also offers low interest loans to those business owners who can show a track record of saving money over a period of time. Tuesday night we stayed in a nice hotel in Ho. We took advantage of the hotel pool and bar and stayed up until 4 or 5 in the morning to learn of and celebrate Barack Obama’s victory!
We came back to Kukurantumi on Wednesday and now are back, full force, into our pre service training. Today we will have a soccer and volleyball match between the Peace Corps Trainers and Trainees. I will get to visit my site, Gwollu, from November 20-26 and then I will return to Kukurantumi for more training until I move to my site for good (well, 2 years) on Saturday, December 13th.
Anyway, this week was very eventful and a lot of fun. I went on a field trip through the southern Volta Region with the 12 other Small Enterprise Development trainees. We visited Hohoe, Ho, Leklebi, Tafi-Abuipe, and a few other places.
We left from Kukurantumi on Saturday and on Sunday we hiked to another awesome waterfall and swam in it. Sunday night we went out into the woods to have a bonfire and drink palm wine. A group of about 20 local young guys joined us to play drums and dance around the fire. It was amazing… the drumming and signing was really cool and I both learned and taught some pretty impressive dance moves. My favorite Ghanaian dance move would have to be "the chicken" or "the kangaroo." Their favorite from my teaching: "The Elaine." They also frequently sing a song here about Barack Obama… "Barack Barack, Barack Obaaama"… that is pretty catchy.
On Monday we visited a District Assembly (regional/local government) office and met with some people there to talk about eco-tourism. From there we visited a women’s pottery co-op and a men’s wood carving co-op to learn about their crafts and how co-ops in Ghana are formed. Then we went to Tafi-Abuipe, which is small old village where nearly all of the residents weave kente cloth. Ghana is famous for this type of cloth that is very colorful and is usually found in strips with very elaborate patterns. All over the town women, men, and children were operating these weaving contraptions made out of bamboo and wood with yards upon yards of colorful string in front of them. Monday night we went into the mountains and stayed at a great place called the Mountain Paradise Lodge.
On Tuesday we visited an NGO that helped young women make a living by making beads and other craft products and marketing them internationally. Then, we visited with a nonprofit microfinance firm that helps people save money to expand their businesses and also offers low interest loans to those business owners who can show a track record of saving money over a period of time. Tuesday night we stayed in a nice hotel in Ho. We took advantage of the hotel pool and bar and stayed up until 4 or 5 in the morning to learn of and celebrate Barack Obama’s victory!
We came back to Kukurantumi on Wednesday and now are back, full force, into our pre service training. Today we will have a soccer and volleyball match between the Peace Corps Trainers and Trainees. I will get to visit my site, Gwollu, from November 20-26 and then I will return to Kukurantumi for more training until I move to my site for good (well, 2 years) on Saturday, December 13th.
Cell Phone!
I got a cell phone here finally. If you want the number and don’t have it just drop me an email and I will get it to you. To call me from the U.S. is only 16 cents per minute if you use Skype!
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
My Placement: Gwollu!
Yesterday I learned that for 2 years beginning in December I will be working as a Business Advisor for Community-Based Tourism Development in Gwollu in the Upper West region of Ghana!
Some aspects of the posts initially concerned me: I will be the farthest north and farther from the Accra Peace Corps office (20 hour drive) than any other volunteer in the country and I will be the only of the 129 volunteers to learn and speak the Sisaale language. BUT, after I had some time to think about the assignment and location I have become very excited about it. Here is the cool stuff:
-Gwollu is on the border of Burkina Faso, so I will likely travel into that country and experience yet another culture.
-The Upper West region of Ghana is the last region to be created and it is by far the most poverse and in need of volunteers.
-There are 4-5 other great volunteers going to the Upper West when I do, and I have met 3 awesome current volunteers who will be there for another year.
-I am replacing a current voluneer who finishes Dec. 1 of this year. I will be the third and likely final volunteer to be posted there, so I can build upon foundations that have already been created and focus on sustainability.
Some more about Gwollu and what I will be doing... Gwollu is a town of approximately 7,000 people and is located 110 kilometers northeast of the Upper West regional capital city, Wa, and 30 kilometers from the closest "large town", Tumu. Gwollu is the regional capital of the newly created Sisaale West District and it is a growing area. It is the hometown of President of the Third Republic of Ghana, Dr. Hilla Limann. The population there is mostly Muslim.
So, I will be leading a 12 member Tourism Management Team to support the ongoing eco-tourism work in Gwollu. The town has many tourism opportunities that are still relatively untapped... There are ancient, historic Slave Defense Walls. There is the tomb of former President Dr. Hilla Limann. There are sacred crocodile ponds, a traditional bone setter, and many other aspects of the community that offer insight into the traditional life of northern Ghanian communities. I will also be working with an NGO that supports a local co-op of Shea Butter Producers, which has a lot of potential. Also, construction has begun and should be nearing completion on a musuem in Gwollu that will preserve and display the historical relics from past slave trade and local wars. I will work with the local government and boards to develop, script, and price tours of the area, create touring packages, and support the infrastrucure/development projects that are necessary to make the area accessible to tourists.
My accomodation will consist of 2 rooms adjacent to the museum/welcome center. It is quiet, yet in the center of town. There is limited cell phone conncectivity in Gwollu currently. The District Assembly, museum, and tourist center will all be within walking distance of my house. There is a borehole that will supply my water and I will have electricity. No word yet on how close there might be an internet connection.
I started my language lessons on Sisaale today. I will have one-on-one instruction from my awesome teacher, Banu, for 5-6 days a week for the next 8 weeks so I will learn a lot! Banu is a fun teacher and he is from Tumu, which is very close to Gwollu.
Well, there are so many other thoughts and facts about my site and job that I would love to share but I just don't have the time. I hope to speak to the volunteer who is there now soon to ask more questions and in a few weeks I will actually visit the site.
Email me and let me know what's going on at home... thanks to those who already have!
Some aspects of the posts initially concerned me: I will be the farthest north and farther from the Accra Peace Corps office (20 hour drive) than any other volunteer in the country and I will be the only of the 129 volunteers to learn and speak the Sisaale language. BUT, after I had some time to think about the assignment and location I have become very excited about it. Here is the cool stuff:
-Gwollu is on the border of Burkina Faso, so I will likely travel into that country and experience yet another culture.
-The Upper West region of Ghana is the last region to be created and it is by far the most poverse and in need of volunteers.
-There are 4-5 other great volunteers going to the Upper West when I do, and I have met 3 awesome current volunteers who will be there for another year.
-I am replacing a current voluneer who finishes Dec. 1 of this year. I will be the third and likely final volunteer to be posted there, so I can build upon foundations that have already been created and focus on sustainability.
Some more about Gwollu and what I will be doing... Gwollu is a town of approximately 7,000 people and is located 110 kilometers northeast of the Upper West regional capital city, Wa, and 30 kilometers from the closest "large town", Tumu. Gwollu is the regional capital of the newly created Sisaale West District and it is a growing area. It is the hometown of President of the Third Republic of Ghana, Dr. Hilla Limann. The population there is mostly Muslim.
So, I will be leading a 12 member Tourism Management Team to support the ongoing eco-tourism work in Gwollu. The town has many tourism opportunities that are still relatively untapped... There are ancient, historic Slave Defense Walls. There is the tomb of former President Dr. Hilla Limann. There are sacred crocodile ponds, a traditional bone setter, and many other aspects of the community that offer insight into the traditional life of northern Ghanian communities. I will also be working with an NGO that supports a local co-op of Shea Butter Producers, which has a lot of potential. Also, construction has begun and should be nearing completion on a musuem in Gwollu that will preserve and display the historical relics from past slave trade and local wars. I will work with the local government and boards to develop, script, and price tours of the area, create touring packages, and support the infrastrucure/development projects that are necessary to make the area accessible to tourists.
My accomodation will consist of 2 rooms adjacent to the museum/welcome center. It is quiet, yet in the center of town. There is limited cell phone conncectivity in Gwollu currently. The District Assembly, museum, and tourist center will all be within walking distance of my house. There is a borehole that will supply my water and I will have electricity. No word yet on how close there might be an internet connection.
I started my language lessons on Sisaale today. I will have one-on-one instruction from my awesome teacher, Banu, for 5-6 days a week for the next 8 weeks so I will learn a lot! Banu is a fun teacher and he is from Tumu, which is very close to Gwollu.
Well, there are so many other thoughts and facts about my site and job that I would love to share but I just don't have the time. I hope to speak to the volunteer who is there now soon to ask more questions and in a few weeks I will actually visit the site.
Email me and let me know what's going on at home... thanks to those who already have!
My Homestay Family
So, it has been a few days since I have been able to post and I have moved in with my host family in Kukurantumi. I live with my host mother, Vida, in a nice house close to my training site. Another volunteer is staying with a family right down the road too, which is great. Mamma Vida is a matron at a local technical school and she has 3 other sons. Two of her sons, aged 15 and 9, live with their Grandmother in the Brong Ahafo region of Ghana, and her oldest son is 22 and is in his final year of college in Cape Coast, Ghana. Vida's landlady and her son, Kwaku, also live in the same house. I have also been given a Ghanaian name, Kwame, which is the standard name for a man born on a Saturday.
My room is very nice.... I have a double bed with a mosquito net and a few chairs and a coffee table and a bureau. Our house has elecricity, but no running water. Our water comes from a borehole in the yard. I shower by taking "bucket baths". My host mother has been feeding me very well! All sorts of different Ghanaian dishes... fufu, chicken, turkey, joloff rice, eggs, toast, coffee... lots of food.
On Saturday night, we watched "Project Fame: West Africa" on tv, which is basically West Africa's version of American Idol... it was great! On Sunday we attended a welcoming ceremony at the Cheif's Palace, which is standard procedure when there are visitors in any village/town in Ghana.
That's all on homestay for now... loving it. Sorry I have not been able to upload pictures or anything yet... perhaps that day will come.
My room is very nice.... I have a double bed with a mosquito net and a few chairs and a coffee table and a bureau. Our house has elecricity, but no running water. Our water comes from a borehole in the yard. I shower by taking "bucket baths". My host mother has been feeding me very well! All sorts of different Ghanaian dishes... fufu, chicken, turkey, joloff rice, eggs, toast, coffee... lots of food.
On Saturday night, we watched "Project Fame: West Africa" on tv, which is basically West Africa's version of American Idol... it was great! On Sunday we attended a welcoming ceremony at the Cheif's Palace, which is standard procedure when there are visitors in any village/town in Ghana.
That's all on homestay for now... loving it. Sorry I have not been able to upload pictures or anything yet... perhaps that day will come.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Kukurantumi
Hello! I am writing from an internet cafe in Kukurantumi, where I will be staying for about the next 10 weeks. Tomorrow I will meet and move in with my host family... I am very excited for that. For the last 5 days I was visiting a current volunteer in Dambai in the Volta region. Lake Volta is that largest man-made lake in the world! I had a great time during my visit. The volunteer I visited was a Small Enterprise Development volunteer and she was doing microfinance work. She was also from upstate New York, and her brother is a senior at UVM, which was cool. In her village I experienced going to market, which happens every monday and tuesday. I also met many of her friends and went to church for 3 hours on Sunday... it was quite an experience. A couple nights ago I was able to stay in a hotel that not only had power and running water, but a A/C and TV! I watched the 2nd Presidential Debate in my room and was very happy to be able to see it.
I will learn by Monday where I will be "placed" to live and work for the 2 years following my training. That is also when I will learn of my specific assignment. I am very anxious to learn about where I will be and what I will be doing. Many SED volunteers here work in the areas of eco-tourism and microfinance.
Well, there is not a whole lot more to share at this point. I am having a blast. Ghanians are so hospitable and welcoming. I hope to get internet access again soon so I can write about my host family and my placement... stay tuned!
Love and miss you all.
Adam
I will learn by Monday where I will be "placed" to live and work for the 2 years following my training. That is also when I will learn of my specific assignment. I am very anxious to learn about where I will be and what I will be doing. Many SED volunteers here work in the areas of eco-tourism and microfinance.
Well, there is not a whole lot more to share at this point. I am having a blast. Ghanians are so hospitable and welcoming. I hope to get internet access again soon so I can write about my host family and my placement... stay tuned!
Love and miss you all.
Adam
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
First Post from Ghana
So, I made it to Ghana! The flight wasn't so bad... aisle seat, good company, food was pretty good, got to watch Swing Vote, and we got in earlier than scheduled. Ghana is wonderful. It is very hot! I have really enjoyed the food so far and I am having a blast. Right now I am at the Peace Corps office in the city of Accra. Today we had some language training, a tour of the office, met the staff, and got the first of a bunch of immunizations. Soon we will go back to our orientation site. The drive is a little more than an hour (though it is not too far away). The driving here is very chaotic and eventful. On our drive from the airport we were about an inch from nailing another small bus and skidded to a stop short of a fallen motorcyclist in the middle of the road about 10 feet in front of us. I definitely understand why I have to stick to a bike for my time here. On Friday we will all go into Accra for a scavenger hunt which should be a lot of fun. Then on Saturday I will leave to visit a current volunteer at his/her site for 5 days. I have met a few current volunteers here already and they are great. After I visit the site, I will have an interview with the director of Small Enterprise Development programs here and he will determine my placement. I will be able to indicate whether I want to work in a city/large town or smaller village setting as well as if I want a structured assignment (working directly with/for an NGO) or a flexible assignment in which I would have to be more self sufficient and creative perhaps. I haven't quite decided which direction to go in... any thoughts? I think I will be happy anywhere!
That's all for now... not sure when I will have access to the internet again but I would love to hear from everyone... hope all is well at home!
That's all for now... not sure when I will have access to the internet again but I would love to hear from everyone... hope all is well at home!
Monday, September 29, 2008
Here We Go! (and mailing address)
So it's time to go... I am at the airport (JFK) and I get on the plane in less than an hour to leave for Accra, Ghana. I will be in Accra, Ghana's capital, for 4 days of orientation. Then, I will travel to a current volunteer's site, where I will stay for 5 days. After that, we will go to Kukurantumi, which is 2 hours from Accra. I will live with a host family in a village near Kukurantumi for 10 weeks while I go through my pre-service training and then I will move to my site to work for 2 years!
My group of volunteers is amazing! We've all had a great time in Philly during our staging and we are pumped and ready for Africa. There are 42 of us. 13 of us are in the Small Enterprise Development sector. Many are my age, 3 are over 50, and there are 4 married couples. One of the couples has already served in the Peace Corps.
My mailing address for the next 10 weeks is:
Adam Luck, PCT
Peace Corps Ghana
P.O. Box 5796
26 West Cantonments, Switchback Lane
Accra-North, Ghana, West Africa
Ok I think that is all for now... I will not have internet of phone access for probably over a week but I will be having a blast I am sure and I'll post again whenever I get the chance.
Peace out.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Welcome!
Welcome to my blog! I will do my best to keep it updated to let you know what I am up to in Ghana. Bookmark the page, come back often, and feel free to comment on any entries to let me know what is going on at home!
*Disclaimer: The contents of this website are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. Government of the Peace Corps.*
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